The Campus Bookstore at Queen's University

The Campus Bookstore at Queen's University

The textbook industry operates according to some very weird market forces. In what has been coined a "Broken Market," the student does not choose their product, and the instructor or department that does choose the textbook does not actually purchase it. As a result, price is removed from the purchasing decision, allow...ing publishers to set higher prices. In addition, there exists very little competition in the textbook market, with only a handful of major publishers to choose from.

It would also be 'weird' if university bookstores selected which textbooks to be used for every course. If that were the case, you can rest assured every book would be in stock well before the start of class! Unfortunately, textbooks can't be shipped until orders are received from the instructors, who first have to wait for department administration to decide their courses of instruction. As a result of this process, orders are often placed too late for the books to arrive before classes begin.

Although the prices of textbooks are climbing faster than would be expected, and communication problems can result in textbooks being ordered too late for the beginning of classes, it should be noted that both bookstores and faculty are committed to do all they can to get orders in on time, resist new editions of textbooks, prevent unwanted add-ons, and encourage peer-to-peer exchange (sale) of used books.

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