The Ridiculous Reason Why College Textbooks Cost Too Much

If you are currently in college or have been in college in the past, you know the physical pain you experience when you see the price of your textbooks. They are absurd. $300 for a book you will only be using for a few months? That doesn't seem like a scam...

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Most people make the same mistake their first semester or freshman year, they buy their textbooks before classes start and buy them from the college. If you want to blow a few hundred bucks go for it, but most people learn to wait it out and buy them online. This my friends is exactly why the average textbook costs $150, according to CBS News.

Textbook publishers have rationalized the obscene cost by blaming students who buy and sell used books. Alex Neal, CEO of Campusbooks.com, told the NY Post, "Since the publishers don’t make any money off used-book sales, their business model is to make the old editions obsolete and force you to buy a new book."

So in layman's terms, it's the students fault for selling back their used books for a mere $20.

That may be over simplifying it and I get it, the publishers are looking to make money. They are a business and the goal of a business is to make money. However, at what point are you just exploiting a situation?