After a few days of classes, some students are searching for ways to make slim college budgets stretch to cover textbook costs.

For students who cannot bear to share another textbook with their roommates, searching the Web for books might make more sense. Student-run Web sites such as Varsitytext.com or Cordx.com allow students to post requests and advertisements for used textbooks.

Most sites do not charge for advertisements or requests.

Dan Smith (sophomore-turf grass science) heard about Cordx.com from a friend and decided to post a few of his used books.

Smith sold one book at the beginning of the fall semester, and two are still remaining on the site.

"I only sell books," Smith said. "I'd rather just buy all my books in one day at the bookstores. The books I couldn't sell back to the bookstore I posted [online] and I also sold a few to my friends on campus."

Used books still might come at high prices, and some students have opted to sell their old books directly to their peers rather than go through the bookstores.

Lydia Hsieh (freshman-business accounting) has posted signs in Findlay Commons advertising used books for sale.

"If you want to get your money's worth, try to sell your old books to friends or other students," Hsieh said. "So far, I've sold one book for about half of the price I've paid for it."

Posters similar to Hsieh's are lining bulletin boards across campus. Usually books posted by students are rejected by the bookstore. For Hsieh, online sites might be convenient, but she has no problem with traveling downtown or to the bookstore on campus.

Norm Brown, manager of the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., said bookstores buy back texts at half the new price only if the instructor plans to use the book for the next semester. If not, bookstores buy for other schools or companies for as much as one third of the original price.

Competition between the Penn State Bookstore and the Student Book Store is based on the number of used books available to students, said Tom Fankhauser, assistant manager for the Penn State Bookstore.

Competition is limited because publishers establish the price of books. The bookstores set prices of books by balancing the original price and the profit that needs to be made in order to allow the business to continue operating, Fankhauser said.

"If a student can buy the majority of their books used at our store, then they are more likely to buy all of their books here also," Fankhauser said.

Many times classes require new books, and book swapping is not an option.

"[Student swapping] does not impact business because it is not anything new," Fankhauser said. "It has been going on for years."