BookWorm: A Smarter Way to Buy Books

A proposal by Justin Varghese Shravik Sethi Laura Lodge Matt Porterfield Dat Vuong

Transmittal Letter

Bookworm !n"# $%& Awesome Avenue Dallas 'e(as )*%*% +"tober * %,$$

Mr# -oward S"hult. Starbu"ks &,&/ Mo"kingbird Ln Dallas '0 )*%,* Dear# Mr# S"hult.1 Atta"hed is the proposal for Starbu"ks funding Book2orm in"# ! represent Bookworm !n" a "ompany founded by "ollege students to promote the e("hange of te(tbooks between students# 'hese students would e("hange books at a designated point agreed upon by both parties# +ur "ompany feels that a partnership with Starbu"ks would greatly benefit both of our businesses# !n return we would suggest a Starbu"ks that was "losest to both individuals as designated meeting pla"e# 'his would in"rease Starbu"ks revenue while providing those who use our servi"e a safe pla"e to e("hange their books# 3our funding would also help keep our servi"e up and running so that "ollege students "an "ontinue to benefit from both of our "ompanies# Please respond by *pm on January $ %,$% at 4)%546*52+7M or by the email listed below# Sin"erely yours

Justin Varghese Pro8e"t Manager 8ustinv9bookworm#"om

Situational Analysis Almost every "ollege student is short on "ash# 2ith the rising "ost of edu"ation "ollege students need to save as mu"h money as possible# -owever one of the biggest ways students are often finan"ially e(ploited is through pur"hasing te(tbooks espe"ially through "ampus bookstores#

2hile alternatives e(ist even they tend to over"harge students as well# Buying books off the internet may be an affordable alternative but the :uality is not ne"essarily guaranteed# !n some "ases students are sent the wrong book and must go through the lengthy pro"ess of re"eiving a repla"ement# Due to these reasons students fre:uently prefer only to do transa"tions where the produ"t they wish to pur"hase is visible in front of them#

Background 'he "ost of attending "ollege is rising# Some of the typi"al e(penses in"lude1 tuition "lass fees supplies housing food and te(tbooks# !n fa"t te(tbooks are one of the biggest "osts a student in"urs during their "ollegiate "areer# 'he average "ost for one year of te(tbooks ;<all and Spring semesters= at a four5year publi" university for the %,$,5 %,$$ s"hool year was >$$&)# ;?ollegeBoard=# As the higher5edu"ation publishing industry brings in a profit of >&#6 billion a year students are struggling to pay for te(tbooks#

'he pri"es of te(tbooks have risen by appro(imately 6,@ in the last five years# Many publishing "ompanies "laim that they must Akeep ;their= material "urrent to win s"hoolsB support and that pri"es are "ompetitive in ea"h marketC ;Pressler=# Due to e(treme pri"es students and parents have turned to alternatives su"h as renting te(tbooks D5books and used books# 2hile renting books is a "heaper alternative many students miss the return date and are for"ed to pay a late fee or pur"hase the book at retail value# D5books have be"ome popular however it is diffi"ult to take notes or highlight alongside the relevant te(t and they re:uire a "omputer ;Eaufman=# Buying used books is the most effi"ient alternative due to its low "ost the absen"e of a return date or late fees and the ability to writeFhighlight dire"tly in the book# Below is a Venn diagram to illustrate the problems "ollege students fa"e from traditional sour"es of book pur"hasing and how Book2orm intends to alleviate those problems1

Plan of Action Book2orm will "reate a website to promote the e("hange of books between users# 'he pro"ess of e("hanging books via the site will go as su"h1 $# Gsers would "reate an a""ount on the site# Sign up would re:uire the userHs name "urrent address and the "ollege he or she attends# %# Gsers would list the books they have for sale on the site in"luding !SBI title author and selling pri"e# &# Gsers would sear"h through the site for books they wish to pur"hase# 6# After finding the book users would "ommuni"ate via email as to when to meet to e("hange books# 'he site would automati"ally suggest a designated meeting pla"e for the e("hange to take pla"e# !n order to rea"h the ma(imum amount of potential users Book2orm will be a""essible from a variety of devi"es su"h as smartphones and tablets# Pertaining to the e("hange at the designated meeting pla"e we at Book2orm strongly believe in three basi" ideas regarding the e("hange of produ"ts between our "onsumers1 $# A safe environment for transa"tions# %# Allowing the "ustomers to see the a"tual produ"t they wish to buy before they pur"hase it# &# Dliminate shipping and handling "osts# 'his is where we feel that Starbu"ks would be an essential partner for Book2orm#

<or years Starbu"ks has been a leader in "ommunity servi"e# !n addition Starbu"ks promotes an intelle"tual atmosphere whi"h parallels our "ompanyHs emphasis# 'hus Starbu"ks would be the optimal designated meeting pla"e for Book2orm "ustomers to buy and sell books to ea"h other# By promoting transa"tions at Starbu"ks we believe that "ustomers will have "onfiden"e in knowing that they "an e("hange without fear for their safety without fear of being "onned and knowing they are getting a good deal# 'he buyer and seller would meet at the designated Starbu"ks ;as determined by Book2orm= and do the e("hange over a "up of "offee# 2e feel that this pro"ess as a whole would promote safe honest and stress5free buying and selling of books#

Budget 'he amount of funding Book2orm is seeking is %,, dollars per month# 2e estimate >$,, per month for hosting "osts and the additional >$,, for potential maintenan"e "osts# !n order to make your investment as effe"tive as possible we will not be running ads on the site#

Benefits 2ith your approval and funding you will help thousands of "ollege students ea"h year pur"hase affordable books safely# 'he number of "ollege students enrolling into Iorth

'e(as "olleges is rising steadily# 'he Gniversity of Iorth 'e(as for e(ample saw a re"ord in"rease ;&#J per"ent= in enrollment to their university this past year ;7eese=# 'his means that ea"h year more students are suffering to buy te(tbooks whether it be due to the "ost or due to the reliability and safety of where they buy them from# 2ith the rise of online s"ams and frauds many "ollege students are de"eived ea"h year or are put into dangerous situations in the pro"ess of buying te(tbooks# <ar too many online sites have the buyer meeting with the seller in a private dangerous pla"e# +ur pro8e"t will support the safe pur"hasing of books through meetings in publi" areas# 'he se"ond "on"ern is the in"reasing "ost of "ollege te(tbooks# !n %,,) estimated te(tbook "osts per student were roughly >J*,5>$%%4 ;Kinshteyn=# +ur pro8e"t will greatly alleviate the burden on the wallets of these "ollege students by promoting sales between students rather than from publisher to student# !n addition students will able to look at reviews for their "lass online from people who previously took the "lass# 'hese people will be able to provide info on whether an older edition of the te(tbook will suffi"e whether the te(tbook was a"tually needed and so on#

As for Starbu"ks the benefits are plentiful# 'hese in"lude but are not limited to1 $# A si.eable in"rease in sales of Starbu"ks produ"ts %# An in"reased re"ognition of the Starbu"ks "hain throughout the Iorth 'e(as area &# A boost to Starbu"ks image as a pla"e promoting the safety and well5being of the people of the "ommunity 6# An in"rease in popularity of Starbu"ks as a meeting area for other reasons

'his pro8e"t therefore will provide great benefits not only to the "ommunity as a remedy for e(pensive and dangerous book pur"hasing but it will also provide many benefits to Starbu"ks# Conclusion Book2orm is e("ited about the possibility of partnering with Starbu"ks to work to eradi"ate su"h a big so"ial need in our so"iety# ?ollege students throughout this area suffer ea"h and every semester trying to afford "ollege te(tbooks and then risking poor :uality on"e pur"hased# 2ith a funding of >%,,Fmonth we feel that Book2orm will be fully "apable of eliminating this issue from the Iorth 'e(as area# At the same time Starbu"ks will e(perien"e signifi"ant boost in its yearly profits thanks to an in"rease in "ustomers and more visibility in the "ommunity espe"ially as a re"ogni.able leader in "ommunity servi"e# 2e look forward to hearing ba"k from you by January 1, 2 12# 3ou "an rea"h us at !"2# !$%#W&'( or at )ustin*+,ook-orm.com.

Works Cited

LBreak Down the Bill#L Pay for College# ?ollegeBoard %,$$# 2eb# %% Iov %,$$# Mhttp1FFwww#"ollegeboard#"omFstudentFpayFadd5it5upF6J%#htmlN# Eaufman 7oger and Oeoffrey 2oglom# L<inan"ial ?hanges in the Se"ond 'ier of 'op Liberal Arts ?olleges#L Journal of Education Finance# &%#& ;%,,)=1 %J*5 &,&# 2eb# %% Iov# %,$$#

Pressler Margaret# L'e(tbook Pri"es +n the 7ise#L Washington Post ;%,,6=1 n#pag# 2eb# %% Iov %,$$# Mhttp1FFwww#washingtonpost#"omFwp5 dynFarti"lesFA&,$*$5%,,6Sep$)#htmlN# 7eese Eelley# LGI' wel"omes re"ord number of graduate students overall enrollment in"reases to more than &/ ,,, students#L University of North Texas News Service ;%,$,=1 n#pag# 2eb# %% Iov %,$$# Kinshteyn Mikhail# LDelving !nto 'e(tbook ?osts#L ;%,$,=1 n#pag# Cam us Progress# 2eb# %% Iov %,$$#