This brought a lot of publicity to an industry that had been quietly growing for the past two years. Statistics collected by John Hickman make it clear that thousands of papers are being distributed and sold from these sites each year. One can imagine how archives of papers might fill as students around the world begin to make use of these sites. Therefore it's time to look this issue squarely in the face, and think about what we can and should do about it as a University Community. The first step is to understand what this industry is all about.
Pricing mechanisms vary.
Some sites give the papers away but require you to register and often, to submit at least one paper. Some sites charge a membership fee for subsequent access. Some sellers put a cap on the maximum cost. Some sites have rather high additional charges for sending the paper electronically. The papers are not necessarily recent, either.