Are Etextbooks Affordable Now?
- 2018-05-25
- Inside Higher Ed
New print textbooks can still cost students hundreds of dollars, but the cost of etextbooks is falling fast, according to data from etextbook distribution platforms VitalSource and RedShelf -- both of which work with all major publishers.
“Prices on textbooks were, everybody agrees, way too high,” said Hale. “Publishers have finally responded with pricing that is rational.”
“Prior to the affordable ebook prices that we’re seeing now, students were looking for low-cost alternatives to new textbooks -- they were going to used books and they were going to print rental books,” said Scotty. Publishers "very wisely" realized that they had to lower prices to “fight the secondary market,” he said.