At the beginning of every semester there’s a mad dash for many students–many students who are after one thing and one thing only: textbooks.  Whether students are trying to find the best deals online, buying directly through the college bookstore, or borrowing books from friends, the search for cheap textbooks is often a hassle. A new option in the search for the best deal is renting textbooks.

Chegg.com, bookrenter.com and campusbookrentals.com are some of the most common websites that offer the new service of renting textbooks.

Most students are as yet unaware of these options. Senior business administration major Rebecca Ng said, “I don’t know much about renting textbooks, but I would definitely be open to using the service and finding out more information about it.”

Some students who do use textbook rental find this option a good match for their needs.

Veronica Sanchez, a senior studying business administration has rented textbooks and found the renting process simple and money-saving. “It was really easy to rent and return the textbooks; they arrived really quickly,” she said. “I would definitely recommend for others to try renting their textbooks for school.”

Some websites, like bookrenter.com allow students to choose their own rental period, which can be for an entire semester (125 days), a quarter (90 days), or less, such as 30-day rentals. The rented textbook is shipped for free and even includes an additional UPS Sticker for free return shipping. Students who receive the wrong textbook or decide to drop the class within the first 30 days receive a full refund. Renting textbooks eliminates the need to purchase textbooks every semester.

However, others still prefer to purchase; senior marketing major Kieran McGoldrick is one of them. “I prefer to resell my textbooks,” he said.

One downfall of using rental textbooks is that renters need to take excellent care of the textbooks in order to return them without any additional fees.

Some find more creative methods to save money on books. Jane Nguyen, a senior international business major, said, “I like to wait until the second week of school to hear from the professor if the textbooks are truly necessary; I always end up having to buy new books but I am able to purchase two books rather than five or six.”

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