Web-based text vendors try to crack book market

Boasting convenience and lower prices, they try to lure students. Going to a bookstore, waiting in line and even leaving your room to buy textbooks may soon become a thing of the past -- if on-line textbook stores have their way about it. At World Wide Web sites such as BigWords.com, VarsityBooks.com and A1Books.com, students can buy textbooks at prices that are up to 40 percent less expensive than at the University Bookstore, according to a sampling of four common textbook packages conducted by The Daily Pennsylvanian. The price of a new textbook for Biology 101, for example, was $89 at the University Bookstore and averaged $71.93 at three on-line companies that specialize in textbook sales, a difference of $17.07. The average difference in prices of new texts for Calculus 150, Economics 1 and Psychology 1 ranged from $3.44 to $5.52, with the on-line sellers providing the lower price in all instances. Not all of the on-line companies had each of the books, and those that did may have offered somewhat different packages or charged a fee for shipping. Campus Text, a local bookseller that currently operates out of the Christian Association building, offers two of the four texts, and only sells the other two as part of a package. Its price for the Econ book was lower than the bookstore, as well as the two on-line companies that sell it, and its Psych 1 text price fell within the range of the on-line sellers but below the price offered at the bookstore. Penn Bookstore Manager Dwayne Carter said he is not concerned about on-line booksellers hurting his store's business. "Right now, there is a small and exclusive customer base that wants to shop on line," Carter said. "I don't think it is going to affect us initially." Internet booksellers, however, pointed to the added convenience of buying through the Web, even though some consumers encounter slow search engines and worry about flawed security systems on the Web sites. "Standing in line, paying too much and hoping your book is in stock are definitely not required," said Matt Johnson, 23, founder and president of BigWords.com. BigWords.com, launched last September, was designed to offer students a cheaper alternative to the "massive mark-ups," Johnson said. In addition to selling textbooks, BigWords.com rents out the most expensive and most popular texts, such as books for Biology 101 and Psychology 1. They also have a book buy-back program. Books are delivered three to five days after they are ordered, and the shipping -- either through UPS or Airborne Express -- is free. BigWords.com also pays for the shipping for rented or returned books. VarsityBooks.com, another on-line textbook store, sets up accounts for the various schools it supplies. For each of the colleges, the company has a listing of many of its courses complete with the required textbooks. Although Penn is not yet listed, the company's campus representative, College freshman Kusi Hornberger, said it will be by next semester. Until Penn is listed on VarsityBooks.com's Web site, each book must be searched for separately. Unlike BigWords.com, VarsityBooks.com sells only new textbooks and does not have a buy-back program. VarsityBooks.com charges a flat fee for shipping depending on the type of handling necessary. "On-line buying is the wave of the future," Hornberger said. "It's cheaper and it's more convenient to buy from your room." Another Internet-based service, A1Books.com, has been advertising on campus. The company sells both new and "bargain" textbooks. "Bargain" books -- which sell for about 60 percent of the original price -- are not used but are in less-than-perfect condition from the publishers. A1Books.com has a specific page designed for Penn, listing the 10 most popular books ordered by students. The majority of those listed are computer programming and mathematics textbooks. Despite the potential monetary benefits of using on-line bookstores, students may find it difficult to find the necessary texts. The search engines for the sites are often difficult to navigate, and result in multiple unrelated responses to queries. "The best way to search would be to use the ISBN [International Standard Book Number]," Bates said. "But we're working on an advanced search engine to eliminate that 'fuzziness'." Hornberger said that VarsityBooks.com is also working to fix its search engine. Popular on-line bookseller Amazon.com does not focus its efforts on textbooks, but offers them for sale. The prices, however, tend to be the same or more expensive than the University Bookstore. Amazon.com also charges for shipping. University Bookstore's Carter said the bookstore will always have significant advantages over its on-line counterparts. "[The Penn Bookstore's] major advantage is that we take the PennCard [for purchases]," he said. "You can't use your PennCard at the on-line sites or at other booksellers on campus." Though on-line book selling has yet to catch on at Penn, some students say they would not be opposed to it. College sophomore Elaine Woo said she had thought about making such on-line purchases, but would only do so if it were a secure site so that her credit card information wouldn't be compromised. But Engineering junior Andrea Sultenfuss said she probably wouldn't want to buy a textbook in cyberspace. "I'm just not too into buying things on line," she said.