Montreal-based startup aiming to simplify the buying & selling of textbooks

MONTREAL - Aug. 9, 2016 - PRLog -- StudEtree is designed to make student life easier by offering them a fast, organized, and user-friendly platform to buy and sell their used textbooks at competitive prices.

The values of time and money are essential to all post-secondary students and yet they are both sources of constant stress. According to a 2011 report in the Globe & Mail, the average post-secondary student in Canada spends approximately $500 to $1,000 on textbooks and course materials each semester. It is no wonder then that the buying and selling of textbooks continue to be an exasperating experience for many. On top of the excessive prices for new textbooks, long lines at the bookstore, low buy-backs for used textbooks, and outdated platforms to exchange those books are just some of the many complications that students continually face with the start of each new semester. StudEtree's team, comprised of former university graduates, understands these frustrations first-hand, and they have set out to solve these problems once and for all.

Inspired by the tech pioneers of the share economy such as Uber and AirBnB, StudEtree automates the tiresome process of buying and selling used textbooks down to a few simple keystrokes by decreasing transaction time and eliminating the need to search endlessly online. When a student logs into the StudEtree website or app and registers their course schedule, the platform is able to obtain a student's book list and match them with users who have the books that they need. At the end of the semester, the buyers can in turn become the sellers. With no action required on their part, StudEtree subsequently links them up with other students who are taking the same courses the following semester. On their end, StudEtree takes a flat fee of 7.5% from both buyer and seller on each transaction, passing the bulk of the savings over to students.

In essence, StudEtree matches students by creating connections and generating exchanges, allowing used textbooks to be bought and sold rapidly and safely on campus at the most competitive prices.

"Reed Hastings came up with the idea of Netflix after getting a $40 late fee charge at Blockbuster. He probably thought, 'there has to be a better way,'" said Matthew Bruna, founder of StudEtree, "after waiting in line at the bookstore countless times, handing over hundreds of dollars for new books, then waiting in line again at the same store, and getting very little value for my used textbooks, I thought the exact same, 'there just has to be a better way.'"

StudEtree will officially launch in Montreal on September 1, 2016 and will be available in both English and French online.

For more information about StudEtree, including videos and screenshots, please visit http://bit.ly/studetree.