Student cash-saver: Stop buying textbooks?
August 30, 2010 by Jacob HawleyPosted in: Campus News, Finances, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Student Life
As college costs skyrocket, students are finding ways around one budget-buster: expensive textbooks.
An estimated $1,122 a year – per student – is spent on textbooks, a 32% increase from five years ago, says the College Board. But an increase in textbook rental options may change that.
Renting texts saves about 50% over the price of a new copy from online companies like Chegg, Campus Book Rentals and RentScouter. The companies have access to millions of titles, and provide books to students for a semester, after which the student mails the book back.
Students have to agree to standards of care (underlining and highlighting is okay, but serious damage means the renter pays for the replacement costs) and return books on the agreed date.
Hoping to stay competitive, some campus bookstores have started using education companies like Follett Corp’s Rent-a-Text model, or rental companies like Campus Book Rentals, to provide short-term book use for students themselves.
Will this money-saver catch on with students? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
HigherEdMorning delivers the latest HigherEd news once a week to the inboxes of over 200,000 HigherEd professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to HigherEdMorning!
Loading ...
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:05 am
This is only part of a college economic “bubble,” one that pits the interests of students against those of publishers and their investors.
It’s someting of a scandal how often new editions of textbooks come out, typically with little change of content, and it’s transparently the case that it’s done to force students to buy new books.
One way to save students bucks on their books: use a popular text that is a couple of editions old. Students then have a choice to go to on-line vendors (typically used book stores) where they can get those editions very cheaply. I’ve known of cases where enterprising students have gotten books that would have cost over $100 from local bookstores for as little as 99 cents plus shipping.