BookRenter elevates textbook renting
William Matthias
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: News
There may be an easier, less expensive way to get textbooks for college classes. It's called BookRenter.com and it coulßd save students hundreds of dollars every semester.
"I bought seven books for the fall semester and it only cost me $220," Brockport sophomore Kristine Flier said. Flier's textbooks would have cost her a whopping $890 if she purchased them from the college bookstore, she said.
BookRenter announced Jan. 11 that it now offers the largest catalog of textbooks available online, guaranteeing 96 percent of books priced over $25 to be in stock.
"We have elevated our offering yet again by essentially ensuring that every student at every campus across the country can receive any textbook they need within a few days at a fraction of the retail price," BookRenter CEO Mehdi Maghsoodnia said.
Students save, on average, 64 percent off the retail price on every rental, effectively saving thousands of dollars over the course of a college education, said Michel Geller, BookRenter's vice president of marketing.
BookRenter offers five different rental periods. Its Web site displays how much money customers save with each option on every rental. The company is currently offering free premium shipping (books will arrive in 3-7 business days) for a limited time.
The average college student spends $775 on text books every year and the average college bookstore earns 22 percent profit per book, according to the National Association of College Stores' Web site (www.nasc.org). This excludes the additional profit they earn reselling books they've bought back. Students cannot sell back certain books, as new editions are often created before the semester ends, rendering the old ones obsolete. Such is the case for Flier.
"I have books in my trunk from my first semester at Brockport that I couldn't sell back to any bookstore," Flier said. She was forced to keep each book, some costing more than $150.
Brockport sophomore Ashley Morgan spent $1,200 in books her first year at Brockport. She refused to buy books for the fall '09 semester, which resulted in negative consequences.
"I tried to take good notes in class and review articles online, but it was too hard to keep up with the material without books," Morgan said.
She used BookRenter to obtain books for the spring semester and saved $257.
"The amount of money I saved is incredible," she said. "BookRenter is not only one of the easiest ways [to get textbooks], but it's also the cheapest."
BookRenter launched in July 2008 and its customer base has grown 300 percent each year, according to a press release. It serves more than 100,000 students across 5,000 U.S. campuses. For additional information, visit www.BookRenter.com.
"I bought seven books for the fall semester and it only cost me $220," Brockport sophomore Kristine Flier said. Flier's textbooks would have cost her a whopping $890 if she purchased them from the college bookstore, she said.
BookRenter announced Jan. 11 that it now offers the largest catalog of textbooks available online, guaranteeing 96 percent of books priced over $25 to be in stock.
"We have elevated our offering yet again by essentially ensuring that every student at every campus across the country can receive any textbook they need within a few days at a fraction of the retail price," BookRenter CEO Mehdi Maghsoodnia said.
Students save, on average, 64 percent off the retail price on every rental, effectively saving thousands of dollars over the course of a college education, said Michel Geller, BookRenter's vice president of marketing.
BookRenter offers five different rental periods. Its Web site displays how much money customers save with each option on every rental. The company is currently offering free premium shipping (books will arrive in 3-7 business days) for a limited time.
The average college student spends $775 on text books every year and the average college bookstore earns 22 percent profit per book, according to the National Association of College Stores' Web site (www.nasc.org). This excludes the additional profit they earn reselling books they've bought back. Students cannot sell back certain books, as new editions are often created before the semester ends, rendering the old ones obsolete. Such is the case for Flier.
"I have books in my trunk from my first semester at Brockport that I couldn't sell back to any bookstore," Flier said. She was forced to keep each book, some costing more than $150.
Brockport sophomore Ashley Morgan spent $1,200 in books her first year at Brockport. She refused to buy books for the fall '09 semester, which resulted in negative consequences.
"I tried to take good notes in class and review articles online, but it was too hard to keep up with the material without books," Morgan said.
She used BookRenter to obtain books for the spring semester and saved $257.
"The amount of money I saved is incredible," she said. "BookRenter is not only one of the easiest ways [to get textbooks], but it's also the cheapest."
BookRenter launched in July 2008 and its customer base has grown 300 percent each year, according to a press release. It serves more than 100,000 students across 5,000 U.S. campuses. For additional information, visit www.BookRenter.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
J. S. Allen
posted 1/29/10 @ 4:00 PM EST
I like the idea of renting, but sometimes I like to keep certain books from classes I really enjoyed. I understand that the main draw to renting is the price, but they actually aren't always cheaper, and that coupled with the fact that I like to keep some of them often leads me to purchase mine. (Continued…)
Britney
posted 2/02/10 @ 6:06 PM EST
J.S, agreed sometimes you want to keep your books instead of renting them. At bookrenter.com we do offer that. So after you rent your textbooks, you have the option to purchase them. (Continued…)
Russian Singles
posted 3/18/10 @ 10:04 AM EST
This article is amazing. I?m going to spend so much time procrastinating on here. I?m not quite sure if I should be thanking you, or cursing you
Cindy
posted 3/18/10 @ 11:53 AM EST
Here is a site that offers a number of places you can rent textbooks and compare prices.
They also offer a book look service to help you find the cheapest books around. (Continued…)
stelazas
posted 4/08/10 @ 3:08 AM EST
What an awesome article! You must have spent a lot of time and effort on it-needless to say, awesome job!
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