With each new semester, students embark on their respective journeys both excited about and dreading their new classes and the workloads they carry. As classes start, there is the joy in seeing new and familiar faces, and the pain in shopping for the latest load of textbooks.
The choices for textbook shopping in Tuscaloosa and online are abundant, and finding a good deal on books is possible. However, running from bookstore to bookstore in search of the cheapest price can be a lot of work.
Benjamin Garner and his friends Nathan Dendy and David Ikard want to eliminate both the work and high price tags that come with textbook shopping.
On Jan. 3, they launched the Web site mybamabooks.com, which promises UA students cheaper textbooks and free delivery.
The three said they thought the endeavor would serve as a profitable filler of the time between their graduation last semester, and the time when they would be able to get jobs elsewhere. Garner got the idea from a friend who attended Samford University in Birmingham and started the Web site samfordbooks.com, which promised cheap textbooks delivered for free, at the beginning of the Fall 2007 semester.
Though he is using the same software as his friend, Garner said he learned a lot through helping his friend with samfordbooks.com, and has been able to avoid some of the problems the first site had.
Students can pull up the site, enter their name, address and phone number along with their class schedules, and the site determines what books they need and assembles a quote containing the total price. Students then choose to accept or reject the quote.
"We're confident that it's going to be cheaper, so we want them to compare," Garner said.
If they accept, Garner said, they can expect to have their book in no more than 2 to 3 days, though some students will have their books the very next day.
Garner said mybamabooks.com is guaranteed to have the lowest price because, on each order, they try to undercut all of the other bookstores in town and because the site works with three suppliers, so their inventory is much bigger than most stores'.
Garner said that if students find that the site does not have the book they need in inventory, they can e-mail him through the Web site about the problem and he will find a copy of the book and deliver it.
"That's our goal," Garner said. "To eliminate all the hassle. You can be sure that whatever you submit we are going to get to you."
Garner said the deliveries can be set up whenever and wherever is convenient for the student, including houses, residence halls, fraternity or sorority houses and even the Ferguson Center.
Students do not pay until their books are delivered, and Garner said cash, checks and credit cards are accepted.
If a student is dissatisfied with a book, Garner said they will do whatever it takes to replace it - even if it means buying it from the SUPe Store. Likewise, if a student finds out they don't need a book they have purchased from the site, they can e-mail Garner and someone will be sent to pick the book up.
Like other bookstores, mybamabooks.com does buybacks at the end of each semester. Garner said they will make sure they offer students the most money in buying back their books.
Students can go back to the site, enter in what books they want to sell back and be presented with another quote on how much the site will pay for their books. Students can then accept or reject this quote, and have the money delivered to them.
Many students already shop online with sites like Amazon.com, Garner said. While students may find their books cheaper online, there is a lot to be unsure about until the moment the books are delivered, he said.
"The biggest thing is you've got to count on Joe Blow off in Minnesota to have the right book in the right condition and then count on him to ship it," Garner said.
Garner said the plan for the site is to get to the point where it's a completely student-run business with he and his friends overseeing it.
For the time being however, as Garner and his friends stood in his garage getting ready to make the first delivery Thursday afternoon, he said the young business is going well.
"We've had a few pretty stressful moments, but nothing hard work couldn't fix," he said.
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