The College Achilles Heel

Textbook prices are a heated topic among college students. Raising buyback prices by the Bookie was an item high on the list for ASWSU this semester. I decided to compare prices for my books for the upcoming semester to see how much I could save by shopping prices online. Granted convenience should be factored into the prices offered by the Bookie since it is much easier to buy books on campus. The Bookie practices demand-based pricing, by placing prices and how many books they will buy back based on how many textbooks the teacher reserves for the upcoming semester. You could even accuse the Bookie and Crimson & Gray of practicing price fixing since they sell and buy back books at nearly identical prices. However, in comparison, sites like Half.com and the Amazon Marketplace offer great deals for used books thanks to online auction pricing systems.
Here is what I found for the book Retailing by Dunne
The Bookie: $168.90 New $126.70 Used
Amazon.com: $159.96 New $65.00 Used
Half.com: $54.95 Best Price
Ebay.com: $60.00 Lowest bid
Moral of the story is sometimes it pays to shop around.