I think the "old textbooks" complaint is actually due to the books falling off the binding. I had a physics class where one of the books had the teacher's name

I think the "old textbooks" complaint is actually due to the books falling off the binding. I had a physics class where one of the books had the teacher's name in it x_X, and he was near retirement age. When the recession hit a lot of students asked teachers whether the earlier edition texts were still okay for class. Most of my teachers completely understood the situation students are in financially, one teacher went on a tirade against the school's bookstore.