“TextbookX.com, a peer-to-peer electronic marketplace for buying
and selling used college textbooks, said it will offer UPS
Online Tools to track shipments between buyer and sellers.
The Web-based tools enable students to print labels, compare
prices, and arrange shipments from their personal computers.
Brian Jacobs, president of TextbookX.com parent company Akademos,
said tracking is important because when students buy textbooks
online, they need to know they will get them on time. ‘Many
textbooks are required reading before exams, and a late or
lost book can have a serious impact on a student’s coursework,’
he said.
The UPS services will also give sellers confidence they will
be paid promptly for delivered packages, he added.
Jacobs, a former Cornell University professor, said he
started the business to use the Internet to “democratize”
opportunities for students in higher education. He noted
that according to the Government Accountability Office,
college textbook prices tripled from 1986 to 2004, going
up by more than twice the rate of inflation.”
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