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Online Classifieds help Canadian College and University Students with the cost of Textbooks
Canadian College and University Students Find Much Needed Cost Relief from Pricey New Textbooks by Shopping for Used Textbooks on Online Classified Sites
Canada’s Used.ca and its network of local Canadian sites is witnessing more students buying and selling used textbooks on their local city sites in college towns across the country. Textbook costs have been increasing at about three times the rate of inflation since the 1980’s. On average, University students spend between $700 and $1000 a year on new textbooks. Tuition fees have also increased at about the same rate as textbooks putting additional pressure on tight student budgets.
Students are finding dramatic savings purchasing textbooks on online classified sites like Used.ca. Used textbooks are often discounted by 50% or more allowing students to direct those savings towards living expenses and tuition. There is also a healthy resale market giving students an opportunity offset the cost further by reselling their old books. Furthermore, when the university or college won’t take back last year’s edition because the professor has requested a newer edition for the new term’s syllabus, students are selling to each other in a win-win situation.
“With tighter student budgets and a tough job market it’s becoming more difficult for Canadian students to keep up with the increasing prices of new textbooks,” says Tish Hill General Manager of Used.ca. “One advantage that students have today is they are very web savvy and they are able to find opportunities to save money on social commerce sites like Used.ca. We expect this trend to continue as students look to the Internet to save money before using traditional sources.”
The Used.ca team searched local city sites for recent postings using the search terms ‘textbook’ and ‘textbooks’ and found a good selection of textbooks for Carleton University, Algonquin College and U of Ottawa on UsedOttawa.com, University of Winnipeg and U of Manitoba on UsedWinnipeg and University of Victoria on UsedVictoria, to name a few.
To find local UsedEverywhere city sites check out: http://uedev.bpsrvr.com/sites/. Used.ca is a family of Canadian local online classified sites, established in 2003.
Media Contacts:
Charlotte Cowley
Used.ca
250.381.3633 ext. 352
Colin Trethewey
PRMediaNow
813.480.1354