[...] I cannot believe humans didnt come up with this until now: avoiding the tyranny of the textbook-publisher racket by renting textbooks. (Authors note: It’s entirely possible this rental option was around a few years ago when I was in school, and I was just too snobby to even allow the idea to […]Read More… [Source: Educated Nation | Higher Education Blog] [...]

Alexa,

I thought you might be interested in this:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121565135185141235.html

College students, already struggling with soaring tuition bills and expenses, are encountering yet another financial hit: Publishers and schools are working together to produce “custom” textbooks that can limit students’ use of the money-saving trade in used books.

@Saqib–Am I allowed to write ‘bastards’ on an education website? Because that’s what those book guys are. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Alexa,

I think education institutions in general are becoming very commercial. They seek out top researchers in the field and hire them to attract grants and funding rather then conduct ground breaking research.

I wish I was at Salamanca right now. That is one of the few universities that are still interested in learning and teaching. There motto is “what nature does not give, Salamanca does not provide” meaning that education cannot substitute the lack of brains..

@Saqib–I agree with the fact that higher education is being commercialized; it’s a shame that everything seems to come down to money.

We are so happy you stumbled upon Chegg. We are ready for the 2008-2009 school year and are serving 2,100 plus schools this year.
Order soon as August 19th is the biggest textbook ordering day. As always, we would love to know your feedback once you have tried the service.

Chegg Support Team Member

[...] The publishing companies were making money hand over fist with every bogus ‘new edition.’ Students had two choices for saving money: buy used books (which is not always an option) or rent, as I have previously noted. Now (I’m trying to type while clenching my fists in frustration, which is not easy) those publishing bastards have come up with the perfect way to scr*w over college students. The publishers print up a custom textbook for one particular school, course, and sometimes a specific instructor as well. [...]

all education is being commercialized but thanks to you for bringing this to my attention.

I like what these book rental sites are doing…and with this service you are able to save tons of money…I came across another book rental company called http://www.skoobit.com…you can really save hundreds of dollars with them..They were pretty easy to deal with and the books came on time…

[...] If a required book is something you feel sure you won’t ever need to crack again once this term is over, then you might want to consider renting your books or going with the digital textbook wave of the future. [...]