Buy and sell textbooks easily

It is a win-win situation. Students struggling to buy pricey new textbooks are given an opportunity to purchase used ones at reduced rates, and sell them when done, thanks to Kalahari.net, a leading e-commerce retailer.

The company makes selling and buying of books online much simpler. Sellers register on the site and their banking details are verified. Then they upload their products by entering the name of the book, DVD, CD or game or by entering the ISBN number of the product. The system searches for the product, and once found, the seller nominates a price that he or she would like to sell the item for, as well as the delivery method (courier or postal service). And the item goes live on kalahari.net.

What makes the process safer is that the money paid by the buyer is held in kalahari.net's escrow account until the buyer confirms receipt of the purchase, and is then paid directly into the seller's bank account.

"Students can sell their old textbooks for up to 80% of the retail value at the end of each year," said Gary Novitzkas, chief executive at kalahari.net.