Can Faculty Help Lower the Cost of Course Materials?  YES!!

TW Outfitters operates on a cost recovery basis while maintaining affordable course materials for students. We recommend the following practices to faculty to help lower the cost of course materials.
 

Good

Re-Adopt: When faculty reuse the same textbooks, we are able to buy used books from students. Buyback puts thousands of dollars back into student's pockets each year and ensures used books are available for the next semester. We're saving students money on both ends. 

Plus, when faculty notify us before the deadline of a readoption, we avoid returning unsold copies of books. This reduces our shipping costs, which means savings for students.

Order On Time: When you submit your textbook adoptions by the deadline, it allows us the maximum time to get materials in time for the first day of class. Late adoptions mean we don't have time to resolve problems like out of print, Canadian copyright hurdles, new editions, shipping delays, etc. Also, used textbooks are in limited quantity so we need to order early to have enough for copies for the next semester.
 

Better

Avoid Publisher Custom Books: Custom books created by publishers are usually more expensive than normal textbooks and the return policy is only 10-15% of the original order, which can result in thousand sof dollars that your department would be responsible for. 

Reconsider Bundling: Bundles including the book and access code don't necessarily translate to savings for students. Before you adopt a required book in a bundle, you can always talk to us to ensure this is the best financial option for students. Publishers don't make money on used books to they try to prohibit the sale of used books by offering the book with an access code, but if you do not require the access code, we can make used copies available.
 

Best

Course Packs: Faculty selects relevant material from a variety of sources including articles, paragraphs, chapters of books, etc. You submit a clean PDF of the documents and we research and pay the required copyright fees. The package is printed locally, keeping shipping costs low and preventing costs associated with over ordered and unsold books. In addition, course packs save your students money because the everything is available in one book.