Daily Texan Staff
Following Texas Textbooks' announcement Tuesday that it was going out of business and the University Co-Op's acquisition of Bevo's Bookstores about two weeks ago, students may need to find an alternate book buyback source in upcoming weeks.
As a solution, the Texas Union and the Department of Computer Sciences are sponsoring www.TEXbooks.com, a Web site on which students can post ads to sell their books, receive e-mails when books are posted and search by department to buy other students' books and the services are free. Books that are posted for more than one semester are automatically deleted.
Brent Cook, Texas Union Web master and computer science senior, said the site offers competition to the Co-Op's used book prices.
"This is a good way to try to beat the Co-Op's prices to get better prices for your books," Cook said. "It definitely gives the Co-Op a run for the money on used book prices."
Cook said the service is intended for UT students, but there is no check within the system to determine whether users are from the University.
Before the site was started in 1995, the Texas Union Business Interests Committee was running a paper-based book exchange service. TEXbooks has had over 2,000 books posted for sale, and at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters, it receives hundreds of hits a day, said Emery Berger, a computer sciences doctoral candidate who developed the program.
Berger said the site has been the official UT textbook online exchange since its creation.
"It made sense to have something on the Web where people could post things," Berger said.
Although Berger is no longer taking classes, he said he has saved money selling some books through the service rather than through a bookstore.
"When you go and sell books yourself, you get more money than you would at the Co-Op, and nobody's making money off it ... there's no middle-man," Berger said.
The site is linked from the UT main Web site at the beginning of each semester and is also linked from the UT student academic site and search engines.
Because the site runs from the department of computer sciences, it doesn't have any expenses unless the Union uses advertising to reach students.
Lance Turner, an accounting senior, said he has saved money on buying and selling books on the site.
"When I post a book, I'll price it in between what you would have to pay for it new and what I could get it for," Turner said. "I'm not looking for the biggest buyer but just for something more fair than you could get elsewhere to help both people out."
Students may also post book sales in The Daily Texan for $5 to appear in the May 2 Final Exam Schedule Tab.
Other sources to for buybacks can be found at www.textbooks.com, www.varsitybooks.com, www.textbooksatcost.com, www.ecampus.com and www.coop-bookstore.com.
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