Textbook Bundling & Customization: Is There Value?

Testimonials

The following are excerpts from actual correspondence between university professors and bookstore managers.

From (bookstore manager)
To: (professor)

______,

Hello - my name is ______, store manager at ______ Bookstore.

In processing your textbook order for Sociol 101, I see that you have adopted a package from Prentice-Hall. In order to supply the TIME magazine supplement, bookstores will only be able to provide new books for your students.

As you may or may not be aware, publishers are promoting "value packs" as a tactic to keep used books out of the market. Often, students are forced to purchase a new package (at the new book price) that includes ancillary material(s) that are never used in their courses. In these cases, students are not able to purchase their book at the used price (25% off new), and are often not able to get maximum re-sell value at the end of the quarter.

I realize that this may not be the case with your order. If you are requiring the supplement as part of the coursework, we certainly will order the package. But I wanted to make you aware of the "value pack" issue and its effects. I look forward to your reply.

Thanks,
______

From: (professor)
To: (bookstore manager)
In response to above:

Hello ______:

Thanks for making me aware of the value pack dilemma. I will note that for the future. To your implicit question, yes, the TIME book will be a part of their required readings, and they will be examed on the materials it contains.

The goal of its inclusion is for them to process the actual cultural meanings and processes what they learn about in the textbook; basically, a sociology in the lived practice(s) of day-to-day popular culture, which is about all TIME ever contains. So goes the goal.

We'll see how it works. It's failure in the pedagogical sense, will partner with these material issues you raise below to make me less inclined to include such a thing in the future.

Take care,
______