More on textbooks

While searching through the Daily 49er archives I came across a brilliant article. The article titled, Our View-Textbook costs ongoing student bane, highlights exactly what Crystal Aguilar confirmed in the previous post, textbooks are cheaper online. A search was conducted regarding the price of a chemical engineering book that costs $196.60 new at the University Bookstore. For a used copy the price is $147.45. Now are you ready to be stunned? The same exact book was found on Amazon.com for a shocking $122.35! It doesn't stop there because for a used copy (there were 10), the price fell to a minimal $25.50. The article offers other options in the hunt for textbooks such as textbook rental or digital books, however the latter may be more expensive than the paper version.
I'm sure a lot of you already know the University Bookstore is expensive but did you know that some professors actually get "in trouble" for telling students their assigned textbooks could be found cheaper online? I know firsthand since one of my professors this semester told my class a little story of how she got yelled at by the "bookstore" for advising students to shop online for books. I understand that the bookstore is only looking out for its business but really scolding professors who are only trying to save students money is a little harsh.
The point is students need to do whatever they need to do to afford textbooks for college especially in this economy. As the article ends, "If even one student is forced to drop out because they can’t afford books, we lose the vast intellectual potential that individual might have brought to our communities."