Did you know that textbooks have the high margin that cigarettes and banks have (see the chart http://www.raygunreports.com/blog/textbooks-beat-banks-on-profit-margin)? A new company launching this week has as its mission to end the price gouging of higher education textbooks.
Raygun, a new Chicago based company, will be launching to the public with something never done before – detailed reports that show students whether they need a current edition of a textbook or can get the same information out of a previous edition, avoiding unnecessary spending and saving up to 95% in textbook costs. To introduce the company to its core audience of college students, Raygun announces the#TheTextbookIsInnocent social media initiative.
#TheTextbookIsInnocent Campaign
Ever used a textbook for something other than genuine education?
Students are asked to post photos of alternative uses of textbooks in order to win free iPads (3 winners). Students can post pictures with the hashtag #TheTextbookIsInnocent on Twitter, Instagram, or Raygun’sFacebook page. (See official rules for entry)
The contest runs from August 16th through September 28th and winners will be announced on October 1st on the Raygun Facebook page
Raygun estimates that students entering college could pay up to $81.30/ month for 5 years simply to cover textbooks. A chain of price gouging starts with the publisher and ends with the bookstore, which commands a profit margin akin to what cigarette makers and Healthcare REITs enjoy. Raygun is breaking that chain by providing students with the information and transparency they need to stop paying for new, overpriced textbooks and still have the books they need to excel in school.
Raygun exposes the differences (or lack thereof) between new and previous editions of widely used college textbooks in their C.L.O.N.E. Reports. New textbooks are carefully compared to their cheaper, previous edition counterparts for any differences in content, figures, and problem sets. C.L.O.N.E. Reports track if there are any discrepancies and, if there are, provide links to the new concepts and content online. Chicago based founders Aaron Priest and Adam Seithel, recent grad school students themselves, truly believe in higher education and founded Raygun as a way to bring college costs down. Adam and Aaron firmly believe that students can buy an older edition of a textbook, with a C.L.O.N.E. Report, and do as well academically as students who buy new editions. More information at www.raygunreports.com
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