Volume 67, Issue 3

Cheaptext.com: A Rare E-Success Story

by Commentator Staff

At the end of the Spring 2002 semester, three Yeshiva students went around collecting textbooks on consignment, saying that they were trying to centralize Yeshiva’s used book market with the distinct aim of obviating the annual struggle of finding used-book purchasers. At the same time, they promised that the books would be sold to students the following semester at significant discounts.

And they held true to their promise. At the beginning of the Fall 2002 semester, signs were posted all over YU announcing a new website: Cheaptext.com. At the site, students can purchase used textbooks for 20% less than the competitor’s used price and pay by credit card via secured server. Students can also continue to submit books for vending, though, for the time being, they must do so in person.

“We felt that this was a necessary service for the student body at Yeshiva,” explained Rami Dennis, a recent addition to the Cheaptext.com team. “The buying and selling of books has always caused frustration and we felt that our e-store would help alleviate the problem,” he added. “It was so easy and our prices really are a lot cheaper.”

“Hallelujah! It’s about time,” trumpeted a relieved Sy Syms student. “I’m tired of getting ripped off by the pop-up bookstore,” explained another upon learning of the new e-bookstore.

Cheaptext.com began last semester in the basement of the Morgenstern Dormitory at the aptly named Morg Mart. After Ari Polsky suggested the idea, Noam Magence together with Yaakov Sheinfeld organized a scaled down version of their current operations, which sold books for cash or check only.  Magence explained that initially “the store’s limited hours were very inconvenient for many students, and its inability to accept credit cards made many students hesitant to purchase such expensive items with their limited cash.”

But it didn’t take long for the partners to realize that improving their store would generate more business and further aid students.  So, over the summer, Dennis, Magence, and Sheinfeld worked diligently to put the bookstore online.

“Over $7,200 in payouts have been distributed thus far and more is on the way,” said Sheinfeld. He estimates that Cheaptext.com supplanted anywhere between $12,000-$15,000 in sales from the Barnes & Noble’s pop-up bookstore this semester alone. According to Sheinfeld, over 100 people benefited by selling their books through Cheaptext.com, while more than 300 others benefited by purchasing their books at significant discounts. A textbook was even sold to a student from the University of Connecticut.

“My statistics for business book was $45 cheaper at Cheaptext than at the book store. That’s ridiculous!” exclaimed one very satisfied customer. “There will be no more need for students to go placing signs and playing phone tag to buy or sell books.”

Apart from facilitating the sale of recyclable textbooks, Cheaptext.com also makes it possible for students to sell textbooks that are no longer in use. Many downtown students, for example, purchased marketing books from Cheaptext.com that were no longer being used on the Wilf campus. When asked if the organization was brooding over expansion possibilities to include the Midtown campus, Sheinfeld revealed, “It is being looked into and it may very possibly be operational by the Spring 2003 semester.”

Whatever the future holds for Cheptext.com, its current convenience is undeniable and easy to understand.  “This website does it all for you,” explains Sheinfeld. “Drop your books off and the check is in the mail….simple as that!"

For more information visit www.Cheaptext.com or email info@cheaptext.com.

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