2008 Woodie Awards
There is an arsonist in your pocket, it's name: textbook
Sotheara, Sam
Issue date: 9/9/05 Section: Opinion
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Four weeks into the semester, and everyone should have all their textbooks by now. Unfortunately, the average full-time student needs around eight to ten books a semester, which we can't pay for with the lint in our pockets.
We pay around $350 a semester. Most of us only complain in the first week, when we break out the plastic that's going to take the rest of the semester to pay off. The rest complain and perform their sob stories around the Koi Pond. The most common comment I hear regarding book prices, is "Delta is ripping me off."
Delta's book prices aren't as bad as many people believe. Brand new books are at retail price. They cost the same as Barnes and Noble and Borders. With Delta you have the option of buying a used copy for a little less, which Barnes and Noble and Borders only offer online.
The used copies are in decent condition. Paying anything more than $20 for 200 pieces of paper and two pieces of cardboard seems expensive, in that sense. But how do you price the value of words, thoughts, and ideas? Not to mention the effort, time and money it takes to get a book on the shelf.
The average price of a video game is $50 when it's first released. That's $50 for one DVD disc, a plastic case and 15 pages of glossy paper. How many gamers complain? The productions of games and books aren't all that different, other than the obvious.
There are other options than the Delta bookstore and outside retailers. As many Delta students know, eBay.com, Half.com, and Amazon.com are good sources for cheap textbooks.
In most cases the condition of the books are better than the used ones here, no spilled unknown liquids between pages or the stench of something burnt on the covers. I've purchased around 10 books through eBay and Half.com and those books were in "like new condition," and I'm more than satisfied with the process.
For example, Jean Wyrick's Steps to Writing Well, an English 1A text, is $66 new and $49.50 used at the bookstore. The same book at Half.com is $25.99 used, that's a 61% difference. Steven S. Zumdahl's, Chemistry, a Chemistry 1A text, is $145.15 new and $108.85 used at the bookstore. On half.com, it's 138.99 and $90.85 used on Amazon.com. If you're patient enough and have the time, you can get better deals on eBay.