Resale simplified for URI and JWU students

Textbooks—not always top of mind for incoming freshman, until sticker shock hits—have long been resistant to resale and exchange programs. That’s changed thanks to Anthony Markey ’17, an accounting major who started his online college resale business, Libby, in December.

The idea came to Markey after he returned from a semester abroad and needed to make some quick cash. When he attempted to sell his slightly used textbooks to online retailers, he received very low offers. Libby “encourages a fair resale value,” say Markey and his business partner, recent Stetson University graduate Laionel Cintron. For students at URI and JWU, the site facilitates student-to-student transactions and allows searches by specific courses and professors. Students at other schools can so far access only limited functions, including a search for the best prices on textbooks from popular sellers like AbeBooks, ValoreBooks, and Chegg. But Markey plans to roll out the service nationwide. “We want to break down some of the financial barriers within higher education that are caused by the high costs of textbooks,” he says.