It's Book Swap vs. Book Swap Now (The Plot Thickens)
So I menioned previously how there is a bookswap website run by the Computer Science and Business Association. And since they seem to have zero publicity efforts behind it and since Ned's and the ASUC bookstore still appear to be ripping off students in prodigious numbers, I suggested that the ASUC do a better job of informing students of said website.

Since posting that, I've learned that the ASUC does in fact have their own bookswap website (you'll need a password to log in, but there isn't much to see). It's housed at one.berkeley.edu, and it's got an almost unusable and functionally deficient user interface (no offense or anything). Plus, there don't appear to be many books listed on it and no attempts by the ASUC to publicize it that I'm aware of.

So the ASUC could put their hefty might behind publicizing their bookswap website (which would make for a nice change of pace from their usual tendency to put their hefty might behind something of minimal to no use for students). But the problem is the ASUC bookswap site sucks, while the CSBA bookswap is great, but they just don't have the heft that the ASUC does to get the word out.

Therefore, I think the ASUC should throw in the towel, and either get the CSBA to host their bookswap on One as some sort of partnership deal or else just settle for promoting something that the ASUC didn't actually create. Either way, I don't have much faith that the ASUC will redesign their bookswap site (and why should they when a perfectly good one already exists!).

I want to see flyers up in the spring advertising comegetused. This is a good start, keep up the good work..

[And yes, I realize that money spent at the ASUC bookstore finds its way back to students. But it only does so after they have made enough money to pay for workers and rent and eletricity and all that other stuff. If the ASUC needs more money they shouldn't get it by allowing the ASUC bookstore to fleece us. The honorable thing to do would be to allow students to exchange books and save money and just raise the student fees that we give the ASUC. Plus that would cost the students less overall as there wouldn't be all those overhead costs involved.]
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