Can Textbook Rentals Save College Bookstores

November 16, 2012

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USA Today recently published an article on how textbook rentals are saving the college textbook store. The article opens by saying “The nation’s brick-and-mortar college bookstores have been struggling to compete with online retailers. Their answer to e-books is an alliance with former rivals: textbook rental companies, such as CampusBookRentals.com,a major driver of the movement that offers kiosks within stores themselves.”

Now I can see where students drawn to shop at their college bookstore would opt for the option to rent textbooks. Rental textbooks may be higher that buying used and reselling but the upfront cost is lower on rentals. This lower “what I need to spend today” is very attractive to students.

I am not sure if the addition of textbook rentals will do much to compete with online sellers or e-books as the article claims. For those comfortable using online sourcing it will most likely still be cheaper than the bookstore. For e-books there is so much difference besides the price that I don’t think it is a valid comparison.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic by leaving a comment.

Facts About Chegg Textbook Rentals

November 4, 2012

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Just read Martin Rojas’ post on renting textbooks at Chegg. Good article on textbook renting but not many comments. I would be interested to hear what others have to say. My comment was:

Rental is a great way to save money up front.  Buying a used textbook and selling it back may be ultimately cheaper but also has risks if the resale price  drops. I always use a price comparison service to compare rental rates and used rates.

Read the post here:

http://college-college-life.knoji.com/facts-about-chegg-textbook-rentals/

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Cheap textbooks easy to find

September 6, 2012

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Saw this article by LAUREN IRWIN  on tips to find cheap textbooks in The Maroon and thought she made some good points. What do you think?

Do not let textbook costs become the wet blanket to your new semester excitement. There are numerous tactics that allow scholars to save cash on textbooks from purchasing used or selecting an ebook to looking comparison internet sites or using renting services.  According to  University  Board, the average undergraduate student at a personal varsity spent $1,213 on books and supplies in the 2011-12 college year.  “I’m on a budget,” Caroline Hoffmann, history senior, declared.  “I’d rather spend a day scouring the  Net  so as to find inexpensive textbooks than the convenience and high costs of the bookstore.” That day-long search would possibly not be obligatory with new research tools.  As of 2008, schools are needed by The Further Education Opportunity Act to list textbooks’ ISBNs in course lists, giving scholars advance notice of texts’ costs and permitting them to research prices for a superior deal.  With public access to ISBNs, strong online textbook shopping has ensued.  Many comparison sites ,eg half.com and BigWords.com, have grown in popularity, making online textbook shopping even simpler.  Some students have even taken action ,eg Michael White, previous Tufts  Varsity  undergraduate student and founder of comparison internet site GetchaBooks.com.  “We were provoked with bookstore costs and seeing our buddies get ripped off,” White recounted.  “We made GetchaBooks to keep finding textbooks simple and cheap, collecting ISBNs from universities across the land and costs from trusted online book sellers like Amazon and Half.com.” The comparison format speaks for itself. Let us take the World Civilization to 1650 text “Worlds Together, Worlds Apart” for example : it’s priced around the Loyola bookstore new for $148.50 and used for $111.50, but GetchaBooks shows the same edition can be bought for $70.52 at Half.com, $85.99 on Amazon and $70.61 on Amazon  Market-place .

White means that scholars use comparison sites to buy used books but to also find the best place and time to sell back.  Scholars  can regularly make more cash on a text if they sell them online right before the start of the semester, instead of at the end.  “I buy all my textbooks on Ebay or Amazon because its so much cheaper,” finance senior Crystal Locicero declared.

“I sell them on Ebay and make a descent amount back, but it is often a two-week process.” For those strapped for cash and time, renting textbooks could be a great option.  Scholars  can even window shop for rental costs, comparing eFollet rentals to online rentals, on sites like Chegg.com.  Chegg, commonly referred to as the Netflix of textbooks, saves scholars cash while removing the load of selling back or holding onto texts.

As an example, the same “Worlds Together, World Apart” text can be rented new at the Loyola bookstore for $96.53 and used for $71.28, but may also be rented for as little as $41.48 on Chegg.  “Most of my pals use Chegg it is an extremely cheap and simple service,” enterprize management senior Ali Burdig declared.

“They even give you a box to send it back in.” However before renting ensure you understand the renting agreement.

The result to using Loyola bookstore renting services is that they are in harmony with the end of Loyola’s semester.  “I like rentals –the bookstore allows you to keep the book till after finals and are typically new copies,” Hoffman declared. Don’t really want to hire or buy?  For those cosy sans physical textbooks, using electronic books may become the new best alternative.  Scholars  could even be capable of finding electronic books free online on sites like Flat World  Data  and Textbook Revolution.  Today, even a straightforward Google search with the text’s title and “PDF” may produce a free online copy.  White advises to save cash scholars should not buy their textbooks far ahead.  “Go to class the 1st week or 2 and judge how much you might need a text before purchasing it,” White related.  “If you are not going to want it that much, it’s always possible to share a copy with a classmate or borrow it from the library.

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Stop Being a Starving Student With Textbook Rentals – 3 Companies That Have Cheap College Textbooks

February 25, 2012

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If you’re a college student, or a parent in this day and age, you undoubtedly know that one of the most flabbergasting expenses other than the cost of room and board is most often the cost of the required textbooks that go along with the territory. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Textbook rentals are the wave of the future, and here are three companies that are at the forefront of the innovation.

Campus Book Rentals
Arguably the best company around when it comes to customer service relating to textbook rentals, and any problems or questions that may be associated with any problems or procedures. They have a good selection of books available at great prices, the books get to you quickly and the rental terms are flexible.

Chegg
One of the big boys in the textbook rental world, but this comes with pros and cons. They have competitive prices (usually) but they tend to lack on the customer service side, and the condition of their books is iffy at times.

College Book Renter
Very similar to Campus Book Rentals in structure and pricing, and in general has a better presentation than Chegg. Their website states that it is possible to save quite a substantial chunk of change by using them, and it also lays out the benefits of textbook rental in a very down to earth way.

I have personal experience with two of these three companies, and indirect experience with the third. In spite of their individual differences, and other competitors which are not listed here, they all have the potential to save you (or your family) a good chunk of change, and in the end you won’t have to worry about abysmal buy back rates, or depreciating book values.

College textbook rentals really are the wave of the future, and a wave which everyone needs to be riding given the state of the economy today. Starving students strive for some degree of frugality wherever they can find it, and effectively participating in the recycling of textbooks is an emerging form of frugality at its finest.

 

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Rent Textbooks = Save Some Money

January 22, 2012

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With college students’ constantly trying to save money, every little bit of savings can really add up. An increasingly popular option for students trying to save some dough is the option to rent textbooks instead of purchasing them outright. While this might seem somewhat confusing, it really shouldn’t to anyone that has ever used Netflix before; the concept is nearly identical. There are many textbook rental websites on the internet, but most work the same. First, find the textbooks that you need, and make sure that the price and rental period works for your needs. Once all the details look satisfactory, then pay for your books and wait. The textbooks should come within a few days, and then they are yours to use for the semester. As a tip, be sure to save the packaging that they came in so that you can use it when you return them at the end of the semester. Be sure to take good care of the books that you have rented; they are not technically yours and you should abstain from writing in them or highlighting them.

Once you are done with finals, then log on to the website that you bought your textbooks from and print off your return shipping label. Most websites include the return shipping price in the initial rental quote, so make sure not to pay for it out of pocket. Once the company receives your returned books, they will examine them to make sure that they are still in good condition; as long as you took decent care of them you shouldn’t have anything to worry about as far as this stage goes.

An important thing to remember when looking into renting textbooks is the compare the pricing of purchasing vs. renting; sometimes renting can save you a significant amount of money, while other times it might be more economical to purchase the books. Some websites, like TextbookStop.com, allows you to choose between buying or renting your textbooks, and it can be quite handy to have both the purchase and rental prices side by side.

Daniel is a writer for TextbookStop.com. TextbookStop.com allows you to rent textbooks instead of buying them, which can save students hundreds of dollars per semester.

 

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