Marketing and all things related

Now you might think that prices are rising as a result of the energy crisis, and you would be right, naturally. But rising energy prices pale in comparison to the cost of college textbooks, which have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation every year since 1986 (hint—that’s for twenty years now.) Various studies report that college textbooks cost about $ 900 per year for the average college student. Fortunately, a Minnesota start-up company called Freeload Press has decided to compete with the big three college textbook publishers (Thomson, Pearson, and McGraw-Hill) by offering more than 100 college titles for free. The books are primarily titles for the business curriculum, and the zilch pricing plan is supported by advertisers including FedEx Kinko’s and Pure Vida coffee. These ads and the price break are just the ticket for cash strapped students. Participation requires that students complete a brief survey, and then the books are available as print-enabled PDF files. We learned about this from The Associated Press. Photo Credit: Freeload Press