# Is it considered impolite in the US to take a college course and buy the textbook elsewhere? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384 "2010-09-02T14:15:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/21 "2010-09-02T19:03:06Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > [@Voyager](#): > > > > You also kept the book from other people, not in the class, who might have wanted to reference it. If I were the librarian, I’d institute fines that escalated exponentially with time overdue to prevent this rather obnoxious behavior. > > Please explain why other people not in the class were entitled to have the book, but not me. Seriously? Everyone is entitled to the book. No one person, you or anyone else, is entitled to it alone for a whole semester. As **Voyager** said, the fine system at the library should have been amended for people like you. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/22 "2010-09-02T19:24:45Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Seriously? Everyone is entitled to the book. No one person, you or anyone else, is entitled to it alone for a whole semester. As **Voyager** said, the fine system at the library should have been amended for people like you. I’m still not seeing the problem. I was just as entitled as anyone else to check out the book, and like anyone else I was entitled to keep the book the entire semester so long as I was willing to pay the fine. I wasn’t asking for nor did I expect to be treated any differently than any other student using the library. I had just as much right to use the book as anyone else, and keeping a library book past its due date hardly something to feel embarassed or guilty about, especially if you’re actually using the book. You got any other trivial issues you want to make a fuss about? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/23 "2010-09-02T19:34:21Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > [@Voyager](#): > > > > You also kept the book from other people, not in the class, who might have wanted to reference it. If I were the librarian, I’d institute fines that escalated exponentially with time overdue to prevent this rather obnoxious behavior. > > Please explain why other people not in the class were entitled to have the book, but not me. The purpose of a library is to make books available to all its users for a relatively short period of time, as set by the due date and allowed renewals. I was thinking more of people not in your class who might want to look at it - anyone in your class doing the same thing is just as guilty. Perhaps librarians should mark all current textbooks as reference books, which typically cannot be borrowed. That would work even better. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/24 "2010-09-02T19:36:42Z")
> [@robert\_andrews](#): > > I registered for a class at the local community college for this fall, and found that the class textbook was available on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) at half of what the college bookstore wanted. The college bookstore, iirc, is actually run by Barnes and Noble, but I don’t know whether they just pay flat rent to the school for the storefront on campus, or whether or not the school gets a cut of every sale. I bought the book on amazon, eschewing the campus bookstore. > > Do you think this was impolite? I know that state schools are struggling nowadays with funding troubles, and was wondering if I am seriously contributing to the problem. Now, I seriously doubt that there is anything in the student handbook that states that eschewing the campus bookstore for a competitor constitutes a conduct violation, and even if it did, I might be able to convince a judge to either toss it out or give me a cash settlement for an unfair disciplinary practice. It’s also totally rude not to tip your TA at the end of each class. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/25 "2010-09-02T19:39:20Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@Voyager](#): > > > > You also kept the book from other people, not in the class, who might have wanted to reference it. If I were the librarian, I’d institute fines that escalated exponentially with time overdue to prevent this rather obnoxious behavior. > > I agree. Unless there were a few other copies of the textbook in the library generally available for others to use, that is bullshit behavior. Gosh, it sure is a shame that faculty can’t identify in advance library holdings that are likely to be highly sought after by students as co-curricular resources and instruct the library to hold them in—well, I guess you would call it “reserve”—and not circulate them during the semester. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/26 "2010-09-02T19:49:33Z")
> [@](#): > > You also kept the book from other people, not in the class, who might have wanted to reference it. If I were the librarian, I’d institute fines that escalated exponentially with time overdue to prevent this rather obnoxious behavior. At my school, graduate students can check out a book from the library for an entire year, with no overdue at all. They’re there for everyone to use, but the person who’ll get the most use out of it is someone taking the class. And every faculty member I’ve ever met has encouraged their students to get textbooks as cheaply as legally possible. I’ve heard of, but never met, professors who would require their own book for their own profit, but those folks are jerks, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/27 "2010-09-02T20:21:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Until Amazon came around campus bookstores had a near monopoly. They still have the great advantage of knowing which books are going to be used and the size of the market. If they can’t make money given that, they need to revise their business plan. College bookstores are starting to fight back against Amazon (& other online booksellers) – and not fairly, by competing on price or service. Instead they are trying to lock out the other booksellers, and put pressure on the instructors & students. A college professor friend mentioned these techniques by the college bookstore:[ul] [li]Pressure on the instructor to NOT release the titles of textbooks until late (like only 10 days to a week before the first class). Short enough timeframe to make it difficult for an online order to arrive in time[/li][li]Pressure on the instructor to provide a pamphlet of specific notes, problems, etc., which are copied and sold only as a package with the textbook.[/li][li]Notifying the instructor that ‘since there are 24 students registered for your fall class, we have ordered 24 copies of the text’. And then complaining to the instructor if less than 24 are sold. Complaining to the Department Head about this, as if it were the instructor’s fault.[/li][li]Pushing instructors to choose textbooks that are NOT in the college library. And pushing the library to NOT purchase textbooks for the collection.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/28 "2010-09-02T21:10:49Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > I’m still not seeing the problem. > > I was just as entitled as anyone else to check out the book, and like anyone else I was entitled to keep the book the entire semester so long as I was willing to pay the fine. I wasn’t asking for nor did I expect to be treated any differently than any other student using the library. > > I had just as much right to use the book as anyone else, and keeping a library book past its due date hardly something to feel embarassed or guilty about, especially if you’re actually using the book. You got any other trivial issues you want to make a fuss about? You were gaming the system at the expense of your fellow students. I’m all for gaming the system too but not at the expense of others. If you don’t see that, then I’m not going to be able to convince you. You seem to be getting a little defensive so you must think that there is a kernel of truth in what I am saying. The fine system of the library isn’t designed for your game and you took advantage of it. Congratulations. > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Gosh, it sure is a shame that faculty can’t identify in advance library holdings that are likely to be highly sought after by students as co-curricular resources and instruct the library to hold them in—well, I guess you would call it “reserve”—and not circulate them during the semester. You make a good point. That is what should have happened. It’s been a while since I have been a student and I had forgotten about that. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/29 "2010-09-02T21:18:10Z")
I was a Spanish major, and most of the classes in my major were literature classes with less than 15 people in them. The bookstore didn’t even offer our books! Luckily, we were in NYC, so we had lots of options. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/30 "2010-09-02T21:29:56Z")
“Impolite”? Of course not. In a free-market economy, you should always go by what makes the best economic sense for _you_. You are under no obligation to spend extra money in order to support the state. Only fools and people who waited too late to buy books and now can’t wait for shipping buy books from the school bookstore. If you have any sense at all, you’ll shop online. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/31 "2010-09-02T21:47:43Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > … > A college professor friend mentioned these techniques by the college bookstore… Or a combination of these tactics screw over the students as follows (a regular occurrence at University of Washington): –Professor posts textbook reqts only a few days before class start. –Bookstore under-orders new books, claiming that they need to save money due to high supply of used books, but plenty are always available. –Student goes to bookstore where not enough new books were ordered, and the mythical used-book supply doesn’t exist. –Half the class doesn’t have textbooks for the first two weeks and are forced to buddy-up. They end up ordering from [half.com](http://half.com) or amazon anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/32 "2010-09-02T22:00:22Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > My enterprising young self bought the books from Amazon like I was in the habit of doing, then sold them back to the bookstore at a profit. What you did is described as an arbitrage. Enough people do it enough times and the market will find away to close the arb. I.e. the price on Amazon will increase due to the increased demand for books being sold back to the bookstore at a higher price. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/33 "2010-09-02T22:02:02Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > “Impolite”? Of course not. In a free-market economy, you should always go by what makes the best economic sense for _you_. You are under no obligation to spend extra money in order to support the state. Yet for some reason, there are a lot of people that think the State has every right to take my extra money to support those that don’t have it. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/34 "2010-09-02T22:25:45Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > > [@Kyla](#): > > > > “Impolite”? Of course not. In a free-market economy, you should always go by what makes the best economic sense for _you_. You are under no obligation to spend extra money in order to support the state. > > Yet for some reason, there are a lot of people that think the State has every right to take my extra money to support those that don’t have it. Yeah, that’s different. Free-market economy =! no social programs. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/35 "2010-09-02T22:30:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > > > Please explain why other people not in the class were entitled to have the book, but not me. > > The purpose of a library is to make books available to all its users for a relatively short period of time, as set by the due date and allowed renewals. I was thinking more of people not in your class who might want to look at it - anyone in your class doing the same thing is just as guilty. > > Perhaps librarians should mark all current textbooks as reference books, which typically cannot be borrowed. That would work even better. You still haven’t explained why I should not have had access to the books for the period of time that I kept them. Unless books are cataloged or on reserve (i.e. unrenewable because others have made a request for that specific item) they are available to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. Guess what? “Anyone” includes me. If the book reaches the end of its renewability and I want to keep the item a while longer, I have the option of keeping it and paying the fine. And that option is entirely legitimate; it isn’t illegal or immoral and there was no egregious violation of library policy in doing so. When I worked at a public library, we routinely advised patrons that they had the option of keeping a book or other item and paying the fine when it could no longer be renewed. The fact that it was “unavailable to other students” does not matter. I had just as much right to use it as they did, and there was no unusual demand for those books. I really don’t know why you are so determined to take offense at a working class kid who had to pinch every penny until it screamed to get a degree. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/36 "2010-09-02T22:39:30Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > You were gaming the system at the expense of your fellow students. I’m all for gaming the system too but not at the expense of others. If you don’t see that, then I’m not going to be able to convince you. You seem to be getting a little defensive so you must think that there is a kernel of truth in what I am saying. The fine system of the library isn’t designed for your game and you took advantage of it. Congratulations. “The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.” Macaulay—_History of England._ Vol. I. Ch. II. (shrug) See my remarks to Voyager. I see no kernel of truth in anything you’ve said, and it appears you are merely indulging yourself in the Puritanical pleasure of condemning others. Get back to me when you can explain why other library patrons had more right to use the books than I did. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/37 "2010-09-02T22:49:11Z")
We’re not going to agree on this. Such is life. I see your point but I don’t agree. Do you really and truly not understand mine? If you don’t understand my point then you are just being willfully stupid. It’s certainly reasonable to disagree with it though. I largely put my self through undergrad and totally put myself through grad school. I had to miss the occasional meal to do it. I know what it’s like. This “Puritanical pleasure” shit is just insane. Do you get off on being a martyr all the time? This is a forum on a message board specifically dedicated to people giving their opinions. If you don’t want to read people disagreements with you, you probably shouldn’t post it here. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/38 "2010-09-02T23:07:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > We’re not going to agree on this. Such is life. I see your point but I don’t agree. Do you really and truly not understand mine? If you don’t understand my point then you are just being willfully stupid. It’s certainly reasonable to disagree with it though. I understand your point. I just think it’s dumb. In every case, I had to renew those books twice before the fines kicked in, and not once were any of them on reserve. Your claim that others were somehow wrongly deprived of their use rings hollow. > [@hajario](#): > > I largely put my self through undergrad and totally put myself through grad school. I had to miss the occasional meal to do it. I know what it’s like. This “Puritanical pleasure” shit is just insane. Do you get off on being a martyr all the time? This is a forum on a message board specifically dedicated to people giving their opinions. If you don’t want to read people disagreements with you, you probably shouldn’t post it here. I’m not claiming martyr status here. I’m just kind of disgusted and amused that someone would work himself up into a high dudgeon because I kept some library books three or four weeks past their due dates a quarter of a century ago. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/39 "2010-09-03T00:22:58Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > > [@Kyla](#): > > > > “Impolite”? Of course not. In a free-market economy, you should always go by what makes the best economic sense for _you_. You are under no obligation to spend extra money in order to support the state. > > Yet for some reason, there are a lot of people that think the State has every right to take my extra money to support those that don’t have it. I don’t know of any campus bookstores owned by the state. If they were, perhaps they would set policies of benefit to the students being served and not their owners. But government never does anything right, right? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384/40 "2010-09-03T00:35:37Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > You still haven’t explained why I should not have had access to the books for the period of time that I kept them. Unless books are cataloged or on reserve (i.e. unrenewable because others have made a request for that specific item) they are available to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. Guess what? “Anyone” includes me. If the book reaches the end of its renewability and I want to keep the item a while longer, I have the option of keeping it and paying the fine. And that option is entirely legitimate; it isn’t illegal or immoral and there was no egregious violation of library policy in doing so. When I worked at a public library, we routinely advised patrons that they had the option of keeping a book or other item and paying the fine when it could no longer be renewed. The fact that it was “unavailable to other students” does not matter. I had just as much right to use it as they did, and there was no unusual demand for those books. > > I really don’t know why you are so determined to take offense at a working class kid who had to pinch every penny until it screamed to get a degree. My county public library allows me to renew books I have out on-line - so long as no one else wants them. If you were renewing this book and no one else ever wanted it, I would have no problem. If you don’t understand why it is wrong to keep an unknown number of students from getting access to the book because you want to save money, there is not much I can say. Would you return it if you knew someone else wanted it for a day or two, or would it be tough luck? Do you think it would be right if they had to buy a copy for a few day’s use so you could avoid buying one for a full term’s use? I’m not a librarian but I’d assume that fines are defined somewhat in relation to the cost of the average book in the library. Since the text costs a lot more, you are getting a bargain at the expense of your fellow students (and not the ones in your class.) What we really need is a troop of jack-booted librarians breaking down his door and rescuing the book, if you ask me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-considered-impolite-in-the-us-to-take-a-college-course-and-buy-the-textbook-elsewhere/552384.md?page=3)