TextYard site evolves nationally, takes on more than 15 colleges

Campus bookstores may be packed this week, but for those who have yet to purchase their books for this semester, there is an alternative to braving the long lines — textyard.com.

Created by two seniors Rui Xia and Ben Greenberg, TextYard provides financial relief and easier book shopping for fellow students.

“My goal is to end the problem of expensive textbooks,” Greenberg said. “The whole textbook market is changing right now.”

TextYard launched last year after Xia and Greenberg started the project their freshman year.

“It took a lot of work to get to that point,” Greenberg said.

Because of the evolving market, the founders decided to accommodate and evolve faster than expected.

Now, Greenberg and Xia’s website has spread to more than 15 schools for this semester, covering states in all regions of the country, including Hawaii.

“At first I was thinking we would slowly expand,” Greenberg said. “But then I thought ‘Why the hell not?’ and decided to go national right away.”

TextYard allows students to buy or sell textbooks, showing price listings of books on
other various websites, including amazon.com, along with listings from students in possession of books being searched. What sets TextYard apart from other online competitors is the ability for students to search for books by courses.

“It’s simple to use and easier to just enter your classes instead of book numbers or
different editions,” said senior Sam Huang, who said he used the site for the first time last semester.

“I saved a ton of money,” Huang said, adding that he got most of his books from the Amazon listings on the site. “Aggregating all the prices makes TextYard much simpler to use than other sites.”

Sophomore Verena Vogel, who had a scholarship for books last year, said she faces the new concern of textbook shopping. Vogel is looking to the internet for a solution to the expensive problem.

“I don’t want to spend all the money to get my books at the IU Bookstore again,” Vogel said. “I’ll probably use sites like TextYard to save money because I’m running out of time and need to be sure I can get the books.”