Consumer tradeoffs in on‐line textbook purchasing

New forms of retailing present different pricing challenges. The selling of college textbooks over the Internet represents an ideal case study of the different elements that enter into consumer’s price equation. College students were asked to rate the likelihood of purchase of a text given different profiles of sellers and their offerings. Using conjoint analysis, estimates of consumer tradeoffs were calculated. In‐stock status at the college bookstore was the most important variable, followed by buy‐back policies/guarantees. Price of the text was the third most important variable. Implications for both bookstores and on‐line retailers are presented.