While searching for a cheaper textbook last semester, Danny F. Yagan ’06 discovered that textbooks overseas were cheap enough not only to save money, but to make some.

“I had heard about huge international price differentials before but I didn’t know how large they were until I was looking for a less expensive way to get my Ec 1011b book,” he said.

The product of his search was Redline Textbooks, a new company Yagan started with seven fellow Currier House residents that takes advantage of substantial disparities in textbook prices at the Harvard Coop as compared to those at other retailers and distributors. The prices set by publishers often vary from country to country, and the new company exploits this fact by buying textbooks required in popular Harvard courses, mostly from Western Europe, and reselling them on campus.

“What’s remarkable is that even with buying retail in Western Europe and shipping overseas, we’re able to offer $20-50 off the Coop,” said Yagan, whose older brother, Sam A. Yagan ’99, founded SparkNotes.com.

Danny Yagan also said that that Redline Textbooks receives some of its stock from domestic sources.

Through its site, redlinetextbooks.com, the corporation offers unused textbooks required in introductory chemistry, physics, math, economics and statistics courses.

With a loan from a private source and approval from the College to run a business out of a dorm during term-time, Yagan started the corporation with Daniel J. Feith ’06, Matthew G. Gartland ’06, Robert M. Koenig ’06, Andrew M. Mugica ’06, Naveen Muthu ’06, Michael W. Reckhow ’06 and Brooks E. Washington ’06.

The professors of some courses already suggest in their syllabi that students visit redlinetextbooks.com in addition to the Coop to buy textbooks.

“We will certainly be suggesting that the students buy the textbook from Redline Textbooks,” said Professor of Economics Edward L. Glaeser, who teaches Economics 1011a, “Microeconomic Theory.” “I belive in free trade and I believe in arbitrage, and I think this is a terrific thing what they’re doing.”

The operators of Redline Textbooks check the site every night at midnight, prepare the textbooks ordered by students and offer next-day delivery.

Washington, the company sales manager, expressed optimism about textbook sales, and said that the company was not operating at a loss overall.

“Over the weekend, even before shopping period, we sold over 60 books,” said Washington.

“It was beyond our wildest dreams.”According to Yagan, they have sold over 100 books to date.

Washington attributed much of the sales to freshmen, whom Redline Textbooks targeted with fliers last week.

The pricing of college textbooks has emerged as a national issue in the past year. In an October 2003 article, the New York Times reported that some textbooks cost half as much when purchased abroad. In July, the U.S. House of Representatives held a subcommittee hearing on the topic, “Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly?”