University of Wisconsin students often face the problem of paying the high prices for textbooks and finding tickets for sold out sports events.
But ExchangeHut, an online business that opened Sept. 1, now offers UW students an alternative option.
ExchangeHut, according to its website, is “your online exchange to get the fair market value for your textbooks and student tickets to sporting events.”
UW graduate Matt Stamerjohn, creator and owner of the website Exchangehut.com, started the website with hopes of allowing students to get more money back for their textbooks, buy required readers at a lower cost and exchange tickets for sporting events efficiently.
In order to use the website, a student must become a member. Students can then search the website’s exact replica of the UW timetable to find textbooks for classes or sports tickets. Each member can post a selling or buying price. When two students agree on a price, ExchangeHut will e-mail the two involved. The students can then agree to meet in a public place to make the exchange.
The website functions similarly to the Stock Market, according to Stamerjohn.
“You have a list of people trying to sell and a list of people trying to buy,” Stamerjohn said. “Eventually the prices get closer and closer ’til someone buys the item.”
The idea for the company began when Stamerjohn was a freshman in college and frustrated with the price of textbooks. After four years of work, help from his father and entering ExchangeHut into the Burrell Business Plan Competition, the website is up and running.
Rick Bastian, general manager of ExchangeHut, believes the company suits students’ financial needs.
“It accommodates students so well because there is a low profit margin,” Bastian said. “It’s a service for the students.”
Students pay a 4.68 percent transaction fee for selling and buying textbooks. The same transaction fee applies to selling tickets but there is no charge for buying tickets.
Stamerjohn said he believed his product helps students save money. In September, ExchangeHut sold the Calculus 221 textbook for $50 while the University Bookstore sold the same textbook for $74.10 used and $98.75 new.
“It’s no secret that students feel ripped off by the bookstore when they only get half back for their textbook,” Stamerjohn said.
Throughout the school year, ExchangeHut’s business has increased. The first football game had 29 vouchers exchanged while the last game had 855 vouchers exchanged. In the future, Stamerjohn hopes to bring this service to more universities.
With the University Bookstore as their biggest competitor, Bastian said he believes, “[The] University Bookstore is probably a little anxious to see how numbers will be at the end of this buying period.”
Jody Fassett, a UW senior, has used the website several times.
“After having three successful football ticket sales, I would definitely use it for textbooks,” Fassett said.
With the end of the semester approaching, Stamerjohn said he believes students will benefit the most from selling their textbooks in January, when the most students will be purchasing textbooks and accurate textbook information will be available from professors.
Other students have started textbook websites to provide a similar service, such as www.madbook.com, a company now boasting 804 accounts. UW administration and the student organization Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) have also stated they believe it is important to look into ways to aid students balancing the high cost of textbooks and the rising price of tuition.
Stamerjohn echoed this, saying his main reason for starting ExchangeHut is to help students.
“College costs too much,” said Stamerjohn. “I’m a firm believer that students should buy their books at the cheapest place possible and they should sell their books where they can get the most money possible.”
