A student at the University of Glasgow has launched an app for selling second hand text books which he reckons could help students across Scotland save thousands of pounds this year.
The Your Book List app devised by Alasdair Ireland, 19, links students who want to sell books with peers from the same university who are looking to add to their collections.
“One of the biggest costs of studying is textbooks which are often used for a year or in some cases one semester,“ noted Mr Ireland.
“You can buy brand new versions which cost a lot or you can buy second-hand from a student who used it the year before. Our app makes this process much easier.”
The app allows potential buyers to hunt for books using information that sellers log with a barcode scanner. Hand overs are made at places agreed by the students involved.
Mr Ireland expects to introduce an online payment service next year, when the firm will start charging a commission on transactions.
He reckons the service can compete with online operations such as Amazon, partly because users do not have to worry about postage.
Following a trial at the University of Glasgow, the app has been rolled out to eight universities.
Mr Ireland, from Dunoon, said Business Gateway Argyll and Bute had provided good advice on how to develop the business.
He worked with computer science student, Phil Partarrieu to develop the app during his first year at university.
Mr Ireland was a runner-up in the student category in the Herald Scottish Digital Business Awards, which were announced on Thursday.
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