College students are constantly strapped for cash. We sometimes count change in our car ashtrays and in between the cushions of our couches just to foot our lunch bill for the day. Then comes the beginning of a new semester when we have to stock up on the required textbooks for classes, textbooks that some teachers don't even require you to crack open once. A student with 12 to 14 credit hours can pay hundreds for books, new or used. Editions for books are constantly being renewed, which means books bought may not be valid for resale next semester.
Textbooks are non-optional and prices are high.
We have to fork over the cash, no questions asked. While standards for publishing and the quality of materials used in textbooks are undoubtedly high, the prices of said books shouldn't overwhelm a student's typically thin budget. The needed profit has been made, so an expensive resale for a used book must be highly profitable for the parties involved. The Textbook Co. is fully independent and store owner Bill Roe establishes prices on a 20 percent profit margin. MCC' s margin is 25 percent.