Stores in the State College area have likely been students' main source for books and notes for a long time. But as the recession deepens, local businesses may soon face stiffer competition from student-run Internet alternatives promising better service and lower cost.
Take Jason Napoli. Last summer, he developed a Web site to help students tired of getting little cash for pricey textbooks in bookstore buybacks.
Napoli (junior-business management) called it wewantcheapbooks.com, and he hopes to help students save anywhere from $50 to $100 on used textbooks. The site eliminates the middleman, he said -- students sell books to other students.
Though there is a $1.50 posting fee per each textbook, his site allows students to keep more of their money than with local stores, he said.
"I always hear students complaining about selling books back and getting no money," Napoli said.
After one semester of operation, Napoli's Web site has attracted about 60 members and lists more than 120 used textbooks for sale.
Arvind Rangaswamy, a marketing professor, said some stores will experience a financial loss as the popularity of online shopping increases.
"Twenty-five percent of business may move online over the next five or 10 years," he said. "But it won't eliminate local businesses."
Although the Internet has advantages -- Web sites don't have to pay rent for a storefront and operate 24/7 -- he said shoppers might want to see the product before purchasing it.
In the long run, both forms of book-elling service can co-exist with each other, he said.
But Ben Lambert, Got Used Bookstore manager, 206 E. College Ave., said Napoli's Web site isn't anything new in the textbook-selling business.
"Students have always sold books to each other," Lambert said. "I don't think it will have an effect on the business."
Similar to Napoli's initiative, studyblue.com -- a free note-swapping service created by two University of Wisconsin students in 2006 -- could pose a threat to businesses such as Nittany Notes.
Studyblue.com Chief Communications Officer Ben Jedd said he doesn't know much about Nittany Notes, 234 E. College Ave., but Penn State is one of the largest schools that use the Web site.
"Our objective is to have students study smarter," Jedd said.
He said the Web site has advantages local services can't offer, like online study groups, flashcards and notes, which are available to more than 1,200 colleges and 400 high schools.
However, Nittany Notes Owner Tom Matis said he doesn't view Studyblue.com as a threat to the business he's headed for more than 20 years.
He maintains strict regulations on its note-takers to ensure high-caliber information, he said -- something an Internet service can't necessarily provide.
"Our notes are quality by design. We look over them," Matis said. "You get what you pay for."
For students, the jury is still out on Internet services.
Lorien Moura (junior-science) said actually seeing books in local bookstores is helpful, but as long as you know which books you need, the Internet is the way to go.
"I buy my books online because I find them a lot cheaper," Moura said. But she gives local stores her business, too.
"When selling back," she said, "I usually check which downtown bookstore gives me the most money."
