I won’t be using BigNerd.com to buy and sell my textbooks next semester. There’s simply too much hassle involved for a commuter student.

The idea behind the site is that students can buy and sell their books to each other online and eliminate the bookstore’s pricey involvement. We can sell the books for more and buy them for less according to Josh Wood, president for Associated Students Inc. A conflict of desires obviously limits the benefit either side can receive out of this. Buyers will only be willing to go so high and sellers so low. I don’t doubt that at least the buyers will see a nominal savings but after how much legwork?

-ASI signed a contract that will establish a designated section on the site for Sacramento State students to meet and haggle over book prices. The online instructions recommend contacting fellow students in that section and scheduling a time to meet on campus. This would be a way to avoid shipping costs. It might work for students who live on campus and don’t work, but it hardly fits into the schedule of a commuter. In the time before a semester starts, my schedule is stacked with work. I don’t have time to schedule several book buying appointments to which I have to drive 45 minutes there and back. That’s assuming all the prospective buyers and sellers even show up. Waiting until the semester begins is always an option, but try scheduling all those little meetings in between each other’s classes. Think about how many meetings that would involve, you’d have around five or six to books to sell and at least that many to buy them from others. Actually, that scenario ignores the fact that you’re almost certainly not going to find all of your books outside the bookstore. You’ll still be standing in that winding, endless line.

Selling your books on BigNerd.com poses a risk. The bookstore buys back books at the end of the semester, while bignerd.com users would buy them from each other at the beginning of the next one. If you don’t find buyers for all of your books, you’re out of luck.

Student sellers on the site should prepare to compete with all the professional Internet vendors that also get to participate. Vendors like Amazon, Abebooks and Half.com move a large volume of inventory and are capable of charging lower prices. On the flipside though, I even found books that were cheaper in the bookstore than online. Any book you look up on the site provides a spreadsheet comparing the Internet’s best prices. Keep this in mind when deciding what to charge. Also, don’t forget to subtract the 5 percent commission you’ll need to pay BigNerd.com for their hospitality.

Angel Barajas, executive vice president for ASI is rolling out a $2,500 marketing campaign to convince us to register. According to a report in the State Hornet, his goal is to have “two to four thousand students” signed up this year. Two to four thousand? Four thousand is twice as many as two thousand. How sure is he of his campaign? If he’s really up to the challenge he ought to specify one goal and let us hold him to it. –

For all of my pessimism about this, I really do have to hand it to Josh Wood. He’s clearly serious about the program and is willing to put priority where is mouth is. A $2,500 marketing budget is nothing to sneeze at as well as the 10-person committee he’s using to get the word out. Last year’s ASI President, Peter Ucovich, campaigned on the same issue, executed an anemic promotion and then backpedaled on whether it was even a good idea when I interviewed him about it. I remember him making some of the same arguments I used above. If you have the time and patience, BigNerd.com might be for you. There’s nothing wrong with having more options. Make sure to do your research