Readers react to a column criticizing WSU’s student bookstore, The Bookie, for profiting off the needs of students. The Students Book Corporation (SBC) leased the bookstore to Barnes & Noble Booksellers in 2004. SBC receives a dividend from Barnes & Noble of about $85,000 per year, which they then spend on projects like crosswalks and WSU Green Bikes.

Collin Parks: “I know engineering textbooks to be one such culprit. Their justification used to be that formatting the mathematics required more meticulous work and was therefore more expensive. That used to be true, but the computer age eliminated much of that extra work. The contemporary price is an artificial inflation since the higher rate is paying for a consideration that no longer exists.”

Sean Wempe: “Also part of the problem: absurd pricing from publishers for textbooks and absurd markup, sadly more of a problem in some fields than others.”

Sam R. Byrd: “Fairly simple solution: if enough people stop buying books there, the prices will be reduced to keep pace with the increased pressure from competitors.”

Kyle Everitt: “Unfortunately, for a lot of classes, they require a ‘WSU edition’ which is sold exclusively through The Bookie.”

Cass Iterite: “Our university needs to stop requiring ‘WSU editions’ — it’s a scam. If it’s difficult to grade homework for large lectures, then maybe that points to another problem: ridiculous classroom sizes.”

Nikki Hessner: “Even the difference in price between Crimson & Gray and The Bookie is usually significant.”