August 28, 2008
CourseSmart Disputes Report on Digital Textbooks
CourseSmart, which sells electronic versions of textbooks by major publishers, issued a statement this week defending its model, after a report by a student advocacy group said publishers were off track with their online offerings.
The report was released this week by the Student Public Interest Research Groups, a collection of independent statewide organizations representing college students. The report said that online textbooks generally cost about the same as printed ones, even though the CourseSmart Web site says that online textbooks save students up to 50 percent. In making the claim, the report’s authors figured that many students sell printed textbooks back to the bookstore after a semester, recouping some of the initial cost. Books bought through CourseSmart expire after a set number of days so that they cannot be resold.
But officials for CourseSmart say that even if the money students make from reselling print textbooks is taken into account, the company’s online textbooks are still significantly cheaper. Sean Devine, CEO of CourseSmart, said in an interview that a student could expect to save about $15 by buying an online version of a textbook that would have cost $100 in printed form, even if resale is considered. And Mr. Devine pointed out that many students do not resell their textbooks.
Mr. Devine also defended CourseSmart’s limitations on printing and on how long users can access a book. “That’s not an unusual restriction at all” for a publisher online, he said.
“We find that the students who purchase from us have a very, very high satisfaction rate,” he said, adding that tens of thousands of students have bought its books.
He said that online textbooks are still in an early phase of development, and that CourseSmart would likely evolve over time. “We think we have a fair product in the marketplace right now, and we’re getting student feedback about how we can make it better,” he said.—Jeffrey R. Young
Posted on Thursday August 28, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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I still have textbooks around from my undergraduate work that I use as references. In fact, I actually just was referencing a couple of older books yesterday. I think that the 180 day self-destruct system is a total rip-off. I don’t like DRM and I feel that if I pay for something it is mine. I’m not looking to rent a textbook…
— Tim Aug 28, 09:56 AM #
But, for many students, textbook rental is a great option. If they are just going to sell it back at the end of the term, then why not rent- especially if it saves some money. Of course these companies should do a better job and explaining that this is a rental and not a true purchase.
— M Aug 28, 10:09 AM #
I suppose if you like wasting additional money on printing, or want to do your reading on a computer, then it is fine. I personally would rather just have a book that I can highlight, annotate, etc. But to each his own. If it was an audiobook so I could listen on an iPod, I would be all for it. But ideally I’d still need a way to mark important passages and annotate things (with audio notes). And no matter what, when I pay that kind of money for something, I want to own it not rent it…
— Tim Aug 28, 10:16 AM #
I would describe CourseSmart as more of a leech than a service to students.
— F. Gump Aug 28, 11:51 AM #
A leech? Students decide if it’s a useful service and reward the company with money. It’s called free market capitalism.
— Natasha M. Aug 28, 12:19 PM #
Amazon is supposed to be making a student edition of its Kindle wireless reader, and I suspect wireless readers will eventually be what meets the concerns raise by Tim.
— Rob Aug 28, 12:43 PM #
I agree its free market principles that will solve this problem. I am still a student and I use iHaveThatBook.com where they compare all the online retailers and allow students to buy and sell from each other. They also allow students to buy and sell notes from each other.
— Brian Aug 28, 02:24 PM #
$15 less for a book that would have originally cost $100? Yeah, my math sucks a bit but last time I checked half of 100 is 50, not 75.
Yes, you can sell back the book and recoup a bit, but lord knows how many times I took the book back to the uni and they tell me it won’t be used the next semester. I’d rather pay the minimal extra cost to have a phsyical copy of something.
Plus you don’t own anything, so you aren’t paying for course materials, you are paying for a service. There’s a huge difference and as far as saving money goes, there are better alternative methods out there where students can save a lot more from the initial cost.
— C Aug 28, 02:42 PM #
A previous PIRG study in the Northeast US compared textbook prices for the same books in the US and in Europe, and it was obvious that US students’ costs were extremely high in comparison. Time for development of opensource texts to further the promise of the internet as a revolutionary way to share information resources!
— BDL Aug 29, 07:51 AM #
So, I can pay $85 for a digital textbook vs. $100 for the print one. The digital one will expire within a few months. I can’t print it (or, if I do, I obviously bear the costs associated with that). And, at least to me, the form factor is not nearly as nice. That’s too much to give up for only a $15 savings. For a $50 savings, I might go for it.
What I’d like to see is a pricing model truly based on the cost saving associated with the digital format. A publisher no longer has printing costs, shipping costs, and other logistics expenses. There is almost no marginal cost for each book. And, perhaps the biggest incentive, textbook companies could sell their products directly. No more middlemen, no more campus bookstore. Cutting out those channel members should result in additional reductions to price.
When digital textbooks really are half the price of their print equivalent, they’ll start selling.
I’m pro-Kindle in general, but I still think their prices are too high for books when compared to the print equivalent. But it’s a step in the right direction.
— tony Aug 29, 08:11 AM #
I spoke to someone from a company like this one (may be the same one) at a conference. My understanding was that online content is free (and is possibly this option that expires). But students can buy a printed version (which obviously doesn’t expire) and pay $20 for black & white or $50 for colour. It sounds like a good option frankly.
— lg Aug 29, 09:13 AM #
I have used only on-line books for a couple of courses I have taught and am discovering that students don’t care for them. It seems even the digital generation prefers a printed book, so it simply doesn’t make sense economically to buy a digital and then print it all out. I won’t require digital books again.
— Econ Prof Aug 29, 09:26 AM #
As an online instructor, I don’t like electronic textbooks. First, my students complain that they don’t cost any less than paper books and they all invariably wish they could sell them back when they are done with them. Second, they want to write on them and end up printing them out anyway and spending more money on the ink and paper to do so.
— andi Aug 30, 06:20 PM #