This letter is in response to the article entitled \Foreign Web sites offer students cheaper textbooks,"" which ran on Oct. 22, 2003:
Mr. Simon Davenport could save a lot more money if he forgot about those foreign textbook offers and focused on what's locally available. The WisPIRG Bookswap is far more convenient and less expensive than buying books overseas. Bookswap allows students not only to buy but to sell directly with other students. Since students set their own prices on the books they sell, buyers usually spend less and sellers usually receive more money than if either had used the nookstore or foreign Web sites.
The example given in the article showed how the $95.95 Social Psychology 530 book on a U.S. amazon.com homepage only costs $50.23 on the British homepage. Bookswap, however, can beat this price. It offers the same Social Psychology book anywhere from $25 to $45. And there's no shipping and handling cost.
Unlike foreign providers and the bookstore, WisPIRG makes no profit off this operation. It therefore has no incentive to hike up prices or add unnecessary fees. The thousands of books for sale can be found in Memorial Library Room 116 at the beginning of every semester and on the ever-growing Web site http:/www.campusbookswap.com year-round. Students can also bypass Bookswap by placing their books on this Web site themselves.
So if Mr. Davenport is looking to save his money as well as make some for spring '04, he'd be better off checking out Bookswap first.
Mikaela DeGroot
UW-Madison Freshman
