At each semester’s end, students stand in long lines in front of the bookstores, waiting to sell back their books and put a little cash in their pockets to start the summer.

However, buying and selling books online is another option of which more students are taking advantage.

For example, at Web sites like www.CollegeStudentsNetwork.com, a new site developed by Mike Sheehan, a Creighton University student, students can post book sales and access an Internet database of items for college students across the United States.

Sheehan said when books run between $50 and $100 at college bookstores, there is a demand for a cheaper way to buy and sell books.

The free site allows students to browse and inquire about a book or post it for sale.

Susan Terry, textbook buyer at University Book Store, said Web sites for buying and selling textbooks are destined to fail unless students are specific in letting each other know what they have to trade.

“If they just put Psych 101 without including the teacher and the class, they may not get the right book,” she said.

In the meantime, students find other ways to avoid bookstore prices.

“The books are too expensive, and I can’t afford them,” said Daniel Hunt, sophomore in art and design.

“I have not been buying books for a couple semesters, but through sharing and notes, I do not have to deal with expenditures.”

Some students also said bookstore books are not worth the money considering the amount they receive at end-of-semester buy back.

“Most of the books I buy for my classes, but some classes I don’t need the books as much,” said Mitch Gabrielson, junior in hotel, restaurant and institution management. “So it is not worth paying the money for a book when I know I won’t get it back.”

If a book is returned for the following term, a student should get up to 55 percent of what was paid, Terry said, unless a professor has not turned in the order for the book.

“It is common for professors not to turn orders in on the established due date,” she said.

Students said they have considered book trading over the Internet to save time and money.

“I would use the CSN site, because it is cheaper and less time-consuming,” Hunt said. “It could be an answer to the high prices.”

Sheehan said he spent about $500 a semester for books, and that is the main reason why he wanted to start CSN.

The site allows students to consider their options on a broader scale than some other mediums, he said, because “flyers and signs are just not too efficient.”

Terry said students do not expect books to be so expensive, because they are not used to buying college textbooks.

“Students are used to buying $7.99 paperbacks and $25 hardbacks,” she said.