THERE IS A LIVELY MARKET IN
second-hand college textbooks. At
the end of each term, some students
who took a course decide that the money
they can make by selling their used
books is worth more to them than keeping
the books. And some students who
are taking the course next term prefer
to buy a somewhat battered but less
expensive used textbook rather than
buy at full price.
Textbook publishers and authors
are not happy about these transactions
because they cut into sales of new
books. But both the students who sell
used books and those who buy them
clearly benefit from the existence of
second-hand textbook markets. That is
why many college bookstores create
them, buying used textbooks and selling
them alongside the new books. And it is