Students from USC to NYU Discover Huge Selection and Great Prices Online at Half.com
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Jan 4, 2002--According to the National Association of College Stores 2001 Industry Financial Report, college students will spend an average of $370-$390 this academic year on textbooks. For savvy students who want to spend less than that, Half.com has developed an area of its site dedicated solely to the buying and selling of textbooks. Those who shop at Half.com for textbooks this semester will find a vast selection of used textbooks at low prices. In fact, an average used textbook sells for $17.34 on eBay`s Half.com, compared to the average $68.00 retail price of a new book.
''Last January, we noticed tremendous growth in textbook selling and buying. It became so popular, we created a section of the site dedicated solely to textbooks in August. The fact that the growth has been driven primarily by `word-of-mouth` underscores the huge demand from college students for used textbooks at reasonable prices,'' said Mark Harrington, director of Marketing and Merchandising at eBay`s Half.com.
''I bought books for some of my classes, used them, and then I sold them back on Half.com for more money than I initially paid,'' said Michael Abolafia, a senior at the University of Maryland. ''It`s a great way to earn some extra money after classes are finished.'' Individual sellers represented 78 percent of all textbooks orders sold in the 2001 fall semester.
Textbooks can be found in Half.com`s Student Center by going to http://student.half.com. It features an ISBN search, so students can easily find the exact book required for a class; students can also search Half.com`s selection of 14 million books by class subject, author or title. The Student Center also includes other popular reasonably-priced student items, including PDAs, MP3 players, Webcams, computer equipment, and video games.
About eBay`s Half.com
The award-winning Half.com, an eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) (http://www.ebay.com) company, is the largest fixed-price person-to-person marketplace on the Internet, where people can easily buy and sell new, used, and refurbished products, combining the bargains of an auction with the ease of purchasing from a retailer.
Founded in July 1999, it is one of the most visited shopping sites on the Internet, and through its ever-growing community of sellers, offers more than 100 million items for sale in hundreds of product categories. Half.com`s phenomenal growth and complementary business model drew the attention of eBay, The World`s Online Marketplace(TM), which acquired Half.com in July 2000. eBay`s Half.com can be reached on its Web site at www.half.com.
Note to Editors: Half.com is a trademark of Half.com Inc. Visit http://www.half.com for all details. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Source: National Association of College Stores average purchase price for four new texts in spring 2000.
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