Virtual Bookstores Bring Back-to-School Shopping Home

One essential – sometimes loved, sometimes dreaded but always anticipated – component of a new school year is the trip to the bookstore. Stacks of textbooks, long lines at the cashier and loading up on notebooks is a rite of passage. One internet-based company has come along to make that tradition less stressful, and Learning House (www.learninghouse.com) is bringing those services to its clients.

eCampus (www.ecampus.com) lets students do their back-to-school shopping from home, the office or any other location with a computer, all while saving money. “Our main benefit is we offer students competitive prices on new and used books,” explained Kristen Parke, sales coordinator for eCampus. Parke arranged the contract for Learning House, Inc. to set up its own, customized virtual bookstore, which launched in the beginning of June. Books, apparel and accessories can be ordered and shipped in the same day.

“One of the trends I see happening for small colleges is that they need to provide quick access to their students for books, supplies and apparel, and they need to supply virtual access,” said Dr. Denzil Edge, President of Learning House, Inc. “That’s why we stepped in.” Institutions of higher education offering online programs must be able to provide access to their online students quickly and accurately. If they can’t provide this service, students go to companies like Amazon.Com for their books and supplies which means that the college bookstore loses the opportunity to sell the books and supplies to the student.

Learning House wanted to do something for its clients who were losing bookstore sales to big companies. Thus, Learning House formed a partnership with eCampus to offer Virtual Bookstores to its clients. As smaller institutions reach out to the world via distance learning, their students near and far require class materials. A partnership with eCampus is one means Learning House, Inc. saw as filling this need for their clients.

eCampus’ virtual bookstores can be tailored to a college’s whims, as the institutions can design their own “storefront” offerings, colors and logos. In addition to its own bookstore, Learning House, Inc. provided one of its clients, the Association for Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools, with its own specialized eCampus site.

As an added bonus to the schools setting up virtual bookstores, a share of revenues generated from their sites is returned to the institution. Not only do students, faculty, alumni and others using a school’s site save money, but also a percentage of their purchase goes back to their schools.

Learning House offers a Virtual Bookstore from its Web site (www.learninghouse.com) so that clients can get an idea of how it works.

About Learning House, Inc.
The Learning House, Inc. was founded in 1985 by Dr. Denzil Edge. It is a comprehensive eLearning company that develops customized eContent, as well as audio and video products; hosts and leases course management systems; leases or sells eContent; and provides 24/7 Help Desk services, project management services, consultation and research services, editing services, and staff training for its clientele. The Learning House, Inc. provides eLearning services to numerous institutions of higher education, professional organizations, government agencies, and businesses.
Source: The Learning House, Inc. www.learninghouse.com