Borders opens up textbook marketplace

Book giant could start textbook war as it offers discounts of up to 90% off used textbooks

Financial trends and news by Bambi Francisco Roizen
July 21, 2010 | Comments (2)
Short URL: http://vator.tv/n/10be

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College students are going to enjoy a lot of savings this new school year, as Borders is offering a 90% discount off of used textbooks.

Yep. Amid a boom in textbook-rental sales, Borders on Wednesday unveiled its strategy to grab some market share of students seeking bargains by creating "Borders Textbook Marketplace" for new and used textbooks. The marketplace, created in partnership with Alibris, will offer college, high school, middle and elementary school textbooks and some textbooks used for homeschooled children.

The new service features more than 1.4 million titles, with used textbooks savings of up to 90%.

In addition, students can earn extra cash by using the site's textbook buyback option. The buyback option allows students to offload the book, much like they would if they'd rented the book.

But Borders, at the moment, doesn't offer textbook rental. It wouldn't be surprising if the marketplace opening is just the first step.

After all, textbook rentals are exploding.

The textbook rental market is growing at 300%, according to Mehdi Maghsoodnia, CEO of BookRenter, one of the leading book rental players. The other player is Chegg, which is estimated to be dominating this fast-growing sector is estimated to be generating some $130 million in sales. 

 


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Comments

Comment_gbg
Mike Clear, on July 28, 2010

I like http://www.TextbookStop.com because you can do textbook rentals or buy all your books in one shopping cart. They also ship really fast. I've tried a couple of marketplaces, but you never know who is selling the book on the other end. Which might mean you're waiting till October to get a book...


Comment_gbg
green textbooks, on September 4, 2010

Great info I would also suggest using GreenTextbooks.org
Save Money, Save The Planet

GreenTextbooks.org specializes in the recycling of textbooks, DVDs, CDs. Buying used textbooks not only saves you money, but cuts down on greenhouse gases caused by the manufacturing of new textbooks.
With GreenTextbooks.org you're not only saving trees, you are saving some green. http://www.GreenTextbooks.org


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