ECampus.com

eCampus.com
Web address www.ecampus.com
Commercial? Yes
Type of site
 Online retailer
Available in English
Owner A Book Company, LLC
Launched 1999
Alexa rank
 Negative increase 59,189 (June 2012)[1]
Current status Active

eCampus.com is a Lexington, Kentucky-based retailer, originally founded in 1999. Its products and services include new and used textbooks, ebooks, study materials and bookstore management solutions. The company partners with various colleges, universities and K-12 schools to provide a Virtual Bookstore Program.[2]

History

In April 1999, eCampus.com raised $49 million during its first round of financing.[3] This funding was possible largely in part to non-tech entrepreneurs such as Wendy's founder Dave Thomas and James Patterson, founder of Long John Silver's. Former Governor of Kentucky Wallace Wilkinson, founder of Wallace's Book Stores Inc., was the driving force behind the launch of eCampus.com.[3] All told, the internet company raised $91 million from 429 investors.[4] Fueled by these funds, company executives and developers began meeting on January 20, 1999, determined to launch eCampus.com before fall classes began at U.S. colleges and universities that year.

Dot-com bubble, bankruptcy and reorganization

The bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000, followed a year later by the collapse of Wilkinson's business empire, robbed eCampus.com of momentum, financial support and most importantly, its source of high-margin used textbooks at a critical time in the growth of the company.

eCampus.com reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy[4] and was purchased by A Book Company, LLC. Matt Montgomery, formerly Vice President for Fulfillment at eCampus.com was named President and CEO.

In the years following its re-emergence, the company has become an innovator in the development and distribution of textbooks and learning material through their online storefront.

Controversy

ECampus, ABookCompany, Knetbooks, and the other websites organized under the same company have come under fire for charging renters the full "list price" (which often greatly exceeds the selling price on the websites themselves) if rentals are returned even a day late, and only refunding half of this "fee" if the book is then immediately returned. The user agreement is somewhat vague regarding whether this will occur, and a search online shows that many have experienced this problem.

Operations

Products

Services

Management and staff

Awards

Oracle, a key participant in the group that built the site, named eCampus.com one of its "Stars of the Internet" in 1999.[5] Recipients of this reward were recognized for their innovative e-business practices and for using leading edge technologies to create new, innovative business models.

In 2000, eCampus.com was honored as an "iForce Hero in the Dot.Com Age" by Sun Microsystems.[6] eCampus.com was given this accolade because of the company's ability to create and maximize e-commerce opportunities. That same year Money Magazine named the company its favorite online textbook site.[7]

eCampus.com's original marketing campaign drew praise, winning 13 New York ADDY Awards as a result of its work with advertising agency Devito/Verdi.[8] The winning marketing campaign used traditional and iconic collegiate images – eating gold fish,[9] burping the alphabet,[10] lava lamps[11]– to promote access to lower-cost used textbooks. eCampus.com television advertisements were featured in articles in TV Guide and Newsweek. According to research done by The Marketing Workshop, Inc. of Atlanta, 80 percent of college students recognized the eCampus.com brand less than six months after its launch.[12]

In both 2012 and 2013, eCampus.com was presented the About.com Readers' Choice Award for "Best Website for Buying College Textbooks".[13]

Competitors

Brick and mortar college bookstores remain a significant factor in textbook sales and materials. However, as the profile and demographics of the typical college student have changed so has way they seek and acquire their learning materials.

As campuses continue to see shifts towards virtual campuses and distance learning, it is becoming more popular for institutional-based and independent college bookstores to host a companion online virtual store.

Other colleges are opting to avoid the overhead costs associated with operating a physical store and are relying solely on online fulfillment for bookstore sales, often outsourcing that function to a 3rd party provider such as the eCampus.com Virtual Bookstore Program, Akademos or Amazon.com.[14]

eCampus.com, Chegg.com and Amazon.com remain leaders among the online providers of books and materials. Long gone are the days when a student's only source of course materials was controlled by his or her college or university and available only at that institution's brick and mortar bookstore.

References

  1. ↑ "eCampus.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
  2. ↑ "eCampus.com Virtual Bookstore Program".
  3. 1 2 Moukheiber, Zina (6 June 1999). "Textbook.com". Forbes.
  4. 1 2 Tatge, Mark (20 August 2001). "Where's the Bucks?". Forbes.
  5. ↑ "eCampus.com Selected as a Star of E-business" (Press release). eCampus.com. 16 November 1999. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "eCampus.com Honored as an iForce Hero in the Dot.com Age" (Press release). eCampus.com. 15 May 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "eCampus.com Executive Discovers Formula for Virtual Success" (Press release). eCampus.com. 24 May 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "eCampus.com Dominates New York ADDYs" (Press release). eCampus.com. 4 April 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2015."Agency Awards - DeVito/Vderdi".
  9. ↑ "eCampus.com Goldfish Commercial".
  10. ↑ "eCampus.com Alphabet Burping Commercial".
  11. ↑ "eCampus.com Lava Lamps Commercial".
  12. ↑ "eCampus.com Raises Brand Awareness to 80% in Less than 6 Months" (Press release). eCampus.com. 4 Feb 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "eCampus.com 2012 Winner of Best Site for Buying Textbooks"."eCampus.com 2013 Winner of Best Site for Buying Textbooks".
  14. ↑ "UMASS Amherst Selects Amazon as Bookstore Provider".
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