<p>When I mentioned bookstores, I was primarily thinking of the for-profit stores like B&N (a store I love, by the way). They ARE the bookstore on many college campuses, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that they strategized with publishers to increase profits. Again - I don’t have any evidence that they have, so I’m not accusing them.</p>
<p>But I was curious about the issue, so I did a little google digging. Apparently, some profs and university admins might be more culpable than I thought. For example, universities sometimes get a part of the profits from the bookstore in a sort of kickback arrangement. And some universities require students to buy custom editions of a book which are significantly more expensive, but which not significantly different. (In one example, the custom book included a few pages about the college that were available for free from the college’s website). That still doesn’t put the university in cahoots with the publisher, but they do seem to have a common interest insofar as the publisher, bookstore and university all benefit from higher prices.</p>
<p>I never personally knew a prof or college who engaged in these tactics, however.</p>