An up-and-coming student textbook initiative created by a first year UW-Madison law student is set to hit campus soon.
The initiative, co-created by student Steve Walker, will allow students to virtually connect with one another to buy and sell books on a website he and his friends produced.
What we're giving people allows [students] to avoid the bookstore, which is what gives the high prices,"" Walker said. ""Students can pay a lot less and then get a lot more when they sell them back.""
Walker began his initiative as an undergraduate at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. After doing well in various business competitions, he decided to launch it upon arriving in Madison.
To finish implementing the program, Walker said he needs to complete the website and begin advertising through fliers and Facebook groups.
Although the initiative has potential to be an effective and cost-saving option for students, State Street's University Book Store and Underground Textbook Exchange do not foresee a loss in sales.
According to Steve Scheibel, textbook department manager at University Book Store, peer-to-peer bulletin boards are nothing new and have always been implemented into bookstore budgets.
""If you knew the person across the hall from you was taking a course you were taking in the fall, you would sell your book to them,"" Scheibel said. ""Peer-to-peer has always been a factor that we take into account. It's out there, it happens.""
Sean Owen, manager of Underground Textbook Exchange, said since the Internet has become more widespread, the store has always had to consider it competition.
According to Owen, with an established business like the Underground Textbook Exchange, there is a refund policy students can always fall back on.
""I think a lot of students will still go with that level of comfort,"" he said.
For Walker, his goal is to get as many people visiting the site as possible.
""The more people we get on the site, the better it is,"" he said. ""The more books that are on there, the more books people have to buy, and they're going to be happy with what we're giving.
