Editing Textbook (section)

===New editions and the used book market in the United States===
Some students save money by buying used copies of textbooks, which tend to be less expensive, and are available from many college bookstores in the US, who buy them back from students at the end of a term. Books that are not being re-used at the school are often purchased by an off-campus wholesaler for 0–30% of the new cost, for distribution to other bookstores.  Some textbook companies have countered this by encouraging teachers to assign homework that must be done on the publisher's website. Students with a new textbook can use the pass code in the book to register on the site; otherwise they must pay the publisher to access the website and complete assigned homework.

Students who look beyond the campus bookstore can typically find lower prices. With the ISBN or title, author and edition, most textbooks can be located through online used booksellers or retailers.

Most leading textbook companies publish a new edition every 3 or 4 years, more frequently in math and science. Harvard economics chair James K. Stock has stated that new editions are often not about significant improvements to the content. "New editions are to a considerable extent simply another tool used by publishers and textbook authors to maintain their revenue stream, that is, to keep up prices."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=D’gama |first1=Alissa |last2=Jaffe |first2=Benjamin |date=4 March 2008 |title=Professors Find Different Uses for Textbook Profits |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2008/3/4/professors-find-differents-uses-for-textbook |access-date=14 July 2019 |publisher=The Harvard Crimson}}</ref> A study conducted by The Student [[Public Interest Research Group|PIRGs]] found that a new edition costs 12% more than a new copy of the previous edition (not surprising if the old version is obsolete), and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition. Textbook publishers maintain these new editions are driven by demand from teachers. That study found that 76% of teachers said new editions were justified "half of the time or less" and 40% said they were justified "rarely" or "never".<ref name="ripoff-101">{{Cite web |date=27 February 2005 |title=Ripoff 101: 2nd Edition |url=https://studentpirgs.org/2005/02/27/ripoff-101-2nd-edition/ |access-date=20 February 2023 |website=Student PIRGs |language=en-US}}</ref> The PIRG study has been criticized by publishers, who argue that the report contains factual inaccuracies regarding the annual average cost of textbooks per student.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inside Higher Ed's News |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/08/29/textbooks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029025709/http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/08/29/textbooks |archive-date=2008-10-29 |access-date=20 February 2023 |website=Inside Higher Ed |language=en}}</ref>

The Student PIRGs also point out that recent emphasis on e-textbooks does not always save students money. Even though the book costs less up-front, the student will not recover any of the cost through resale.<ref name="course-correction">{{Cite web |date=1 August 2008 |title=Course Correction |url=https://studentpirgs.org/2008/08/01/course-correction/ |access-date=20 February 2023 |website=Student PIRGs |language=en-US}}</ref>