Textbook online renting market analysis
The textbook selling model in UBC is quite different than TRU, Kamloops. In UBC , Students don’t like to buy books from bookstore prefer to get their book online. Unlike students in TRU always check the post board in the corridor, UBC students are more interested in online network (actually, there are not to many post boards in UBC anyway). Used books can be found in local forum and Facebook. However, UBC textbook market is so big, that these scattered books selling can hardly affect the market share of the campus bookstore. Therefore, in some way, to sell used book in UBC is much easier than TRU.
But I am not going to copy the business model which I used and succeed in Kamloops. To sell used books I have to buy books first and I can not recognize the profit after I sell them out. In such a huge university textbook market that means I need to invest a lot of money but I only have inventory in a long term. It would be very risk and beyond the venture I can bear. I don’t want to give up my idea, and then, I find out this new way-renting books online.
The model is very easy. People view my website to find the book they need. For example, for a bookstore priced $150 book, the rent price may be only $40 for one semester, however they pay me $120 including $80 deposit which they cannot get until they return the book. And I will not purchase inventory until I know the order. Therefore, I only need a small amount of stating fund, since I rent text out and got cash back very soon.
Next week, I am going to build my website and think about how to do ADs. I hope everything go well. Happy thanksgiving.
