Textbook Prices

College textbook prices have risen by about 40 per cent over the past four years and "there's no question" that they will continue to rise at the same rate, Garis Distelhorse, executive director of the National Association of College Stores, said recently.

The price hike is primarily due to inflation and specifically to an increase in the cost of paper, Daniel J. deLellis, book director of the Harvard Cooperative Society, said.

He added that publishing firms have also directly affected prices by concentrating more on the business side of book producing than they have in the past.

"There are more accountants in publishing than there are editors," he said.

James A. Argeros, general manager of the store, said increases over the past several years have not affected sales at the Coop, the major supplier of textbooks to Harvard students.

The Coop has not made any extra profits because of the increases, de Lellis said, adding that the store actually takes a slight loss in the textbook department each year because of overhead costs.

In the future, more publishers may begin leaving suggested retail prices off textbook, allowing retailers to hike prices even more, deLellis said. (The Coop currently sells its texts at publisher's suggested prices, Argeros said.)

Those firms that continue to suggest retail prices may also contribute to future price increases by adding freight costs to prices printed on book jackets.

While these two policies are not yet common practice, they "may be coming to the whole industry in the next year," Gary Lawton, sales manager of the Harvard University Press, said.