One of the biggest trends on campus this year has been the phenomenon of online textbook rental — Saving money by renting textbooks has exploded in popularity, partly because of rising college text book prices. It pays to check out multiple online textbook rental sites because they offer a differing choices, including free shipping and optional textbook insurance.
Two of the more popular articles on this website are related to this issue:
Do textbooks cost too much?
Textbook rental is a popular way for students to save money
Although the high cost of college textbooks is nothing new, book prices have become a burden to many students— and the cost of books alone can be a significant barrier to students earning a college degree on a limited budget.
According to a research published by State Public Interest Research Groups, students spent an average of $900 per year on textbooks in 2005. In fact, textbook prices increased at four times the rate of inflation since 1994.
Textbook purchases can represent 20% of tuition at a state university and 50% of tuition at a community college.
Despite the downturn in the economy, the upward trend of textbook costs has not abated. Recent statistics from the non-profit College Board indicate that, on average, students at a four-year public colleges spent over $1,200 on textbooks in 2009-10.
While textbook price inflation is perhaps the most significant force behind the emergence of the new textbook marketplace, other factors are significant as well.
- Online textbook shopping has provided students with more options than ever before
- Students entering college today are adept at the use of social media, to share information with other students in the quest for the best textbook prices
- Recent federal legislation provided greater pricing transparency to both faculty adopting textbooks, and students seeking cheap textbooks
The phenomenon of online textbook rental has also been reported prominently in national media.
How to save money by renting textbooks
For maximum savings plan ahead.
- Rent early to take advantage of the cheapest (but slowest) shipping options
- But don’t rent too early, because longer rentals may lead to higher costs
- Compare prices, and don’t forget to include extra costs like shipping
- Consider renting from a service like CampusBookRentals.com
, which offers optional insurance to protect you in case you or rented textbook is damaged, lost, or stolen.
And don’t overlook the traditional used-book market…
If used books are available to buy, you can (hopefully) sell your book at the end of the semester.
You will help someone else save money, and you’ll recover some of the money you spent. Some online sources — like www.ecampus.com — offer textbook rentals, and also have used textbooks for sale.
For further reading, check out:
- “The Real Cost of College Textbooks” from The New York Times,
- “Should You Rent Your Textbooks?” from SmartMoney.com
- The campaign to Make Textbooks Affordable from the Student PIRGs.
Feel free to share your comments and thoughts below, and don’t forget to check out our other posts related to textbooks.
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