The Existing Monopoly
Entry posted by Neos Dionysos
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Hmmm... perhaps some of you can relate and some can't but I am throwing this out there nonetheless.
After so many years at college, I have come to realize that tutition is near robbery, (meaning how they tack on an additional 10,000 just because I am out of state), but what's worse is Follets and textbooks. That SURELY is robbery, you pay $100-200 for a brand new textbook that, when you try to sell back they will either give you, $35 for even if it is in pristine condition or two... they won't take it back because a new edition, (which seems to come out every 6 months), will be released and they cannot take it. Having worked for UPS a few years ago and my job being loading the huge semi-trucks, I had the chance to come across Follets Boxes being shipped to my school.
I went to my current school for a year, left for a year to do core requirements at home at community college to save money, (at which time I worked for 13 months for UPS), and then went back to my current school.
Now, boxes come open all the time, and allow me to tell you, that packages are NOT treated well and having 'fragile' on the box almost guarentee's harm to it. But anyway, back to my story, a Follets box busted open, so I pulled it out of my truck and placed it on the side so it could be re-packaged. During break I just happened to go through for the hell of it, I was curious. I not only discovered that Follets not only ships to thier stores here, (obvious), but also supplies thier "competitors" as well, so there is only one source and not the competition or 'choices' were are led to believe on campus. Having discovered this irony I looked at the invoice in the box and saw they were some Chemistry Textbooks and Biology Textbooks, being sold at around $80 and $130 respectively. Now I could have guessed that being the prices, but when I looked at the what the actual cost of the books were from publication I was shocked. Each being $30 and $70 respectivally. Now, this just upsets me how books which come out are a decent price and over time or right from the start are marked up for whatever reasons other than draining more money from students who will have to buy a new textbook a year later.
Sorry all... had to vent a little on that since I have spent around $750 on books this semester alone.
Phil
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