college text books, a business that will be changed forever

[davidshull]

for those of you who have bought and sold text books, I know you cringe to even think about the end of a semester and that the words "rip off" come to mind.
I have successfully identified a system and process utilizing technology and creative marketing to take a multi-billion dollar industry and flip it upside-down.

Think about it...how many college students do you know that are happy when they sell their textbooks back and get about 20% of what they paid?
That's correct, while they are happy to get the cash, they ALL have the feeling that they got ripped off.

So can you see the opportunity in a billion dollar industry with Extremely unhappy customers that is dominated by School bookstores who don't care what the students think and local mom-and-pop shops?

Now, before you reply allow me to define my "success". I raised $18,000 to get this off the ground, including system development, advertising, and employees.
with that money we created a buzz around campus (word travels fast in college with a name like -The Book Pimp-) and had we not picked a horrible last minute location, we would have stolen even more than the 5% of the market share from our local college town in just one chaotic semester.
I view it as a success because of the feedback we received (the students who used us loved us), my investor got scared off by the bottom line.
So 1 semester deep and the project is on hold pending a more sizeable investment.

Advice is welcome, but this message seeks replies from investors who are interested in hearing a concept that will revolutionize a billion dollar industry 1 campus at a time.

Thanks everybody.
dave

[Dus10]

What about the Internet? A lot of students are buying and selling their books on eBay and Amazon now. They get their books cheaper to begin with, and they get more of their money back. I would be scared to invest in something like this, although I have not seen a business plan. Maybe you could gear your business towards that? Afterall, it is an easy way to expand, and you will have little overhead. I do not know how well it would do, but it is an idea.

[davidshull]

not only do students get even more savings on our site than on others, they don't have to pay or wait for shipping. while the internet sites are big, a LARGE majority of students just want to go to a local store and get the transaction over with. with my system, they get the best of both worlds. Not to mention, my system will have the added value of local advertising which online places cannot possibly pull off.

believe me, for those of you who feel the need to give advice on this thread, I have thought of everything...

I'm just looking for investors. My business plan is done and I just need to send it to someone with money.

[Outta Hand]

Originally posted by davidshull
My business plan is done and I just need to send it to someone with money.

why not just post the business plan anyways? Here online... who's with me?!

[davidshull]

Well, then I would be letting people who are not serious investors see my biz plan, and I don’t see the point in that.

[Dus10]

It is not like it is going to take you any extra effort... not any more than your response.

[davidshull]

it's not about effort, it's about not giving information to people I haven't verified as honest, qualified investors. maybe i'm not looking in the right place...

[teana]

if you look up college book exchange in google, you will see that there are quite a few places that have what you are doing.

if you make it particular to your school then it'd probably be easier to market.

you can check out www.zotswap.com which is what Univ of Ca at Irvine has done. That site was made by students. When I went to school there, all we had was a bulletin board and post cards to let people know.

Maybe you can run google ads as well as take a percentage of each sale? Like how amazon.com does it when you list an item u want to sell, they take 20% regardless of what it is. I've sold quite a few old books and dvds this way, its not much money but its something.

[davidshull]

i promise, there is nobody doing what I am doing. yes, there are online listing companies and local university student run swap sites that have similar ideas. i have done my research, and what i have done is taken the best of all of those concepts and rolled them into one company. I didn't do this overnight, it is the culmination of 5 years of planning.
I need $150,000 for phase 1.
Phase 1 will predictably break even and will include an exit strategy for the initial investor to be bought out for twice the investment after 1 year when Phase 2 funding is acquired.
Of course, that is all negotiable.
Thanks everybody, let me know if you're qualified and interested.
Dave

[Outta Hand]

Originally posted by davidshull
i promise, there is nobody doing what I am doing. yes, there are online listing companies and local university student run swap sites that have similar ideas. i have done my research, and what i have done is taken the best of all of those concepts and rolled them into one company. I didn't do this overnight, it is the culmination of 5 years of planning.
I need $150,000 for phase 1.
Phase 1 will predictably break even and will include an exit strategy for the initial investor to be bought out for twice the investment after 1 year when Phase 2 funding is acquired.
Of course, that is all negotiable.
Thanks everybody, let me know if you're qualified and interested.
Dave

Keep trying here but also try and see if there are VC / Angel Investor forums around and look on there too. Oh yeah... may help you to join RYZE Business Network to get a lot more investor contacts... in my opinion

[Karen]

These might help:

http://www.angel-investor-network.com/
http://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.ca/home
http://www.ventureworthy.com/

Make sure you investigate all these sites. I would double check into any site that asks for upfront money for anything.


Also, check into score. Score is a group of volunteer mentors (successful business owners, venture capitalists etc) who are available to answer questions, give advice, and offer their input based on their experiences.

http://www.score.org/

Karen

[Dus10]

Not to just doubt, but I read an article about how many students purchase used books, then return them after photocopying the relevant chapters. With the advent of the Internet, many professors now provide detailed syllabi week in advance of the course. I know there are many courses where we do not use the entire courseware (ie. Calculus, History, etc.) It would not be out of the realm of possibility to copy those few chapters. Of course, this is probably just the publishing industry hopping on the piracy bandwagon...

[davidshull]

i don't think it would be piracy because they are using the info for educational purposes. now if the student sold it to another, that would be piracy. it's all grey area.

[jpomerenke]

Originally posted by davidshull
i don't think it would be piracy because they are using the info for educational purposes. now if the student sold it to another, that would be piracy. it's all grey area.

I usually buy half of my books every semester because i know what ones i will need and i wont. I very rarely open a book so whats the point in buying it.

Now a days most of the stuff i need and have to do is online.

[davidshull]

believe me, textbook publishers are smarter than the average college student. they are not about to let a billion dollar industry die because of the internet. that's like the geniuses who have been claiming the railroad industry will dry up, they've been saying that for over 50 years! Billion dollars industries have a way of surviving; give enough money to the government. legislation will be changed that conveniently coincides with their new product development that they will be selling to Your professors next semester. They will also sell them on the idea that the book is essential for the student to use and they will sweeten the deal by Giving the professor a couple of "Free Books" with which the professor will turn around a sell. To take it even further, they convince many professors each year to Write their own textbook, do you think the professor is going to require his own textbook? And furthermore, it takes about 4 years to write/edit/publish/distribute a quality textbook, so during that period, the hopeful author will feel obligated to kiss ass and buy whatever the publisher throws down their throat. anyways, i'm sure there is more, but that's all i know. the textbook industry is going to be around for awhile and students will continue to buy their books.