Allan E. Powell, corporate general manager at the Coop, said that Redline Textbooks, due to its small scale, can exploit international pricing disparities.

“Small operators like the students at Harvard can do this and they stay under the radar screen of the publishers because the publishers don’t want this to be happening,” Powell said. “Online competitors have what we call cherry-picked, the biggest titles and most expensive books. It works for the small operator but it doesn’t work for the larger operator who has a large list like we do.”

Powell also expressed doubt that Yagan and his friends’ efforts would change Coop policies.

“We don’t believe, unless there’s some fundamental change in the way that publishers price their books, that this would have any applicability to United States bookstores,” Powell said.

“I think that what we hope to do is give a lot of students an alternative to the Coop,” Washington said.

“The Coop has every book, and I buy books at the Coop, but for many books, The Coop doesn’t provide the best options and prices.” “In addition, we’re getting a chance to run a business,” he added.

In a partnership with NetAid, a New York non-profit organization which supports local organizations in other countries that fight extreme poverty, Redline Textbooks will also donate 10 percent of its pre-wage earnings to improve access to education in developing countries.

—Staff Writer Tina Wang can be reached at tinawang@fas.harvard.edu.