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On yesterday's post, I discussed the pros and cons of buying new and used textbooks at your college bookstore. I also listed a number of websites to check out for alternative sources of buying your textbooks at the bookstore.
Today, I'll discuss a new option for students: renting textbooks. I graduated in 2004, and cannot recall the textbook rental option being available for students at all. After checking into it a little bit more, I think that it could be a very good option for budget-conscious students. But, as with anything else, there are a few potential drawbacks to renting.
- There are no guarantees that the book you want is available at any specific site.
- The books are rented for a specific number of days correlating to semesters, quarters and summer sessions, and the rental period begins the day the book requested is shipped, not when the student receives the book.
- Student has to wait for delivery of the book by mail.
- Some rental sites require the student to pay for all shipping costs, which can be substantial with the weight of books.
- The rental site may run out of the title you request before the book is shipped.
The advantages of renting textbooks are as follows:
- No need to find a reseller to take your books back at the end of the semester.
- Environmentally friendly-no new trees will be cut down for these books.
- Less expensive option than purchasing new or used books (one site claims savings up to 75% off buying textbooks.)
A few of sites to check out for renting textbooks are:
There is also a new player in the game, the e-textbook delivery option, and this may very well be the wave of the future. Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that California schools would immediately cease buying traditional textbooks for math and science classes, and would move to the e-textbook delivery option starting in August 2009. With the available e-book technology, it makes sense to slash costs in the math and science textbook area since these are usually by far the most expensive textbooks to buy. I'm sure we'll see more states follow, and hopefully colleges and universities will as well. Of course, being the cynic that I am, I'm sure that colleges will be resistant to the idea as they would lose a good chunk of revenue if bookstores close.
If you are interested in the e-textbook option, you can check out these sites:
Sounds like a new and successful marketing wave. The plusses you cite have a positive ring to them. Renting should be a boon for working and/or limited-resources- students at community colleges and state universities in less affluent states — provided the instructor is teaching from an edition that has been on the market long enough for rental supplies to build up and that edition’s contents are still current.
I agree with this 100%, Robert. Renting is a great idea if students can actually get their hands on the books they need. I would love to hear from anyone who actually has experience with either renting textbooks or using e-textbooks.
Books get outdated so quickly these days that even a book that was used last year is now considered obsolete. With this in mind, it’s a great idea to rent book as it makes the cost of getting an education lower, and means that people don’t have to store books that will most likely be irrelevant soon after. I remember when I was going to college a few years ago, the books would cost lots of money and when I got them and looked at the books I would think that it’s not worth the price I was paying.
adult students are becoming a bigger demographic in the college community everyday.