|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Archive for the ‘Press & Media Clippings’ CategorySeattle Post Intelligencer: “Book Patrol: A Haven for Book Culture” by Nancy MattoonSunday, September 6th, 2009Read the full article at SeattlePI.com Not living in a city with a cutting edge public library? There are other options. These services are like Netflix for books….. Bookswim.com offers….. a fee of $19.99 per month buying an unlimited number of book rentals. Wall Street Journal: “Quick Fix - A Lending Library In Your Mailbox” by Paola SingerThursday, September 3rd, 2009Read the full article at WSJ.com Problem: You spend too much on books and don’t have time to go to the library. Solution: ……Bookswim.com…. …..lets monthly subscribers keep the books they like, at second-hand prices. The site focuses on recently released best-selling paperbacks and hardcovers. Their starter rental plan, for $19.98 a month, delivers three books at a time with no shipping or late fees. Students also can rent textbooks at pay-per-book semester rates (delivered through a third party, Chegg.com)…… SavvySugar.com: “No Time For the Library? These Services Might Be For You”Thursday, September 3rd, 2009Read the full article at SavvySugar.com
A library card is a must have, in my opinion, but if your schedule doesn’t allow for time to peruse the public shelves, The Wall Street Journal has a handful of alternatives that might work for you. The downside: they’ll cost you……. ……..Bookswim.com: The starter plan lets you rent up to three books a month for $19.98 without shipping or late fees, and if you can’t bear to give it back, you can buy the book for second-hand prices……. WHAS 11 Louisville: “Consumer Watch: Ways around the high price of college textbooks”Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Watch the video and read the full article at WHAS11.com  (WHAS11) - This Consumer Watch takes a closer look at the high price of college textbooks. After tuition, housing, and meal plans it’s a cost that many students aren’t prepared for. Since 1980, the cost of college textbooks has risen at twice the level of inflation. Jacqueline Hingle spent $248 on books this semester. Timmy Alexander spent more. “$265.26. Every dollar I had in my wallet. It’s completely empty now,” said Alexander. Like a lot of students, Alexander is getting them as he goes. A bag of books on campus is like a bag of gold. $200 or $300 is what Michael VanSickle has spent on books at the University of Louisville. VanSickle has spent six years at the University of Louisville. Vansicle was asked if he’s ever considered renting books. “No, I didn’t know that you could do that,” he answered. You can, and Eric Ginsberg says you should, at an average savings of 60%. “Very few people are going to go through college without taking calculus and this book is going to cost you over $200. But you can save up to 75% by renting text books online,” claimed Ginsberg, VP of Marketing for Bookswim.com. There are no due dates, no late fees, and books are returned with pre-paid shipping when you rent from BOOKSWIM.com. Other options in the book rental business are COLLEGEBOOKREADER.com and CHEGG.com. The book retailers say they would prefer that you don’t write in the books, but many renters do off alternatives. “We do ask that you don’t write in a book or dog ear it. But we give you bookmarks and we give you little post-it’s and we do ask you don’t drop it into a lake somewhere but other than that we do accept average wear and tear,” explained Ginsberg. The only way to guarantee the true lowest price is to compare prices at your bookstore with prices online. And renting isn’t just a trend that’s catching on for college textbooks. With a simple GOOGLE search you can rent entertainment like DVD’s and video games as well as necessities on many college campuses like laptop computers and those expensive calculators. WFMZ 69 News: “On-line Company Offers College Students Rental Of Text Books”Monday, August 31st, 2009College students often find themselves with plenty of homework, but not too much cash. Our guest on 69 News at Sunrise this morning was Eric Ginsberg. He’s a rental industry expert and vice president of marketing for Bookswim who has a way he says will put more money in students’ pockets.
Forbes.com: “‘Boost Your Business’ Semifinalist”Sunday, August 30th, 2009Click to vote for BookSwim at Forbes.com BookSwim.com rents books like Netflix rents movies, with the convenience of free home delivery and best-sellers guaranteed in stock. An estimated 12% of Americans (36 million) read one or more books each month, one-third of which read at least three books, monthly. The largest single segment of BookSwim members is women (80%), ages 26 to 40 (36%). To date, BookSwim has delivered books to nearly 12,000 members. In BookSwim’s rental model, members pay a monthly fee of $15 to $40 for unlimited use. Books are reused, spreading the initial purchase cost over multiple members and creating net profit. Launched in 2007 with a $6,000 investment of personal cash, BookSwim is now funded by reinvested operational cash flow, boasting $900,000 of revenue in 2008. BookSwim’s only purported competitors (Booksfree.com and Paperspine.com) don’t stock hardcovers, the medium in which new releases and best-sellers are almost exclusively available, whereas these titles make up the bulk of BookSwim’s rentals. Even public libraries often have difficulty keeping new releases in stock, offering waiting lists for the few copies that a tight budget allows. BookSwim guarantees new releases and bestsellers to be in stock and imposes no due dates or late fees. BookSwim co-founder George Burke has grown BookSwim from an idea to a thriving enterprise in the past two years. He has added to his management team officers with over a decade of experience each, including restructuring Scholastic at Home; managing four successful start-ups exited for a combined total of $200 million; former COO of BMG ($1.1 billion company); executive vice president of BookSpan ($700 million company). The next level for BookSwim is to increase year-on-year membership by 50%, growing community and enabling additional revenue streams. BookSwim will use $50,000 of advertising to sell Forbes.com readers discounted holiday gift cards. Since most Forbes.com readers are not in BookSwim’s target demographic, the space is best used to enable readers to help make members of friends and family who are. The $50,000 cash prize will be used to hire a new junior developer (at $40k/year) charged in the first year with developing and managing added-value and new-member-generating projects, including: Applications for Facebook, iPhones and other smart phones, mobile version of BookSwim.com; member points/rewards program, book buy-back program, Platform enabling book clubs to rent in bulk and an interface to manage book clubs; Twitter functionality to search and request titles in BookSwim’s catalog, Twitter contest giving away an iPhone (or comparable gadget) each day for one month to tweeters who help build BookSwim awareness through hash tags and deep-linked URLs, other community-building imperatives. BookSwim will also spend money on prizes for aforementioned Twitter contest, ad space on GoodReads.com (the preeminent social network for readers), $400, victory dinner; the small staff deserves a token of appreciation for all they do. NBC 16: ‘”Transumerism”: more people renting instead of buying’Friday, August 28th, 2009Watch the video and read the article at WNDU.com What is being called “transumerism” by the rental industry seems to be on the rise. Some say you can save hundreds of dollars by simply choosing to rent instead of buying certain items. Eric Ginsberg, vice president of marketing for “BookSwim.com,” says transumerism is the “common desire to get beyond paying the high premium of ownership and just have what you need when you need it.” Ginsberg says you can rent just about anything you can think of; just by doing some quick searching online. He says especially right now with a new school year, students can save money by renting text books instead of buying new or even used. Ginsberg says students can save an average 60% on books each semester by renting through websites like BookSwim.com. To learn more about “BookSwim.com”, click on the big red bar. iStockAnalyst.com: “Where to Find Best Bargains on Books; On a Dime”Thursday, August 27th, 2009Read the full article at iStockAnalyst.com Resolve to start this school year with a dedication to leisure reading. Exercise your mind, expand your vocabulary, and savor creative language with a renewed interest in literature. Take a pause. Read a book for less with these insider book tips………. ……….BookSwim.com - Book Swim offers plans that allow users to take out multiple books at a time. The $19.95 basic monthly fee still permits readers to check out as many books as they choose. You aren’t locked into a contract and have a read-to-own option. Through Book Swim’s college textbook service, students can save up to 60 percent on books ordered online………… Tacoma News Tribune: “Where to find the best bargains on books” by Ashley GrimaldoMonday, August 24th, 2009Read the full article at TheNewsTribune.com ‘Tis the season to be reading. With school starting just around the corner students are getting ready to shed the summer lazies and get back to academic business. Resolve to start this year with a dedication to leisure reading. Exercise your mind, expand your vocabulary, and savor creative language with a renewed interest in literature. According to Maryanne Wolfe author of “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain,” “when you read you have more time to think. Reading gives you a unique pause button for comprehension and insight. By and large, with oral language - when you watch a film or listen to a tape - you don’t press pause.” Take a pause. Read a book for less with these insider book tips. Online Book Rentals Thank you, Netflix, for pioneering the inexpensive media rental frenzy. With your blazing trail, you squashed Blockbuster late fees and introduced a new, less hectic way to enjoy entertainment. Book lovers who can’t seem to break the Barnes & Noble spending sprees will delight to know that book rental online is just as simple with many options from which to choose……….. ……….BookSwim.com Book Swim offers plans that allow users to take out multiple books at a time. The $19.95 basic monthly fee still permits readers to check out as many books as they choose. You aren’t locked into a contract and have a read-to-own option. Through Book Swim’s college textbook service, students can save up to 60 percent on books ordered online. Fox 6 News AL: “Back to Campus Savings”Monday, August 24th, 2009Watch the video at MyFoxAL.com Eric Ginsberg, a rental expert, joins us with details on how you can save the most on your college expenses. NBC 41: Daybreak Friday: “Save Money by Renting School Supplies”Friday, August 21st, 2009As college students head back to local campuses, many are looking for ways to save money. Rental Industry Expert, Eric Ginsberg joined us on Daybreak Friday morning to tell us why renting goods may be a better idea for college students than buying them. He said students can save hundreds of dollars a year by renting textbooks, video games, laptop computers, even cars. It’s becoming more popular and works similar to how Netflix works to rent movies. For more information or to get started renting items, visit www.BookSwim.com. FreeShipping.org: “Where to Find the Best Bargains on Books” by Ashley GrimaldoThursday, August 20th, 2009Read the full article at Go Frugal (FreeShipping.org)
‘Tis the season to be reading. With school starting just around the corner students are getting ready to shed the summer lazies and get back to academic business. Resolve to start this year with a dedication to leisure reading. Exercise your mind, expand your vocabulary, and savor creative language with a renewed interest in literature. According to Maryanne Wolfe author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, “when you read you have more time to think. Reading gives you a unique pause button for comprehension and insight. By and large, with oral language—when you watch a film or listen to a tape—you don’t press pause.” Take a pause. Read a book for less with these insider book tips. Online Book Rentals ……BookSwim.com ……Library 10Connects.com: “Hotlink: BookSwim” by Theresa CollingtonMonday, August 17th, 2009Read the full article at 10Connects.com Booklovers who can’t afford the latest best-seller will love today’s hot link. Bookswim.com is an online book rental club, and you can rent as many titles as you want. A membership costs $15 a month, but that’s still cheaper than buying a hardcover. And if you really love it, there’s an option to buy it for cheaper than you’d get at the book store. ABC 2 (Good Morning Maryland): “Renting College Books & Equipment” by Dave McHughMonday, August 17th, 2009Watch the video and read the article at ABC2new.com This is it! The week you drive, head to the airport, jump on a train, or kiss your college student goodbye. But it is also a time of the year where spending on the college students certainly increases. But we have some ways you can save a lot of money without losing any of the educational value. Today on Good Morning Maryland @ 9, Eric Ginsberg, a retail industry expert, sat down with Jamie to talk about how college students can now RENT their books, equipment, and other items in an effort to save them money. Eric explained how the program works a lot like NetFlix does for movies. You can rent the books you need for the class and just return them in a pre-paid envelope at the end of the semester. You can do the same for equipment like expensive calculators you may only need for one semester of your college career. The advantage? You don’t have to pay a lot of money up-front for something you may not need again in four months. To hear more of Eric’s examples and get other ideas, just click on the video box to the right of this article and see the segment again. And we have provided links to the left for more information. Lincoln Journal Star: “Book Report: Renting textbooks and Dan Brown” by Micah MertesMonday, August 17th, 2009Read the full article at JournalStar.com Round-up: 1. Textbooks to rent. Company Cengage Learning will jump into the college textbook rental market this December with CengageBrain.com. Already in business is the Netflix-like outfit BookSwim.com, which rents textbooks through a partnership with BookRenter.com……… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
