Student entrepreneurs tackle high textbook prices

Once students know about the site, it is not difficult to get them to start using it, Walker said. "We have a very strong product, so once people see the product, they react really strongly to it," he said.

That said, spreading the word across campuses nationwide is GetchaBooks.com's hardest task right now, according to White. At Tufts, the campus on which the start−up has had the most success, Mondello spent the mornings of Undergraduate Orientation stationed near the campus bookstore, wearing an oversized sombrero and a sign advertising cheap textbooks. At Bard College, where White is now a student, he advertises using word of mouth. On several other campuses, GetchaBooks.com has a representative or two to keep students informed about the enterprise. But low−cost advertising within a competitive market is difficult, they said.

"The main problem is marketing. Basically, [in a rep], we look for people who are passionate about getting students cheap books," White said. "Right now, it's just a couple [of] relatives and friends at some of the other schools. It started with Tufts and Bard, but we interestingly have one guy at Babson [College], which is known for entrepreneurship and business, and we've been doing very well there. We're certainly still getting off the ground."