Stocking up on materials for your college year? College is expensive enough with tuition and room and board. Cut down on some of your costs with textbook rentals so that you’re not spending more money than you need to.

Keep reading to see how to save money and conquer your school year with the best textbook rentals!

Benefits of Renting vs. Buying

With the prices of college textbooks rising, now more than ever is the best time to start renting your textbooks. According to BU Today, students are spending less on textbooks because they are renting them. 55% of all college students rent their textbooks rather than buying them outright, saving them a lot of money.

By renting instead of buying, you would be able to save hundreds of dollars a school year. And with college tuition prices rising every year, this means a lot. When college students buy textbooks, they can spend almost $1,200 on textbooks per year. 

There are several perks to renting your textbooks rather than purchasing them. When you buy a textbook, you may try to go throw the reselling process to get your money back.

According to StudentLoanHero, it’s difficult to resell your textbook for the same price that you bought it for. That means that when you buy a textbook, you’re already losing money if you can’t resell it for what you bought it. Even if it’s through a campus bookstore, you most likely won’t get back the value of the book.

Also, it’s better to rent from a textbook rental website that guarantees the lowest cost, rather than renting from a campus book store where prices are most likely higher, even for rentals.

Another benefit of renting is that you have a rental period that works with your semester. With some services, you can also customize your rental period to best fit your needs.

When you’re done with your book you can just send it back! Most textbook rental services pay for shipping when you return your textbooks. 

Getting the Best Deal

There are a lot of options out there for textbook rental services. It’s important that you’re getting the best deal and saving the most money. So where do you start?

Consider Your Options

Before going with the first rental offer you see, peruse different rental sites to find the best price. Sites like TextbookRentals.com compare prices from other rental services so that you’re always getting the best deal.

Make sure you do your research so you know what different rental services offer. If you’re looking for a rental service that lets you customize your rental period, don’t forget to read the services rental policy! 

According to ConsumerAffairs, most rental services allow leeway for rental periods. You can do a short-term rental (30 or 60 days), which is a great option if you just need a book for a term paper. Or the most common rental period that rental services offer is a quarter or semester-long period.

Try an E-Book

Another way you can save money and space in your backpack is by trying an e-book! An e-book can be a great textbook option, especially if you already have a lot of materials you need to take to class. 

You can save a lot of money by getting e-books instead of buying hardcover books. Sites like CheapEBook.com compare the prices of e-books on different sites so you can find the cheapest price.

Also, an e-book is a lot more accessible since you can access it on your computer, phone, tablet, or Kindle (depending on the e-book service). 

Another obvious perk is that, unlike hardcover textbook rentals, you don’t have to wait to get your book, you get it immediately to your device! And you don’t have to worry about shipping it back when you’re done.

Choosing a Rental Service

There is a cornucopia of textbook rental websites to choose from. Sites like Amazon, Chegg.com, and Barnes and Noble are popular sites that offer hardcopy textbook rentals and e-books. These rental sites can vary in prices and service benefits. 

Amazon offers a large selection of e-books that you can download on a variety of devices, including phones, tablets, Kindles, and Amazon Fire tablets. With Amazon Student, you can get your books shipped to you for free.

According to The College Investigator, Amazon Rental Services do have potentially daunting rental rules such as an additional fee for highlighting your rental book too much or sending it back late.

Chegg is a well-known textbook rental service that offers a lot of discounts on textbooks. Renting from Chegg is a fairly simple process–when you’re done with your book you simply mail it back in the box Chegg sent you. Chegg also offers an online study tab that can provide you with answers to textbook questions, as well as online tutoring.

Chegg offers free shipping off of an order of $50 or more, but keep in mind this offer ends in September.

Barnes & Noble is another popular option that offers textbook rentals. Their selection is as large as Amazon’s so you can definitely find the book you need here. Their only drawback is that they don’t offer free shipping. Barnes & Noble does however have supplemental add ons for textbooks that offer rental sites may not offer.

How to Find the Best Price

When buying your books, apart from finding the right book, the most important thing is that you get them for the best price. One way to do this is by browsing a bunch of textbook rental websites, or you can save time by using Textbook Rentals powerful comparison system. Textbook Rentals searches dozens of stores and provides you with the cheapest prices for the books you’re renting.

Textbook Rentals also price compares e-books so if you want your textbook to be more portable, you’ll be given the best selection to choose from. 

This tool provides you with the rental periods offered by the rental service for the book you’re looking at. This way you know which service to rent your book from based on your desired rental period.

Textbook Rentals Are a Click Away

Now that you have the tools you need, it’s time to get your books! The price comparison tool from TextbookRentals.com will point you in the right direction for getting your hardcopy or e-book textbook rental. Save money and save time so you can make the best of your college experience! Click here to start!