As we approach the end of the first month of the winter semester, students face a familiar dilemma: scour online platforms for discounted textbooks or pay premium at the bookstore of Humber Polytechnic’s North campus.
When tallying up her textbook costs before the year, fourth-year Justice Studies student, Michaella Thomas, was dumbfounded by the prices. A semester’s worth of textbooks for a full-time student like herself saw a gouging price of $400. “The cost for textbooks is way too expensive,” we already pay for so much on top of tuition like residence, and other fees. Triple digits in dollars for a textbook seems excessive.”
With prices soaring and wallets tightening, the choice between savings and immediacy has never been more pressing.
The average postsecondary student in Canada spends between $500 to $1,000 for textbooks and course materials each semester according to the Canadian Federation of Students. The price seems steep at eight courses for the academic year to be considered a full-time student.
This financial burden pushes many students to seek alternatives, from buying used books to sharing with classmates, and opting for digital versions when available. Some even avoid purchasing certain textbooks altogether, relying instead on library copies or online summaries to get by.
Since students need to gather the required materials for their courses, why are textbooks priced so high at the Humber bookstore? Well, a lot of it has to do with the publishers who produce the books.
“The prices are set by the publishers with little impact from the bookstore.” Says Dharmesh Patel, a store manager at the Humber bookstore. “Alternate services are available to obtain a textbook like online services and rentals, but the prices are pretty much set.”
The Humber bookstore is run by Follett, an American-run company that supplies educational products and services to schools and libraries. It prevents Humber from adjusting their prices to cater to students.
However, the store does offer alternate services to obtain textbooks. “You can purchase second-hand textbooks and even rent some depending on their availability,” says Patel.
Purchasing second-hand course materials can be an issue depending on the limited availability. It’s a service which relies entirely on selling purchased textbooks back to the store. If a large number of students decide not to return these textbooks, it can limit access for students who need them.
As for textbook rentals, the ability to rent or purchase second-hand books is scarcely advertised. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad for the bookstore aside from within eyesight of the physical location itself”, says Bianca Barsan, a third-year kinesiology student.
Conversely, The University of Toronto has its page when it comes to the bookstore by using a parent company for its textbook services. The institute has separate pages with easy access to information on their textbook sell-back program alongside textbook price match guarantee. On Humber’s site, however, students are directed to the store in person for information.
In addition, the trade-off of only having the book for an allotted amount of time and the cheaper price puts its worth in question. To illustrate, a textbook for a third-year media writing class ‘Digging Deeper’ is priced at $125.50 for ownership and $100.40 for rent.
“I’d heard about the bookstore having textbook rentals from a friend. But when I saw the pricing, I was reluctant to rent seems that I could just own the book for a fraction of the price. It doesn’t do enough to take away from the problem of expensive textbooks.” Says Barsan.
In recent years, the emergence of online textbook purchases and rentals has gained widespread popularity due to accessible convenience and affordable pricing.
“I’ve made the switch to only online textbooks even though I’m more of a hard copy person. At the price difference I’ve embraced the change to online textbooks, the price makes it worth it.” Says Thomas.
The previously mentioned textbook, ‘Digging Deeper’. is priced at $70.75 to own and only $45.99 for rental on the popular online textbook website VitalSource, allowing students to save $50.
For those who prefer hard-copy textbooks, there is a physical location for second-hand materials, Scorpio Bookstore, located at 14-106 Humber College Blvd, Etobicoke, offers discounted prices for used textbooks. It is merely an 11-minute walk from the University of Guelph-Humber.
“I’ve been getting my textbooks from Scorpio since first semester last year”, says Barsan. The affordability and availability are what keeps me coming back. Sometimes the Humber bookstore doesn’t even have the textbook I’m looking for.”
Some students are buying textbooks altogether because of such high prices. In fact, a 2025 survey conducted by a task force on open and affordable course content at the University of Guelph, 57 per cent of respondents had at one point decided not to buy the required textbook.
In recent years, post-secondary institutions across Canada have begun to provide a few required course contents using the tool ARES. As a course readings management system, ARES allows library staff to make required textbook materials available for CourseLink students.
The platform can provide access to published content while still adhering to the privacy and copyright laws while ensuring an organized, easy-to-use interface. While it doesn’t solve the problem of affordability since ARES can’t provide the whole textbooks, professors can use the required pages or chapters from
“In my first year I was purchasing at least one book for every course I would take spending hundreds of dollars extra every semester,” says Thomas. “The university has done a great job with its implementation of ARES greatly reducing costs of course material”.
*Photo, Brewbooks, Flickr, Creative Commons License
