Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IMPRISTlNE who wrote (13721)	8/17/1998 2:20:00 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Just when I was going to order my daughters books from Amazon. <WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 1998-- VarsityBooks.com Ushers in New Era of Fast Delivery and High Level of Customer Service for College Students Debuts In Washington, DC Area As college students prepare to head back to campus, a new online service is promising to make their lives much easier, allowing them to purchase their textbooks at significant discounts via the Internet. VarsityBooks.com offers students the chance to avoid long bookstore lines and high bookstore prices by providing two- to three-day delivery to dorm rooms and homes in most locations, not to mention discounts of 15 to 40 percent on their purchases. Just as online bookstores, such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, have transformed the way the general consumer market buys books, VarsityBooks.com is hoping its mix of deep discounts, convenient 24-hour shopping and fast delivery will transform the way college students buy their required reading. With a selection of nearly 250,000 textbooks and general trade books available for immediate shipping (many times what Amazon.com stocks in its two warehouses), VarsityBooks.com's interactive Web site will allow students to quickly and easily make an online purchase. The combination of VarsityBooks.com's selection, pricing and convenience seems to be a perfect match for the buying habits of today's college students. Recent figures show that America's college students represent more than $875 million in online purchasing power, according to research from Jupiter Communications. Also, 90 percent of college students say they are "active" online users, with most having at least one credit card. Couple this with the fact that textbooks are "mandatory purchases" that require little or no comparison shopping, and all indications are that VarsityBooks.com is positioned for growth. "College-bound students today are the most computer-literate, online-savvy members of our society," said Eric Kuhn, CEO of VarsityBooks.com. "Given the choice, they would rather do their shopping online, allowing them to devote their time to other interests. After all, who wants to spend their first days on campus standing in long lines, fighting over the last copy of a book whose price has been jacked up, only to have to then drag the whole lot across campus?" Kuhn, who founded VarsityBooks.com with partner and company president Tim Levy, noted that students are also notoriously cost-conscious, "another factor that makes this site - with its large discounts - appealing." According to the Association of American Publishers, the market for new college textbooks generates $2.7 billion in annual sales. And, with traditional bookstores usually adding mark-ups of 25 to 40 percent per title, it is not surprising that college students spend an average of $750 each year for textbooks. During its "first semester" this fall, VarsityBooks.com will carry textbooks for courses offered at five Washington, DC-area campuses: University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Georgetown University, George Washington University and George Mason University. All orders will be shipped from the company's distributor within 24 hours and delivered to customers within two to three business days in most locations. "Students can log on to the site 24-hours-a-day and easily find the books they need," Levy said. "The first week back at school is filled with enough hassles. We make the purchasing process as easy as possible, without the negative images associated with traditional bookstores." While the company's plans call for expanding to national coverage by spring 1999, during the rollout phase students at any college or university will be able to take advantage of the bargain prices by using the site's search engine to find books by author's name, title, ISBN or keyword. The site also includes a function that allows students to search through menus of common academic disciplines to determine if a book is in stock. About VarsityBooks.com VarsityBooks.com Inc., a Delaware Corporation, was incorporated in 1997, and intends to be the leading supplier of discounted, new college textbooks to the more than 15 million students of higher education in the United States.>