Web Site Competes For Textbook Market

Buying and selling college textbooks was probably my least favorite part of my collegiate experience. I always had the feeling that I was being royally ripped off on both ends of the deal. Both the purchase and the buy back of textbooks seemed shady. Knowing that you were probably paying too much and that when you went to sell the book back you would be lucky to get a fraction if anything for what you paid. There are a whole slew of sites that sell used textbooks from Amazon.com to chegg.com The goal of the Web site is to provide cheaper alternatives for textbooks and other school supplies that students purchase. Chegg Chief Executive Officer Osman Rashid said, "The used textbook business has been wildly profitable for retailers. Our whole notion is to save some money for students." Josh Carlson who was a student at the time founded the company in 2001 at Iowa State University. It grew last fall and is focused on select universities and groups of schools. The company is in a crowded field of competitors but hopes that recent mergers will strengthen it's over all market presence. To illustrate how difficult it could be to become a viable online textbook retailer I scanned some posts on this subject. One Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Mike is a staff writer for Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.