WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.950 --> 00:00:17.750 Avyya: Okay, perfect. Okay, then I'll just get started, and thank you for joining me. 2 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:28.729 Avyya: So, my first question to you is, please specify your study of program and current year and approximate number of textbooks used per term on average. 3 00:00:29.510 --> 00:00:39.630 Esha Gupta: Sure, so… my name is Isha. I am currently in my fourth year in doing computer science as my major. I usually… 4 00:00:39.810 --> 00:00:52.329 Esha Gupta: Since our major is, like, mostly online books, but I do prefer some physical books, so I end up taking, like, 3-4 books per semester, if I have to read them. Yeah. 5 00:00:52.330 --> 00:01:00.949 Avyya: Yeah, yeah, that sounds perfect. And my next question is, please describe the traditional process of obtaining textbooks for your classes. 6 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:18.969 Esha Gupta: So usually I, first of all, check in McMaster's bookstore if they have it available, but usually the campus store is kind of expensive, so that's when I go to online different methods, maybe Facebook Marketplace, or there are some other sites, too. 7 00:01:19.160 --> 00:01:20.830 Avyya: Yeah, Amazon or something, yeah. 8 00:01:20.830 --> 00:01:32.940 Esha Gupta: Exactly, so… usually the prices are a little comparable, but as a student, I would still kind of like the cheaper, way to buy the books, if I can get, yeah. 9 00:01:32.940 --> 00:01:41.089 Avyya: Yeah, makes sense. And my next question to you is, what generally occurs with regard to textbooks at the end of semester? 10 00:01:42.510 --> 00:01:50.690 Esha Gupta: So by the end of semester, I'm left with a bunch of books, so I try to kind of donate them, or… 11 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:54.820 Esha Gupta: just have them with me, because I studied them. 12 00:01:54.820 --> 00:01:55.580 Avyya: Yeah. 13 00:01:55.580 --> 00:02:00.190 Esha Gupta: But, yeah, I kind of have them, unless I want to donate. 14 00:02:00.190 --> 00:02:08.429 Avyya: Yeah, makes sense, of course. And, when considering purchasing a book, how do you decide if it is really necessary to have that book? 15 00:02:09.289 --> 00:02:31.119 Esha Gupta: Right, so… there are two factors. Sometimes, I don't really want a book, but the course I'm taking, it really needs me to buy the course, and I've taken a couple of them, which really want me to have, like, a physical copy of the book. So that's one factor, and the other one is maybe I just want a book, like, I just want to read. So, that's another factor when I would buy… 16 00:02:31.130 --> 00:02:33.739 Esha Gupta: A book, like, a physical edition of that book. 17 00:02:34.100 --> 00:02:43.440 Avyya: Yeah, that makes sense. And what aspects of meeting someone to exchange a textbook make it inconvenient or unappealing to you? 18 00:02:44.650 --> 00:02:46.150 Esha Gupta: Mmm… 19 00:02:46.310 --> 00:02:58.090 Esha Gupta: I think it's usually the fear that someone might, use, like, maybe some inscribings and stuff in my book. Like, I don't really like to… 20 00:02:58.100 --> 00:03:10.739 Esha Gupta: highlight stuff in my book, I just like to read them, so… that's one of the major reasons I don't like to share my books, or, like, giving it to someone, having this fear that they might use a pen or a highlighter or something. 21 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:11.310 Avyya: Yeah. 22 00:03:11.630 --> 00:03:13.010 Avyya: Okay, that makes sense. 23 00:03:13.010 --> 00:03:19.339 Esha Gupta: And if you could change one part of the textbook purchasing process to make it better, what would that be, and why? 24 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:24.740 Esha Gupta: Hmm… So… 25 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:37.119 Esha Gupta: Right, so since you're talking about textbooks, I feel most of the textbooks are bought by students, and we all know students are in a very struggling phase of their life, so having, like. 26 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:59.599 Esha Gupta: somewhere where we can, maybe identify, okay, yeah, you are a student, so you can get, like, a minimum this percent off on that book that you're buying. I think that's a really good idea, because there are other apps who do it for different stuff, maybe, let's say, you're buying electronic stuff, so why not we have something like that for books? I would really appreciate that. 27 00:03:59.600 --> 00:04:01.299 Avyya: Yeah, like, student discounts and stuff. 28 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:02.190 Esha Gupta: Exactly. 29 00:04:02.190 --> 00:04:08.840 Avyya: Yeah, makes sense. And from your perspective, what problem is this design attempting to solve? 30 00:04:10.210 --> 00:04:11.290 Esha Gupta: Mmm… 31 00:04:12.370 --> 00:04:28.029 Esha Gupta: I think this idea is really good, that someone can actually buy books from a trusted source, because buying them, like, randomly from some people, I would not trust that. 32 00:04:28.580 --> 00:04:43.430 Esha Gupta: But since users are verified and we are doing, like, a rating thing, as done on most of the apps, like Uber or, different online websites, I think it makes it more reliable for someone who wants to use it. 33 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:50.300 Avyya: Yeah, that's a really good point, I agree with that. And, what features of this prototype grabbed your attention immediately? 34 00:04:51.100 --> 00:05:00.960 Esha Gupta: Yeah, I think I really like the idea that you could rate people, because I would love to see the feedbacks, and 35 00:05:01.080 --> 00:05:18.760 Esha Gupta: yeah, it's not just, like, very general. I have an idea who am I… who am I, like, getting my books from. Yeah. And also, I think the idea of not actually interacting with a person, since it might get a little awkward, and just, like, having the book with me, really like that idea. 36 00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:20.879 Avyya: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. 37 00:05:21.030 --> 00:05:25.300 Avyya: And, what aspects were you not comfortable with in this product? 38 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:34.840 Esha Gupta: I think this is a good product overall, but one change that comes to my mind would be, I did read that, 39 00:05:35.190 --> 00:05:57.519 Esha Gupta: the full payment is done after the product is received, like, the book is received, so as a person who's lending the book, and someone who's buying it, I would like… we do, like, a 50-50 thing, so you pay 50% of the amount and start before you buy the book, and the rest once you are… once you have the book with you, so it gives, like, a sense of confidence to both the 40 00:05:57.520 --> 00:05:58.380 Esha Gupta: Buddies. 41 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:07.760 Avyya: Yeah, no, that's perfectly fair, makes sense. Yeah. And, do you think this process is better than your current process for buying or selling textbooks? 42 00:06:07.880 --> 00:06:27.760 Esha Gupta: Oh, yeah, definitely, like, going on random websites to just, like, find what I want is not the most… the least stressful thing. Like, already, as students, we have, like, less time and a lot of stuff to do, so I would love, if there's a devoted app for this, like, it makes it better. So, yeah. Nice. 43 00:06:27.760 --> 00:06:36.810 Avyya: Yeah, I definitely agree with you. And which feature of the… which feature on this platform would have the greatest impact on how you utilize this platform? 44 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:41.160 Esha Gupta: Hmm, that's interesting. 45 00:06:41.510 --> 00:06:45.320 Esha Gupta: Oh… I think… 46 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:58.339 Esha Gupta: the in… the in-care… in-app messaging feature is really good, because, I would not have to, like, connect with a person, like. 47 00:06:58.450 --> 00:07:16.940 Esha Gupta: through their personal contacts, because that's, like, kind of, a violation. Maybe I don't even meet that per- like, see that person or, like, interact with him ever. Yeah. So if we can just, like, text on the app and just figure things out. So, I think that's one of the key highlights of this app that's really good. 48 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:18.829 Avyya: Yeah, the privacy factor, I guess. 49 00:07:18.830 --> 00:07:19.220 Esha Gupta: Yeah. 50 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:19.880 Avyya: accents. 51 00:07:20.310 --> 00:07:31.910 Avyya: Oh, that's good. And if this platform were to come out in the upcoming term, how likely are you to utilize this platform, and, what would… what would you need to change? 52 00:07:33.150 --> 00:07:37.200 Esha Gupta: Mmm… If it would come out… 53 00:07:37.640 --> 00:07:44.309 Esha Gupta: I would kind of use it, because, yeah, new semester means new books, everyone needs that. 54 00:07:44.430 --> 00:07:52.430 Esha Gupta: One thing that I would, like, use in this would be… 55 00:07:52.710 --> 00:08:02.330 Esha Gupta: I think I would recommend it to my friends, because, I would check, like, if the books are, like, from genuine Source, then yeah, of course I'm gonna use this app. 56 00:08:02.700 --> 00:08:03.960 Avyya: Yeah, that makes sense. 57 00:08:04.260 --> 00:08:07.469 Avyya: Thank you so much, and that's all the questions I had for you. 58 00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:09.070 Esha Gupta: Perfect, thank you so much. 59 00:08:09.070 --> 00:08:10.010 Avyya: Thank you. 60 00:08:14.400 --> 00:08:16.100 Avyya: Did you close the recording?