Even the most unbusinesslike University students have been through a crash course in economics during the past two weeks as they have budgeted whatever funds they have to pay for new books.

One of the most common complaints of University students at the beginning of the semester is that their semiannual book bill is ridiculously large, while at the end of the semester they get just a fraction of their money back.

"It seems absurd that if you have to buy the book and you're just going to sell it back that the price is so high," said Scott Fein (freshman-marketing).

Peter Gracey (sophomore-exercise and sports science) said that last semester he spent almost $200 for his books, but when he sold them back he didn't even get half of that money back.

Laurie Hamilton (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she wishes bookstores would buy more books back at the end of the semester. "I only got $26 back for spending $150," she said.

As much money as students spend on their books, however, it is a minuscule amount in comparison to the colossal tuition bills that they must also pay.

"The situation is that the bookstore is last in the long line of people asking you for money," said Tom Bauer, general manager of the Penn State Bookstore on Campus. Books are actually the "lowest cost of your education," he said.

As for students' complaints that bookstores do not give enough money back at the end of the semester, Bauer said, "This past December we gave out more money than ever. What do you buy in this world that you can use and bring back and get half the money back?"

Although the buy-back procedure is considerably helpful to students, many still wonder why the original prices are so high.

"Sure they're expensive. I agree with them," said Steve Long, manager of University Book Centre, 206 E. College Ave. "Instructors ought to do more research to find a less expensive alternative," he said.

Norm Brown, manager of Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave, said the bookstores are not responsible for the prices of books.

"(The prices) are all established at the publishing houses," Brown said.

Stephen Hochheiser, director of campus markets for Wadsworth Inc., a publishing company that local bookstores use a great deal, said the high price of books comes from a long line of production and sales costs.

The process begins with the publisher paying a professor to develop a manuscript, followed by the company sending out free copies of the finished work to other instructors in the field to encourage them to use the book for their classes, Hochheiser said.

He said the publisher also incurs several other extraneous costs by including teaching aids with the books, such as teachers' manuals, overhead materials and computerized test banks.

Along with a relatively small manufacturing fee, all of these costs add up and in turn are a "burden on the student when it comes to paying for the book," Hochheiser said, adding that there are two ways in which the final price of a book is determined.

A publisher can either suggest a price for a book and give the bookstore a discount, or it can sell the book at its own price and let the retail store determine its own markup, he said.

Bauer said the bookstore on campus makes between 20 percent and 25 percent on each new book that it sells, while used books are sold for 75 percent of their original value.

When it comes to buying the books back, the bookstore will pay students 50 percent of the book's original price if it is being used the following semester, Bauer said. He added that if the book is not being used, then the price is determined purely by used book wholesalers.

Students do have a legitimate complaint, Brown said, adding, "That's why we strive so hard for used books."

While students will always complain about the price of books, Hochheiser said, "The same people who complain about the price of books are the same ones who will buy a $60 sweatshirt, CDs and a keg of beer."