For textbooks, SMCC entrepreneur aims to buck 'the book racket'

PHOTo / Tim greenway Saman Baghestani, a student at Southern Maine Community College, has created an online book exchange to make textbooks affordable for college students.

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By Tina Fischer

SoPoBooks.com allows students to buy and sell used books to each other, with no service charge, at better prices than other retailers offer.

Saman Baghestani is on a mission to make college textbooks more affordable for students through a new online book exchange. It's also an opportunity that's giving him firsthand entrepreneurial experience.

Though just months old, Baghestani's business model has already been embraced by students and supported by professors; it's even won him an invitation to the White House. He was one of 45 small business owners selected to meet in January with the White House Office of Public Engagement to discuss potential impacts of the Affordable Care Act, and proposed policies on immigration and minimum wage increases.

The genesis for SoPoBooks.com was personal experience with what Baghestani calls “the book racket.” A business student at Southern Maine Community College, the 29-year-old says he was dismayed to learn how university bookstores command premium prices from buyers, while reimbursing student sellers for much less.

He describes the college buy-back programs as being “like herding cattle to slaughter. They give the students next to nothing, and then turn around and sell the books for a 50, 60 or 70 percent markup.”

SoPoBooks.com is fully operational at SMCC and the University of Southern Maine, and expansion is in the works. Students from other colleges can use the site, but the database isn't yet tailored to their schools.

“Our inventory is limited to books that are in use at particular campuses,” Baghestani explains. “So students get search results that reflect their school's specific inventory of books.”

Mainebiz connected with Baghestani over email and via phone. The following is an edited transcript.

Mainebiz: How does SoPoBooks.com differ from other textbook retailers from the students' perspective?

Saman Baghestani: Students connect directly with the person with whom they're matched, and make whatever agreement they want. People have rented, bartered, though most [use] cash. I bought all my books this semester for $15. While some students have said they like the buy-back programs because they're quick cash, with our site, there are already people lined up who want your book. Students create an account, and that [same] day they can make transactions, so it's fast too.

MB: You don't charge transaction fees or commissions, and the site hosts no advertisements. How does SoPoBooks.com plan to generate revenue?

SB: The revenue-making elements of the website will be up and running before the next big buying period. We have contracts with local businesses for our ad spaces, and we'll have affiliate links. Our goal is that by spring 2016, we'll retain 100% of our earnings and put that money into growing the business, without any outside funding.

MB: How are you getting the word out about this new venture?

SB: We're growing at a pace that keeps our costs lean — one campus at a time, through a mix of viral marketing and social media incentives. We're using posters, handouts and social marketing, and we're developing relationships with student leaders to get the word out; face-to-face really pans out. We're also counting on a video we hope will go viral. We're relying heavily on the narrative itself: it's students vs. the book racket.

MB: What are your plans for the future of the company?

SB: The future direction for this company is about more than books; the [greater] value is being a way for college students to communicate with one another — about not just books, but furniture, housing, roommates, any uniquely identifiable thing where you can match people. Wherever there's a niche where people are communicating, there are options for services.

This month we're adding a feature where students can see prices, and purchase if they prefer, at other sites. By mid-April we expect to kick our marketing engines into full gear; we've established a relationship with Amazon and we're in the process of doing so with others.

This wasn't started as a for-profit; it was an idea as to how to do something better. We're not ever going to charge students, but we believe we can make money while providing great services for students.