Why do textbooks cost so much more than regular books?

I agree that they cost so much because students have to have them. It is a factor though with the number of contributors and research that goes into a textbook. My biggest problem was when they'd change a couple of pictures or something silly and print a new edition. I had one book in college that by the time I graduated, they were on the 6th edition. I was using the 2nd, and it was virtually identical.

College books usually involve more than 1 person working with them to complete them. It takes several people to get the information, proof the information, finalize the information. These books are used to teach- so they have to be up to date and accurate. A paperback is nothing even close to a college book- They don't have to be scientific. I do feel you though- Books are outrageous for classes.. Try checking online for them- You can pick them up alot cheaper than in the college bookstores. they mark them up too. Yes kids need the books to be in the classes so they do price gouge. But think of all the people who get a chunk of profit.

First, authors of these textbooks do not get any more compensation for book sales than do authors of novels or biographies or autobiographies. The actual price gougers are the publishing companies. I have had a hand in helping a few professors with writing textbooks, so I know what i'm talking about. However, with the prices that they charge, professors & teachers should be better compensated, being that it requires not just being able to clearly explain something in written text, & requires expertise in what the textbook is for. A pair of former professors who had their book republished had their book sold at the college book store for $76. I helped revise a textbook after the previous company who stopped printing the book. When it came out using a new publisher, the book costed $76.00! (Pre-y2K prices) Despite the insistence of the two authors at having it published as a soft cover (or 'paperback, as you put it) the publisher published it as a hard cover. The previous publisher had it published as a soft cover for $53.00. Another professor got the book together, but in the end, after realizing that he was not getting any more than an author would get for a novel, & at the ridiculous prices, he decided not to publish the book at all. Instead, he had the university package it at $9.00 at the college bookstore, exclusively for university students taking the course that would use the book. That $9 only was to cover for the materials (mainly the paper) for the university print shop. Another pair of professors who had a book published decided that being that books sold at the college means that they don't get anything for students attending the college they work at means no compensation at all for books sold at that college bookstore, instead of making students in their classes pay those high textbook prices, they just had it mass-printed at the college print shop & just gave it to the students in their classes. Not only is the publisher getting a lot of money per book, so are the local & state governments on the sales tax for these books. Anyway, if possible, used textbooks are approximately 67% to 75% cheaper than a brand new book. Plus, sometimes, the student who sold the book back (& got approximately 25% to 33% of the price that they paid for the book - brand new) occasionally leaves helpful notes in them. So to beat the greedy publishers, see if the textbooks that are needed is available used.

Well, the answer is very simple! Those books are scientific, they made a lot work of it! For that book, they worked harder then a larger book thta goes about other things...

I was told that textbooks cost so much because the publisher knows you need that book to pass the class and will be willing to pay basically any price for it.

You're right that, from what I've heard from you and others, that the price of textbooks is ridiculously high. I think that the best thing you can do to cut costs on things like that is to find someone who has the books from the year before and see if you can get the used books from them at a cut rate. I think that I've had friends who have talked about doing something like that. It is sad that they can inflate the prices of textbooks *so* much simply because a student cannot do without them :/

I am unable to understand the difference between textbooks and regular books. I live in Pakistan and in Pakistan, we say textbooks to "books which r included in our school/college courses" but i think that they r opposite in urs case. I concluded from answers of urs question that regular books r course books of schools/colleges. Textbook r more expensive bcuz they r made by a lot of hard work of many people and seldom people buy them but on the other hand, everyone reads regular books and buy them but i studied Oxford Syllabus in my school and live in Pakistan and my books were very muchhhhhhh expensive.

its not like dat everywhere...