With another productive year coming to a close, we’re focusing our last few blog posts for 2018 on educational applications for your phone or laptop that have been designed in South Africa to solve real problems that students face and make your lives that little bit easier.
Last week we focused on LevelsApp, a brilliant application that will help you find the ideal degree for you. Check out the Educational App Review:Levelsapp post if you missed it. This week we’re taking a closer look at Quillo, an online marketplace for second-hand textbooks that will save you time, money and keep you safe.
Textbooks. One of the key sources of knowledge and information for students and academics alike. Inevitable companions throughout your varsity career. They’re invaluable, they’re unavoidable, and they’re expensive. Anyone who has gone through the hassle of finding and buying a new set of textbooks for the upcoming semester knows that it can be a painful process that leaves your bank account feeling a bit eina. So it was only a matter of time until someone clever came up with a solution to this issue. Say hello to Quillo , the online market place for second-hand textbooks that provides a safe and convenient way for students to buy and sell their textbooks.
Developed by a student at UCT (i.e. Tamir Shklaz), the idea was borne out of his frustration with messy notice boards and inefficient online forums and platforms. In our tech-driven world, there had to be a more convenient and safer way to exchange textbooks! The Quillo app was designed to connect buyers and sellers quickly and easily and facilitate the transaction via an online portal. The process is simple. First, the seller uploads their book onto Quillo and sets a price. The buyer logs on and searches for the books they want. Once the buyer has found what they’re looking for, they can contact the seller to ask questions about the condition of the book and can even negotiate on the price. Once they’re happy, both parties agree on the deal and the buyer can either pay cash when they meet up, or with a credit card on the app. The good folks at Quillo recommend paying through the app as they cannot protect you in the event of a cash sale going wrong. The next step after payment has been sorted is for buyer and seller to either meet up so the buyer can inspect the book and make sure it’s what they’re after. Once everybody is happy, the buyer approves the transaction and the money is released to the seller. It’s as simple as that. And in case of any disputes, Quillo will mediate and arrange for a return and refund if necessary.
The Quillo team have done extremely well and even won a top e-commerce start-up pitch event. Their vision is to grow the market place on Quillo and help students and bursary providers better track spending on textbooks. They would also like to facilitate the donation of books for students who can’t afford them and eventually branch out into providing students with valuable advice and info during their varsity careers.
Don’t forget to check out the brilliant Quillo app when it comes time for new books in 2019!