Back to school is upon us and as class schedules are finalized, students should be shopping around for textbooks. When I was a college student, oh so many years ago, my Type A personality drove me to spend hours comparing prices on my necessary course materials in order to slim down the cost of my book bill. Half.com, among others, was a common destination and if I had had the new Half.com iPhone app, I would have saved some time.
When it comes to comparison shopping, Half.com’s best feature is its barcode scanner. Take your iPhone app to your college bookstore and give it a workout to see just how overpriced the books tend to be. If you find a great deal on something, you can sign into your account (but not register as a new user) and purchase the item directly through the app. This isn’t to say that Half.com always has the best pricing on textbooks, but it certainly can steer you in the right direction when it comes to finding a deal online.
Half.com, which also sells video games, music, movies and regular books, is solely geared toward buyers, sadly. Sellers won’t find in-app support for tracking listings or the ability to list new items, something a barcode scanner would make easier. To be well-rounded, the Half.com app needs to add features for sellers and better integrate things like the wish list from Half.com’s regular site.
