by Stephanie Candelaria
Daily Lobo
According to the UNM Financial Aid Office, students spend an average of $350 on textbooks each semester.
With finals fast approaching, a new semester is barreling toward students at a remarkable speed. For many students, this means new classes, new professors and a new set of textbooks.
Robert Kwan, a third-year pharmacy student at UNM, said his books cost him nearly $800 this semester.
"College students are strapped for cash in the first place," Kwan said. "We have to buy all these books at outrageous prices and most of the time, the professors don't even use them."
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Kara DeGray, a third-year exercise science major, agreed.
"The bookstore is sucking our pockets dry," DeGray said. "They can get away with selling books at high prices because they know the students need them. It's highway robbery."
Carrie Mitchell, the book division manager at the UNM Bookstore, points out, however, that the bookstore is making minimal profit from textbook sales.
"We make five cents profit on every dollar of a textbook," Mitchell said. "Any other money that is made is to pay costs such as ordering prices, shipping and faculty pay."
In reality, it is during publication when the price of books begins to rise.
When consumers purchase textbooks, they are paying for paper, bright graphics, greater detail and two or three years of research and time.
Costs for writers and editors, binding, production and countless other individuals who are involved in the publishing process also factor into textbook prices. Mitchell said those costs, coupled with a percentage more for profit and by the time the book makes its way to the bookstore shelves, sticks students with a hefty price tag.
Mitchell had several suggestions for students looking to keep their textbook costs down. She said that students getting to the bookstore early will have the option of buying used books, which are always cheaper than their counterparts.
She added that it is also important to pay attention to class syllabi, because faculty are required to submit textbook requisitions, even if they are not planning on using them. Mitchell suggested looking for the "optional" sticker when purchasing books and asking professors whether the book is pertinent to the course.
Mitchell also pointed out the textbook buyback program as a way of keeping textbook costs down. She said that the more books students return, the less the bookstore will have to order, thus using less money. She said that the bookstore currently receives about 70 percent of its books back.
Students with concerns about textbook prices should contact publishers, administrators, faculty and staff for more information, Mitchell said.
"The only way to solve this problem is to work together," she said.
