Textbook Bundling & Customization: Is There Value?

Net Cost

What is "Net Cost," and why does it matter?

The Net Cost of a textbook is the true cost to the student, after they buy and sell it.

Let us give you an example, using a car.  Say you buy a car for $25,000 and drive it for three years then decide to sell it. If you get $10,000 for the car, the net cost is $15,000. Think about the shock of getting nothing from the sale of your used car because of a minor change in the new model. This is what's happening on college campuses everywhere. A book costing $100 at the beginning of the term is worthless at the end of the term.  Just a year ago the bookstore would have paid $50 for that book. The Net Cost that was $50 is now $100. This is because the practice of customizing or bundling textbooks, which was rare just a few years ago,  is becoming commonplace.