Fifteen Dollars
Apple to announce tools, platform to “digitally destroy” textbook publishing:
While speculation has so far centered on digital textbooks
The only financial recourse for a student these days is being able to buy (and sell) textbooks used, on the semi-cheap, because the textbook market is absolutely awful and completely fixed to rip as much money as possible out of college students (just like every other aspect of the process these days).
Going all digital, and fully locked-in as is Apple’s system, will effectively completely destroy the used textbook market. No more getting 40% off that $300 textbook by buying it used. Now the only option you’ll have is the $300 digital version from Apple—and Apple gets their cut and has no incentive to actually help the student with this cost. (And check out how iBooks is easy to read on non-iOS devi… oh, not even OS X? Hmm.)
I’ll be surprised if anyone ever gets the rights to sell their digital textbook ‘used’.
Hooray future.
Yes—because the first thing they did with iBooks was lower the average price for ebooks. (Oh, wait.) iBooks is built entirely around allowing the publisher to set whatever price they want, and then Apple takes their cut from that. Apple gets to profit more from publisher greed. Apple has no incentive to lower textbook pricing for the student/consumer. They have no history of trying to do so thus far.
$14.99
