Amazon has just released a new student-targeted iPhone app called Amazon Student (Free, App Store Link). The new app lets students buy textbooks, compare prices, and sell their old textbooks and other items.
The app is designed so that students can walk into their college bookstore, scan textbook barcodes, and find better prices online, as well as helping the to sell their old textbooks (and other items, such as electronics or DVDs) to help manage the cost of going to college.
Payments for sold items go onto an Amazon.com gift card linked to your account, and Amazon will even mail a pre-paid shipping label to your address on file. To make matters even better, Amazon is also offering a free 6-month Amazon Prime membership to students (including free two-day shipping) just for joining the Amazon Student program.
From the release notes:
Now students can compare textbook prices on this semester’s syllabus right from the college bookstore simply by scanning a barcode. And when it’s time to sell back textbooks, the app can turn used books–and millions of other eligible electronics, video games, DVDs and more–into Amazon.com gift cards. Students scan the items they no longer need, ship eligible items for free, and get an Amazon.com Gift Card to spend on millions of items at Amazon.com. Nearly 1 million textbooks are eligible for Textbook Buyback (www.amazon.com/sellbooks) and students can get up to 70 percent back.
Amazon Students is available now for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store (Free, App Store Link)