All across America students are howling about the prices of textbooks.
Felipe Dominguez is trying to do something about it.
His website is the first shot in a revolution the Southwestern College business major is trying to ignite. Other students are enlisting. SWC students can sell or purchase textbooks and calculators at swcpinpost.com, cutting costly middleman out of the equation.
“The point of the website is to help the students that are already posting their ads around school and craigslist,” Dominquez said.
Upon entering the website there is a list of classes and images of books for sale. Frightening stories about dangerous encounters on craigslist are driving thousands of students back to the campus bookstore and Otay Books for safety reasons even though both stores are much more expensive.
“From a business point of view, I think it’s unethical,” said Dominguez, 21, “(The campus bookstore is) taking advantage of the situation when it gives you $5 for a book that originally cost $100.”
Dominguez said buying books for school is an investment and becomes a business when students begin marketing and advertising their textbooks.
Krista Garrigus, 21, a psychology major, said she avoids high prices with websites such as half.com and campusbookrentals.com.
“I feel that my way [of buying books] is saving me money,” she said. “I shop around and check prices before I rent or buy.”
While online buying can save money, time spent waiting for books to arrive causes stress and can hurt grades, said Matthew Schwimmer, a philosophy major, who still prefers the bookstore.
“I could probably save a few dollars if I bought my books online,” he said, “but I would have to wait for the books to get to me.”
SWC’s bookstore is trying to lure students with Bookswap. Students may enter the ISBN of the book s/he wants to buy or sell. Dominguez said he is not a fan. BookSwap is not “open,” he said. Whereas pinpost has a list of the books available, BookSwap does not.
“We’re not trying to take the market from the bookstore,” he said. “We’re just trying to take the market that is already there, the people posting on the walls and Craigslist. They are looking for alternatives to the bookstore.”
As a hopeful entrepreneur, Dominguez started the ambitious project with Griffin about five months ago and has provided the website at no cost to students. Although it targets SWC, it is not limited to SWC students.
“We’re trying to start a revolution,” said Dominguez.
He said he hopes pinpost.com becomes a nationwide occurrence one day, but first he wants the endorsement of the SWC ASO.
“The ASO is the voice of the students and we want that support,” he said.
ASO or no, the website is up and running. To ensure privacy Dominguez requires a profile for posting and purchasing.
“This would keep resources inside the school and benefit both students and teachers,” said Garrigus.
Pinpost can also recycle course readings and other professor-generated materials. Schwimmer said students need to have access to assigned reading materials.
“What’s good for the students is good for the school,” said Schwimmer. “As long as the students have what they need to do well in class and they get those things at an honest price, then they, and therefore the school, will benefit.”