They’re calling it the Uber of college textbooks.
A group of USF students is introducing a new app that allows students to share and rent their textbooks. It’s called Borrow’d.
Daniel Mall, creator of Borrow’d, came up with the idea after trying to sell back his old textbooks.
Mall says he got very little money back for the hundreds of dollars he spent per semester on books.
“I was furious," Mall said. "I was like, ‘There’s got to be another way.' ”
That’s when he developed Borrow’d, in hopes students would be able to save money and earn cash on the books they already own.
Students upload the books they have using the barcode and upload a picture. Then, other students looking for the book can search for the book on the app, and pay per week or per month for the books they need.
Students end up paying a small fraction of what they would at the bookstore.
“Imagine if everyone at the end of their college experience says, ‘I didn’t spend any money on textbooks because of Borrow’d.’ That’s the goal. That’s the dream,” said Rhondel Whyte, COO.
Mall and his team of developers are working hard to get the word out about the new app in hopes it takes off. They plan to take the concept national and offer it at other schools in the future.
The Borrow’d team is also asking for donations as it continues to try to grow.