Pile of paper: Textbook publishers not binding textbooks so much lately

[Aster]

I've been having a great deal of difficulty this year with some of the major textbook publishers. They are not giving options for either hardcover or softcover versions of major textbooks. The only purchase options are ebooks, and loose-leaf. I actually have courses now where there isn't even an option for students to purchase their own bound textbook.

What the heck? Did the publishers stop paying the bills on their textbook binding factory? This is... ridiculous.

[Hibush]

I've been having a great deal of difficulty this year with some of the major textbook publishers. They are not giving options for either hardcover or softcover versions of major textbooks. The only purchase options are ebooks, and loose-leaf. I actually have courses now where there isn't even an option for students to purchase their own bound textbook.

What the heck? Did the publishers stop paying the bills on their textbook binding factory? This is... ridiculous.

Are hardcopy sales are so low that they can't meet the bindery's minimum?

[polly_mer]

I've been having a great deal of difficulty this year with some of the major textbook publishers. They are not giving options for either hardcover or softcover versions of major textbooks. The only purchase options are ebooks, and loose-leaf. I actually have courses now where there isn't even an option for students to purchase their own bound textbook.

What the heck? Did the publishers stop paying the bills on their textbook binding factory? This is... ridiculous.

Are hardcopy sales are so low that they can't meet the bindery's minimum?

My bet is this is a push towards electronic versions to undercut the paper rental market, which doesn't tend to benefit the publishers.  It's harder to rent out the looseleaf version multiple times.

[Aster]

I thought that publishers bound their own books.

[downer]

I sympathize with the textbook industry. It must be hard to hard for them to make a profit when for many textbooks, students can often download PDFs of them for free, professors increasingly don't use textbooks at all, allow students to use the old editions, or use free etextbooks. They are going the way of the VHS and CD. Maybe they should start publishing on ecological paper that starts to break down after six months. But they are having some success in the packages they can sell that plug into LMSs and allow the professor to have most of a course set up doing little work.

From our point of view, i.e. faculty, the publishers provide a mostly mediocre to bad service. But they are often good enough. I have found that working with OUP and Norton works OK for me in recent years.

[mythbuster]

My students really like the loose leaf versions. This way they can just bring the relevant section to class. Yes, it is a cost cutting move, but at least for now they are still willing to offer some sort of print version for those of us who like it better that way. In a few years I doubt that will be an option.  Last year, Pearson announced that they were phasing out all print books in favor on online platforms.

[ciao_yall]

It would help if the materials they offered were useful.

I don't need vocabulary quizzes.

And I really don't need their eyeball-bleeding PPTs. One of my textbooks, ironically, a Business Communications text, used a template and graphics style that looks like MySpace 2001.

[Aster]

I've been price comparing current sell prices of loose-leaf formats to the sell costs of older hardcopy formats.

Loose-leafs used to be cheaper, but this year the prices on loose-leafs got jacked way the crud up.

So the argument that the publishers are giving me so "loose leaf is cheaper" has now evolved into marketing BS.

My New Hypothesis about Loose-Leaf Format:
1. U.S. Publisher wants to downgrade service while maintaining profits
2. U.S. Publisher begins marketing loose-leaf formats as cheaper alternative to hardcopy. Initial cost savings are maybe 20-30% less. Some universities are hooked.
3. U.S. Publishers phases out hardcopy and only offers loose-leaf format.
4. U.S. Publisher now raises loose-leaf costs to be roughly comparable to what the original hardcopy cost was.

5. I give my students the amazon.com weblink to International Edition, *bound* textbooks at half the cost of loose-leaf.

[mythbuster]

Loose leaf also helps to eliminate the used book market. It's easy to lose an entire chapter accidentally.

[kaysixteen]

sounds like what places like Walmart do when they run the local competition out of business.

Or, perhaps, the old retail cereal box trick, where the manufacturer wants to raise the price of Sugar Treaties, but does not want to do so directly, so they put less cereal in the box and keep the price the same.   Gradually, the box size will actually shrink, before the customers catch on to the con.

[Parasaurolophus]

Loose leaf also helps to eliminate the used book market. It's easy to lose an entire chapter accidentally.

I think that's the main reason.