Will eTextBooks make campus bookstores disappear?

As more and more students attempt to cut costs by purchasing eTextBooks, campus bookstores continue to see a decrease in revenue. It is projected that these bookstores (in their current form) will cease to exist. What do you think campus bookstores can do to remain relevant in the ever-evolving textbook marketplace?

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Tags: Bookstores, EdTech, Education, Higher, Technology, eBooks

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Permalink Reply by Karen Morales on December 2, 2010 at 7:06am

They can lower the prices of the books.

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Permalink Reply by blank on December 2, 2010 at 9:25am

I definitely think etextbooks will make campus bookstores disappear. They are cheap and convenient. You can easily have several of your textbooks downloaded to your laptop and all stored in one place. If bookstores want to remain relevant in the market place then they need to slash prices. Students are finding books cheaper online and having them shipped through amazon and other sites that sale textbooks. I am all in support for online textbooks that can be bought for less and easily with you on your laptop. This is about the convenience of what is better for students and their learning and money.

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Permalink Reply by Diana Hansen on December 6, 2010 at 4:56pm

Thank you so much for your feedback, Samantha and Karen.

I agree; eTextBooks offer a level of convenience on a variety of levels that hard-copy textbooks cannot provide. I, personally, hope campus bookstores remain - perhaps in a new way - for I believe they are a valuable part of the university ecosystem.

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Permalink Reply by Amy Broomfield on December 6, 2010 at 10:13pm

I am a college student that has to deal with today's bookstore's ridiculous prices. One thing they could do to compete. is obviously to lower their prices. Anyone with a brain can figure out it doesnt take $200-$400 to make one single book. Therefor, if the stores lowered their prices they could still make profit while competing with the ebooks. As well as continuing to offer rentals and more easy access type books. Ebooks can never fully offer the things a hard copy text book has so if the book stores really want to stay around they juts need to lower their prices.

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Permalink Reply by E Cohen on December 7, 2010 at 5:55pm

Today, I determined that a digital subscription to our fifth grade math textbook costs:

1 year subscription is $17.97 per student
6 year subscription is $68.97 per student

This is based on a quote for 115 fifth grade students. I am sure there is probably a volume discount.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on December 7, 2010 at 6:12pm

Campus bookstores starting to "rent out" their books is a good way to try to capture more customers. Renting does not make the customer feel so ripped off and it is a good alternative for those who are not so tech saavy.

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Permalink Reply by Diana Hansen on December 20, 2010 at 10:35am

That’s a very good idea, Lauren. I think that would definitely help the bookstores remain competitive with the burgeoning eTextBook market. Thank you for your feedback!