Student-run bookstore increases membership, textbook offerings

Students fed up with high textbook prices now can save money buying and selling directly for free at Where2go4books.com.

"The site can be thought of as an online classified ad system for buying and selling textbooks," said senior Renee Parilak, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society president.

The Web site started as an Integrated Science and Technology 480 eCommerce Technology project developed by Integrated Science and Technology faculty member and IEEE adviser Anthony A. Teate and his students.

ISAT students working on the site took classes in HTML, Visual Basic and Active Server Pages, and did extensive outside-of-class research to give the site advanced functionality.

After designing the site last summer, ISAT and IEEE club alumni handed the project over to the IEEE Computer Society for completion. After several improvements and additions, the site launched just before Thanksgiving. From Dec. 1, 2003, to Jan. 14, 2004, the number of registered users grew from 189 to 1,148, while the number of textbooks available grew from 245 to over 1,400.

"This site is the culmination of hard work by students under my supervision who were motivated to do something good for other students," Teate said.

"It is also representative of the entrepreneurial spirit of the eCommerce Technology course I teach, and the student-centric IEEE Computer Society that I advise," he said.

An easy-to-use interface allows visitors to navigate the site with ease. From the home page, new users can register for free and returning users can log in by clicking on "My Account."

To sell a book, users click on "Sell Books," and then "Add a Book." Next, users fill out a form about their book, describing the condition and their price. Users either can set a fixed price or accept bids. Up to 10 books can be posted for sale on one account at any time.

To find textbooks for sale, users click on "Buy Books," and then select a search method. The database is searchable by title, author, course or professor, and results can be sorted by price, condition or seller.

After finding a textbook, users click on "Add to Want List" to save the book and eliminate repeated searches. From the "My Account" page, users can view books they want to buy and sell, as well as contact sellers of the books using an online e-mail form. To ensure privacy, only the username and e-mail of other users are visible.

"By cutting out the middle man, we created a way for students to deal directly with each other and set their own prices, giving them the freedom to buy and sell textbooks the way they've wanted to for years," Parilak said.

Teate said the Web site has been successful. "Response to the Web site has greatly surpassed our expectations, and we will be upgrading the site's services in the near future," he said.

Future plans for the site include a list of the required textbooks for each course, automatic password retrieval and possibly expanding it to other universities, according to Parilak.

John J. Rheault, director of the JMU Bookstore, had no comment for this story.

Questions' regarding the site or IEEE can be directed to Parilak at parilarm@jmu.edu.

Senior Christopher Crayton, IEEE treasurer, said, "Where2Go4Books.com is like Southwest Airlines — it's a 'no-frills' service for students that don't want to pay the exorbitant prices of the JMU Bookstore."