A TAB CHINWAG WITH… James Parson, founder of Soton Swap

Student debt isn’t the only millstone around our necks when we graduate each summer alongside 5,000 of our peers.  Many of us are lugging around textbooks too: three years’ worth of gloss and paper suddenly good for nothing but a celebratory bonfire.  Then three months later, innocent freshers are shelling out precious drinking money at October and John Smith’s for shiny new editions of the same titles.

Last year, one man stood up and said, “Enough.”

That man was James Parson, the Philosophy finalist whose on-campus book exchange Soton Swap has taken uni by storm since it launched in early October.  In just the first six weeks of term, the business turned over £3,500-worth of books.  The Soton Tab caught up with James to find out more.

TAB: Hi James, so can you tell us how exactly the business works?

JAMES: Students give us their old textbooks which they no longer need, so we can sell them on their behalf.  Then other students can buy these textbooks and collect them on a Wednesday at Pod 3 in the SUSU building between 12-2pm.  As soon as they’re sold, we transfer the money to the seller.

The way we get profit is that, for each book sold, we include a 5% transaction charge which is incorporated into the price of the book.  All this profit goes to the charitable projects of Enactus.

TAB: The social entrepreneurs of Enactus Southampton (SIFE to us oldies) haven’t been far from the headlines this term.  From second place at the Enactus World Cup in Cancún to the giddy heights of switching the Christmas lights on on concourse, the celebrity circuit beckons.

So James, without Enactus’ help, would you have put the idea into practice?  Did you receive good mentoring or meet a business partner there?

JAMES: Enactus were fundamental in the creation of the team.  I actually started off as a Project Leader for one of their consultancy groups, and our first project was to consult with students to see if they’d be interested in having a second-hand bookstore available to them—we quickly found that they did.  After that, we wanted to make the business ourselves.  Enactus also backed us financially so that we could fund the website.

TAB: A bookstall is a fairly common idea that happens on campuses worldwide, what’s different about Soton Swap?

JAMES: Soton Swap is different as our project is helping thousands of people’s lives through the entrepreneurial social projects of Enactus.

TAB: Let’s get down to the figures.  I’ve heard things are going pretty well—but can you put a figure on how much you’ve sold, turnover, profit?

JAMES: We launched this year with a big event where we sold about £3,500 worth of books, which was phenomenal.  Definitely wasn’t expecting so much interest to start off with.

TAB: Not too shabby … so when do you make most money during the year?

JAMES: We’re expecting a huge rush in January as people will be buying books for their semester 2 modules.

TAB: Which courses and subject areas have you got most of books-wise?

JAMES: At the moment we have lots (and lots!) of books from Philosophy, Economics and History.  We want to work with presidents throughout the university though to get them to advertise us. The more people that use us, the more students will be able to have access to cheaper books.

TAB: How many people do you have on the team?

JAMES: There are roughly 25 people on the team—but we’re always on the hunt for more people!

TAB: What happens when you leave uni, who will carry it on?  Any plans for expansion?

JAMES: When I leave university I plan to hand it on to either the current vice project leader, or, if he’s no longer interested, to somebody else who’s up for the challenge!  And yes, there are solid plans for expansion.  I want to have an app designed and improve the website.

So there you have it, bookworms.  See if you can’t steal a jump on next semester’s modules and pick up the textbook before the Christmas break.  And with titles like Leviathan and A Critique of Pure Reason for under a tenner, you too can outsmart your lecturer at next week’s seminar!