Booksoncampus.com, a student-run textbook Web site that enables students to sell their textbooks directly to other students, is being launched at Tufts this semester.
Brandeis University undergraduates Mark Kantor and Tim Suzman, along with Suzman's brother Ted, an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, started the Web site in 2003. The Web site is now available to college students nationwide.
Senior Juan Escobar is managing the project at Tufts and helping promote the Web site for students. According to a press release from the company, the Web site has already saved Brandeis students $150,000 on books.
"The guys from Brandeis were looking for representatives on different campuses, and I thought it was a great idea, so we contacted each other," Escobar said.
Escobar said that the current goal of the project is to get students to check if books are available at booksoncampus.com before they go to the bookstore.
"We're a similar size and population to Brandeis, so we're hoping to save students the same amount of money, if not more," he said.
"The online textbook exchange helps students avoid the excessive cost of books from the bookstore," he said. "Students should also be able to sell their books back for more than $10 when the book is worth $80 or $100."
Escobar said that he assumes the bookstore staff is aware of the Web site, but has not spoken to them directly.
Students can register for the site by entering their Facebook.com account and password to avoid the hassle of filling out contact information. They then type in the bar code number on the back of the book, and the Web site will tell them how much to sell it for.
"Then hopefully students who are taking the same class will look up the book, make contact, and meet on campus to exchange," he said.
Escobar has been promoting the Web site at Tufts primarily through post-it flyers reading, "No more bookstore. Buy for less, sell for more."
"I leave them on tables everywhere I go," he said. "When I see them later, people have moved them around and looked at them, which shows they're being seen."
Escobar also recently created a Facebook.com group, now with almost 200 members, to promote the Web site.
"I invite about 100 people each night, including graduate students and undergraduates," he said.
Escobar has also posted flyers in the campus center and in the dorms.
Escobar said that he has seen a positive reaction from Tufts students. "I was sitting at a dinner table the other day and a girl approached me and said that she was excited about the idea," he said.
"It's very hard to get a massive group going, but the support people have been showing is pretty cool," he said.
"If the Web site is easy to use, it sounds like a great idea," freshman Rob Delean said.
"I'd definitely be interested in using the Web site because I've heard that the bookstore is a rip-off," freshman Jess Daniel said. "It sounds awesome."
Sophomore Samriddhi Bhalla said that the site could be a great opportunity for students. "I know a lot of students don't make enough money when they sell their books back to the bookstore, even if they're in good condition," she said.
"This is probably the most crucial year to get name recognition so that in the future, people know what it is," Escobar said. He said that another representative would have to take over after he graduates in order for the Web site to continue at Tufts next year.
