Getting screwed: American Style: Like prescription drugs, college textbooks are much cheaper overseas than they are in the U.S. (NYTimes)
The publishing industry defends its pricing policies, saying that foreign sales would be impossible if book prices were not pegged to local market conditions.
Another flag-waving, patriotic American industry scams its own country's citizens in the name of profitability.
"We couldn't understand why what costs $120 here should cost $50-something there," said Mr. Sarkis, who, with Mr. Kinsley and another classmate, has spent three years building a Web-based company, BookCentral.com, selling textbooks from abroad to students in the United States. "It seemed so sleazy of the publishers. We were sure that college students would be shocked and outraged if they knew about the foreign prices. But it's been this big secret."
The publishing industry defends its pricing policies, saying that foreign sales would be impossible if book prices were not pegged to local market conditions.
Another flag-waving, patriotic American industry scams its own country's citizens in the name of profitability.
"We couldn't understand why what costs $120 here should cost $50-something there," said Mr. Sarkis, who, with Mr. Kinsley and another classmate, has spent three years building a Web-based company, BookCentral.com, selling textbooks from abroad to students in the United States. "It seemed so sleazy of the publishers. We were sure that college students would be shocked and outraged if they knew about the foreign prices. But it's been this big secret."
