[IP] Amazon and f textbooks

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

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From: ed.biebel@gmail.com [ed.biebel@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Ed Biebel [edward@biebel.net]
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 9:54 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] Re: BitTorrent now being used for piracy of textbooks

I agree with Seth and I have seen some professors starting to change.
My last professor informed the class that while the 4th edition was
listed in the syllabus, the only changes in that edition were to
material not relevant for the class.  He told us that we could use the
2nd and 3rd editions as well (at a significantly reduced cost).

In terms of the market, I sell all of my textbooks on amazon.com.  I
started this after receiving an offer to buy my $105 textbook for $4
through the traditional methods.  This was extremely annoying because
I take excellent care of my books and this text would undoubtedly have
been sold by the campus bookstore for upwards of $60.  I sold the
textbook for $35 on amazon.  While I didn't nearly recoup my cost or
what I felt the book was worth, I did get fair market value.  Mostly,
I took some satisfaction in knowing another student would get a "like
new" textbook for $70 less and avoid a gouging by the bookstores.

Ed


On Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 9:31 AM, David Farber <dave@farber.net> wrote:
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Seth Goldhamer [seth@goldhamer.net]
> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 9:15 AM
> To: David Farber
> Subject: RE: [IP] Re:     BitTorrent now being used for piracy of textbooks
>
> The only people who can solve the problem are the professors who choose the
> books. If they collectively let it be known that they are taking price into
> account when they make their selections then maybe prices will become more
> reasonable. If a lower-priced book is deficient the professor can make up
> for it in classroom lectures.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Farber [mailto:dave@farber.net]
> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 6:24 AM
> To: ip
> Subject: [IP] Re: BitTorrent now being used for piracy of textbooks
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Kenneth_Mayer@Dell.com [Kenneth_Mayer@Dell.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:26 PM
> To: David Farber
> Subject: RE: [IP] Re:  BitTorrent now being used for piracy of textbooks
>
> I could not agree with Kris anymore! I recently started my first semester
> teaching as an adjunct and I am shocked at what a student has to pay for a
> textbook for networking. $165 bucks? Are you kidding me, that book is
> outdated the day it is published. I have also been told I don't have a
> choice whether to use a book outside of the schools jurisdiction, lest I
> upset particular people. I feel bad for my students and I am still paying
> school loans off that include textbooks. I have no sympathy for them either
> as both a former student and now a teacher. If I would have had the choice
> to get them off the web when I was in school, I may have considered it as
> well.  Instead of embracing web by starting to use PDF's of textbooks or
> downloadable courses, they continue to screw students over semester after
> semester and then proceed to change the book for the semester. You know
> these books actually rarely change when they have a new edition come out.
> How many times can World War II actually change? (yes I am joking about the
> lst one).
>
> Ken
>
>
>
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