Jim wrote,
> After all, it's the
> sovereign consumers who decide what
> sucks and what doesn't suck.
But remember one of the key characteristics of the
textbook market--the ultimate user (the student)
does not pick the book. The professor does (and
most often the professor does not have information
about the price).
Indeed, the vast majority of publishers fail to
provide any price information for the professor.
Instead, they stress the number of colors, the
spiffy graphs, the boxed examples, the pre-written
exams, etc. And as price competition doesn't exist
(and the price is not known), nonprice competition
tends to lead to higher and higher priced books as
professors are unable to see how more colors leads
to a higher price.
Further, some professors might select a book not
because it is the best for the final user
(student) but as a status good: "hey, I'm using
X's book--ain't I cool." Or, "other professors see
I'm using X's book, which is new and cutting edge,
and so maybe they'll think I'm also cutting
edge--and worthy of getting tenure."
Eric
.
