--- Forwarded Message from "Read Gilgen" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 09:56:45 -0500
>From: "Read Gilgen" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Cheng-Tsui Pricing

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Has anyone had dealings with Cheng-Tsui?  We have a new Chinese prof who needs the tapes to accompany his text book ("Integrated Chinese" from Cheng-Tsui).  We think the prices are outrageous.  For just the first semester, the student cost for the four (4!) cassette tapes is $53.  Second semester is only three tapes for $43.  And second year (two semesters) is $83.  In other words, over two years of Chinese a student would be asked to pay nearly $170 just for the tapes.

OK, so we go to the language lab model and buy a set to be copied for students.  They now want to charge a different language lab fee of $440 for the same sets.

This seems quite out of step with other publishers.  We don't charge student lab fees, so these costs hit us hard.  I can imagine it would be worse at smaller schools with correspondingly smaller budgets.  And if we were forced to do this with all of the languages we teach (nearly 50 any given semester)... well I think you can see the problem. 

Unfortunately this prof didn't speak with us first to explore alternatives, so we'll be forced to go along.  (Also, unfortunately, he's here only a year until the regular prof returns to use his own materials.)  But I just wanted to get reactions from others of you.

Read Gilgen
University of Wisconsin