TRENT. The increase, although modest, does not stop the race for textbooks. The start of the school year is just around the corner and young people and families have already started looking for volumes to use in the coming months. From mathematics to economics, from more technical subjects to history and Italian: Trento bookstores have been rolling up their sleeves for weeks now between those who also supply used books and those who, on the other hand, only order new ones. .
“Compared to used goods, we always have a high demand,” explained Simone Chiste del Papiro. – As for the costs, unfortunately they follow inflation: there has been an increase, although, it should be emphasized, it is not very large and we are talking about only a few euros. For example, a book that cost 38 euros last year costs 39.90 today. In any case, I think we are doing better than last summer, even if the key period is from next week to early September. Advice? The sooner we start, the better for all the books. Last year, some copies sold out early and no other copies arrived, but this year there are others that will go on sale in October.”
In short, in addition to lowering the cost, families will also have to deal with the availability of texts: in fact, the demand is always higher, especially for male and female students who are preparing for the first lesson. Therefore, someone has already booked volumes for a long timelong before you go on vacation, have a quiet vacation and start collecting on your return.
“Publishing houses are currently closed, but we advise you to book as soon as possible,” added Anita Zuh from Ancora bookstore. – As for the increase in prices, we are talking about new books, since we do not deal with used ones, we recorded growth from 3% to 5%. Obviously, for a family that can spend up to 400 euros on compiling a list of texts, this has a certain effect. When will the books appear? I highly doubt the kids will have all of this available when school starts.: August is a difficult month given the closures, as well as the fact that some publishers have recently merged and certain shipping and delivery mechanisms now need to be reviewed.”
University students also participate in raises and book searches. finally, as Serena Malpighi of the Drake bookstore testifies: “We have new and used volumes, but in our case, demand is growing towards the end of August and the beginning of September. What is certain is that, especially for those who come from outside the province, the increase in prices does not help: there are books that have risen from 50 to 55 euros, and if we then take into account the high cost of rooms, it becomes clear that the situation not favorable. For our part, we give the opportunity to return purchased new books to pick them up as used, and give students the opportunity to “defer” expenses.”