RentScouter

We all have these preconceived notions of college being this wonderfully glamorous place that will translate into the best years of our lives. And while that may be true for some, the majority of us get a good whiff of reality when our dollars start dwindling.

The truth is, while college will probably be one of the most memorable times in your life, it is very expensive. It’s not just your tuition; you have to also consider other costs, like transportation, textbooks, food, computers, entertainment, etc.

The costs associated with being a college student, and/or sending your child off to college are rising exponentially. We have ideas of how to save money in college, but here are a few things you may not have thought of:

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College textbook wholesaler and college bookstore chain giant, Nebraska Book Company (NBC), has filed for bankruptcy protection today in Delaware via a recent story on Reuters.

Alan Siemek, Chief Financial Officer, of NBC said:

The relative decline of our campus stores’ performance is due to a combination of online textbook sales, and more recently textbook rental programs, which have been successful in attracting “value shoppers” away from our campus book stores

Really Mr. Siemek?

“Value shoppers” are to be shamed for leaving your higher priced textbooks sitting on the shelves versus buying cheap textbooks online or getting a textbook rental?  No wonder you have been experiencing declining earnings – perhaps you are a little out of touch with college students no longer wanting to pay exorbitant prices for textbooks?

NBC said it lost nearly $100 million in its latest fiscal year on revenue of almost $600 million.  This filling follows only months after Borders Group Inc., the nation’s second largest bookstore chain, filed for bankruptcy in February.  Each company sited mounting debt payments and declining brick and mortar store sales to online book sellers.

According to court filings in Delaware, NBC had $650 million in assets and $560 million in debt as of their initial filings on February 14th, 2011.

Nebraska Book Company was founded in 1915 with a single physical bookstore near the University of Nebraska campus.  Since that humble beginning they currently operate over 280 bookstores on or near college campuses, and remain a large textbook wholesaler to even some of their sited textbook rental competitors.  The main rivals of NBC include Barnes & Noble and partner Follett Higher Education Group in addition to MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc. founded in 1909 in Columbia, Missouri as the Missouri Store Company.

Nebraska claims it has lined up $200 million of new financing to keep operating in bankruptcy while it hopes to get court approval for debt restructuring.

NBC’s textbook buy back site, BookleBerry, suddenly had their cash for textbook prices disappear without warning a few weeks ago – we now know why they stopped offering to buy back textbooks.

I had to re-read a recent article title and pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming.

Amazon has recently sued the National Association of College Stores (NACS) claiming the 3,100 member group supported a monopoly that takes advantage of college students when they buy or sell textbooks.

Amazon is suing someone claiming they are running a monopoly?

Hello kettle?

Amazon who is the constant guerrilla in a monopolistic price war with Barnes&Noble and Walmart for cheap books, low price tablets, or Apple over music download prices wants to complain about monopolistic practices?

Okay, Amazon is basically counter suing after the NACS sought a nonbinding advisory ruling from the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau that certain Amazon ads were misleading and unfounded.  Amazon quickly shut down this action via their legal department because the Better Business Bureau (BBB) cannot continue with inquiries that involve litigation.  What Amazon ads ruffled the feathers of the NACS?

Amazon routinely claims that one can buy textbooks online for cheap, promising new textbooks at up to 30% off list prices and up to 90% for used textbooks.  The NACS seems to be most upset with Amazon’s textbook buyback program where students are selling back textbooks not to the members of the NACS, but rather getting credit with Amazon’s textbook buyback program which is often offering up to 60% or more of the original list price.  While Amazon is only offering credit for textbook buyback, their prices are often much higher than any other company buying used books and paying cash.  However, Amazon sells everything from gourmet food to shoes these days, so Amazon credit is not necessarily a bad thing to offer college students especially since Amazon is pushing their Prime Membership upon the textbook online buying masses.

The great news here is that each side is only trying to protect their bottom line when they could be utilizing those hundred of thousands in lawyer fees to help reduce education costs, but hey, that is just crazy talk.