With a new state law that mitigates textbook prices and a wealth of buying and renting options online, buying books each semester can hopefully be a less stressful -- and less financially draining -- experience. The financial relief hasn't come a moment too soon.

If this law works out the way it seems to be planned, individuals will be able to moderate prices at the level that always proved to be most difficult -- the publisher. Publishing companies will now have to inform buyers of previous copyright dates, and also outline major differences between old and new versions of books. Bundling textbooks with supplemental materials in an effort to bump up the price will also become a thing of the past.

As students, we appreciate the attention lawmakers have paid to the problems that have plagued us when purchasing books. We hope that the law will make headway in lowering the ever-climbing textbook prices.

We must be leery of legislative intervention into private industry, though, because there are often unintended consequences that come back to bite the consumer. It is the nature of the free market for business to maximize profit, and they may find ways to skirt laws they feel limit their ability to do so. For instance, if textbook companies can no longer bundle books and materials, will they simply raise the prices on both to make up for the lost revenue?

One can assume the next logical step would be to place a cap on prices, but then wouldn't this simply drive textbook companies out of business, limiting supply and making price hikes necessary once again?

We are also excited, however, about the fledgling textbook stores that are forming online.

There's certainly a bumper crop of options available for the web-savvy student looking to buy used books online without doing damage to the wallet.

Chegg.com was the first we heard of renting books, and the premise seems like a logical option.

These market-based solutions provide students, the consumers, with reasonably priced alternatives, as well as create an incentive for the major textbook companies to find ways to produce books at lower prices.