Why don’t more universities use textbook rental?

I attended a junior college which was found out to have a contract with the publishing company. The more books they sold the more profit the bookstore would make. Therefore practically every semester the books would be republished, thus making them impossible to sell back. I wish there was a text book rental system established!

Many professors also use their own textbooks, creating a vested interest in the sale of their work. I know a professor who updates his book every semester, changes one or two words, has it published and then requires the new addition for all of his classes. It’s absurd if you ask me, but when it comes to money there is no room left for compassion.

The money that they can receive from charging full price for new books and then slightly discounted price several times over. And professors don’t like it because most of them have text books and they will sell much less if the book is rented out.

At my college, professors would make a profit by selling new books, usually every fall with the publishing company they are with for that year. The students get screwed but the professors make the money.

I went to a college that used the textbook rental system too, and I liked it a lot.

The reason why most schools don’t do it is because most rental books are very bland, and dated since you have to use them for at least three years straight before the school changes them. This was especially bad for history classes (my major).

It seems like it would be logistically prohibitive at bigger schools. Plus at schools where professors are typically textbook authors, it probably wouldn’t be good for faculty/university relations . . . and if every school did that it would shut down the textbook industry as we know it, resulting in fewer choices and fewer opportunities for professors to publish.