Student Web site gAL.co.za has launched an online bookstore catering for students and lecturers. The site, gAL Books (www.galbooks.co.za), is the result of a joint venture with Pretoria-based Brainbooks, and competes with academic book giant Van Schaik, part of the Naspers media group.
"One of the major complaints students have, is the price of books and the dismal service at campus bookstores countrywide," says John Kuhn, spokesman for gAL, and Student Representative Council VP of the University of the Witwatersrand.
With gAL Books, students can purchase their textbooks at prices which Kuhn says are at least 20% cheaper than that of competitors.
The e-commerce engine designed by Cyberpro allows students to pay either by credit card, bank transfer or through the student-loan organisation, EduLoan.
"Although selling is done online, all students are able to benefit from the system, as they have access to the Internet at their respective institutions," explains Kuhn.
There will be over one million titles to choose from, and most deliveries will be done within 60 hours, save for a few international titles that may take a week to 10 days to deliver.
"And something that`ll make our underpaid lecturers smile," says Kuhn, "is that they`ll be able to get their books for free through gAL."
It`s an interesting shift in student behaviour, says Kuhn - in the past, if students were unhappy, they protested and trashed campuses.
"We`ve given up on trying to fix the bookstores; now, we just open up a business and compete."
gAL.co.za first took to the Web in December 1999, and is renowned for its controversial games like "Squirt Diesel at Robert Mugabe", "Free Hansie from a jail in India", and "Benz-ing the rules with Tony Yengeni". gAL Books is also one of the first Web sites which people can choose to surf in Zulu.
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