As the prices of everyday items continue to rise, students are finding it harder to purchase the essentials they need before the school semester begins. The recent spike in book prices has not made this task any easier. This has left many students wondering why the book prices keep going up. More importantly it has also raised the question as to what can be done to stop the increase of prices.
Prices of new and used books have been steadily increasing through the years. With the economy getting rougher it is becoming difficult for students to purchase their books. Samir Mahtani, a business major who has been studying at NEIU for four years, expressed his disappointment in the book prices. “I paid 100 dollars less last year than I did for my books this year. On top of that, they are also not giving us enough book wavier money, so most of it is coming out of my pocket,” he said. He also had questions about what can be done and where the prices come from. “I want to know how the prices are even decided. I mean, you would think it was the same as last year if it is the same book. “
When asked where the prices of books come from, Patrick Olsen, head of marketing and development, said, “Books are based off the publisher prices. The publisher of the book decides what the price is and that is how we come up with the price to sell it. ” When asked about what the solution is
for keeping the prices down he said, “We are doing everything in our power to keep the prices as low as we can keep them. “
There was not much clear information on any steps taken to keep the prices down and students are not happy about it at all. “I can’t believe no one is doing anything about this. I know some of my friends who have not even gotten their books yet and are falling behind in school because of it,” Mahtani said. The economy’s getting tougher on consumer pockets and tempers are flaring from students who want to know the answer to why their books are more expensive this year.
Beronica Avila, psychology major, expressed her beliefs in the matter. Avila said, “Personally, I believe that the book store is putting up prices be- cause they are losing business to the online community but it still doesn’t make sense because the spike in prices only makes people want to go buy the books somewhere else. “
There is no clear reason as to why the book prices keep on rising but it is not doing so well with the students. Many of them have had to use most of their savings to purchase the books they need for their classes. “I used all my money on these ex- pensive books,” Avila said. In the end, students just want to be able to purchase their books without the worry of having enough money.