It’s no surprise that more and more people are turning to textbook rental sites to get their course materials. While there are sites to get cheap college textbooks, renting is much cheaper.
The College Board estimates that the average student in the United States spends about $1,200 a year on their textbooks. When you factor in the cost of student loans, food, and other expenses that come along with college, you can end up spending a fortune.
That’s why textbook rental can be such a good idea.
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Is it Better to Rent Textbooks or to Buy?
It usually works out cheaper to rent college textbooks rather than buying and then reselling used textbooks.
Typically, you won’t be able to resell your textbook for the same price you purchased it. Sure, some students will be fortunate enough to be able to resell their textbooks for a good price, but this isn’t typical with every book each semester.
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Cost-wise, renting college textbooks is a better option than buying them. Also, renting textbooks is pretty convenient. On textbook rental sites, you can find the exact book you’re looking for, choose the duration of the rental period, and get details on how much it will cost all in one place. It’s easier than having to visit multiple bookstores to get the best deals.
Plus, lots of textbook rental sites offer free shipping and free returns too.
Now, I should mention there are ways to get totally free college textbooks, but the issue is that the exact books you need may not be available. So renting becomes the next best thing.
Overall, renting textbooks is a great option.
Top Sites for Renting Textbook
So where exactly should you get your textbook rentals?
Below, I’ve covered 15 of the best textbook rental sites where you can find great deals on your college textbooks this year.
1. BookScouter.com
BookScouter.com is one of the best places to buy and sell books online. It also is a really great website for students who’re looking to get the best deals on their textbooks. With it, you can compare offers from more than 20 vendors in a single search.
This saves you so much time as you don’t have to go from site to site to check prices individually.
Simply visit the site and enter the ISBN, title, or author of the book you’re looking for, and hit search. Then you can compare prices. You can choose the price you want and have the textbook shipped directly to you.
2. Chegg
With Chegg, you can rent textbooks for a great price. The best part is that you get free standard shipping on orders over $35. Simply visit the site, and enter the ISBN, title, or author of the book that you want to rent. According to Chegg, you can rent college books for up to 90% off their original list price found at campus bookstores.
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What I like about Chegg is that if you need to rent a textbook for longer than you originally planned, then the site makes this easy to do. If you need a textbook past the original rental term, then you can contact Chegg before the due date and get a free extension.
Also, returning textbooks to Chegg is a free service since it offers prepaid shipping labels.
Chegg also offers a 21-day refund guarantee which allows for free returns within three weeks of ordering if you drop or change classes.
Many of the site’s textbook rentals also include a 4-week free trial to Chegg Study. And many textbook deliveries will also include free gifts from Chegg with discounts and products. Overall, the website has a lot to offer.
3. eCampus.com
Another place where you might want to rent your college textbooks is with eCampus.com. On the site, you can find cheap college textbook rentals. According to eCampus.com, you can save up to 90% on new and used textbook rentals.
You can search for the books that you want using the ISBN, author, or title.
With the site, you can choose a due date that fits your schedule.
The good thing about the site is that you can get free shipping on orders over $35. Return shipping is free too, which is great.
And, at the time of writing, there was an offer available where you could get $5 off your order.
The website also has a rewards program called eCampus eWards where you can earn 3 points per dollar spent on rentals. You can earn up to $20 off textbooks.
4. BiggerBooks
Another place where you might want to rent your college textbooks is with BiggerBooks. It allows you to rent a variety of college textbooks.
You can visit the site and search for the books you want by title, author, or ISBN. With BiggerBooks, you can get free shipping with any order over $59. And return shipping is always free too! You can return your purchases within 25 days too with no questions asked. According to BiggerBooks, its textbook rental program can help save you $100s each year.
5. ValoreBooks
Next on the list we have ValoreBooks. With this site you can find cheap textbook rentals. Like with most of these sites, with ValoreBooks, you can search for the book you want by entering its ISBN, title, or author.
You can return your textbooks for free as well.
According to the site, you can save up to $500 a year.
6. TextbookRush
With TextbookRush, you can search for the textbook you want to rent by entering the ISBN, author, or title of the book, or a keyword. According to TextbookRush, you can save up to 90% when you rent textbooks with the site.
The website also offers free shipping on orders over $35.
Plus, you get a free return label and a 30-day, 100% satisfaction guarantee.
7. Campus Book Rentals
Next on the list we have Campus Book Rentals. It offers students affordable textbooks. You can rent a variety of textbooks with the site. You can choose how long you want to rent the textbook for, and the site offers flexible rental periods. Also, you can highlight the textbooks, which is always handy. The site also allows you to return your book for a no-questions-asked refund within 21 days.
8. Amazon
Amazon is definitely one to consider if you’re looking for great textbook rental sites. With Amazon, you can rent a wide range of textbooks. You can have textbook rentals delivered to your door.
You can search for the textbook you want by author, title, or ISBN. You can get free return shipping too. And, you can also return the textbook within 30 days for any reason. Plus, you can get free 2-day shipping with Prime student. There are extension options available too.
Also, the site gives you the option to purchase the textbook after the first 30 days of your semester-long rental or after the first 15 days of your monthly (30, 60, or 90 days) rental. 100% of the rental price goes towards the purchase.
9. TextbookRentals.com
TextbookRentals.com works in a similar way to BookScouter.com where you can use the site to compare prices of textbook rentals from a variety of places.
With the site, you can compare the price at textbook rental stores and stores that sell textbooks. Simply visit the site, and search for the textbook that you want by the ISBN, author, or title.
According to TextbookRentals.com, you can save up to 95% using its price comparison tool.
10. CampusBooks
CampusBooks is another website where you can compare the cost of renting a textbook from multiple sites.
With CampusBooks, you can visit the site, enter the name of the textbook you want, and then rent the title at an affordable price. According to CampusBooks, you can save up to 87% on your textbooks.
You can get free shipping when you get the book and when you send it back as well. You can rent textbooks for 30 to 150 days. Also, the site has a handy tool called the Buy Vs. Rent SuperBot that determines whether it’s cheaper to buy or rent your textbooks.
11. Knetbooks
With Knetbooks, you can find cheap textbook rentals. On the site, you can search for the textbook you want using the ISBN, title, or author. So, it’s pretty easy to find what it is that you are looking for.
Free shipping is available on every order which is great. And, at the time of writing, there was an offer available where you could get $5 off your order.
12. Wiley
With Wiley, you can save money on your college textbooks. According to Wiley, you can save over 50% by renting your textbooks through the site. You can search for the books that you want by title, author, keyword, or ISBN.
You can rent books for 130 days and the site also allows you to rent eBooks for up to 150 days. You can have textbook rentals delivered right to your doorstep. The best part is that you get free standard shipping and returns are free too! Orders received by noon eastern standard time, Monday through Friday, ship the same day too!
A great feature that’s offered by Wiley is that you get instant access to the eBook version of your book while you wait for your textbook rental to ship. And you can purchase the eBook for $9.99 after your rental expires if you want to. Also, when you search for textbooks, you can compare costs and savings with its various purchase options like textbook rental or eBook options.
13. VitalSource
VitalSource offers eTextbooks that you can rent or buy. According to VitalSouce, you can save up to 80% with eTextbooks with the site. If you don’t want a paper copy of a textbook, then consider renting eTextbooks with VitalSource.
You can visit the site and search for the textbook you want by ISBN, title, or author. There are more than 1 million titles available through the site.
Handily enough, you can download titles and study on the go with offline access. You can add notes and highlights to your books too and sync across all of your devices. Overall, it’s a good site for college students looking for affordable textbooks.
14. Textbook Solutions
Next on the list we have Textbook Solutions. According to Textbook Solutions, you can save up to 90% by renting textbooks with the site.
It offers free shipping and a full refund period.
There are millions of titles available on the site, making it a good place to rent your books for college.
15. SlugBooks
SlugBooks is a really handy website that you can use to compare prices of textbook rentals from multiple vendors. The site has been featured by well-known media outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, and USA Today.
You can simply enter the name, ISBN, or author of the book you’re looking for and hit search to get prices from lots of different textbook rental sites like ValoreBooks and Amazon.
Save Money by Renting Textbooks!
College can be really expensive, and textbooks are definitely one of the biggest costs for students. The cost really can add up and when you’re in college, you have enough stuff to pay for, right?
That’s why textbook rental sites really are such a good option. They can save you $100s. You can put the money you save on textbooks into a savings account or just use it to buy other college essentials. Consider renting your textbooks from one of these sites.
And if you have any sites that you’d recommend or any thoughts on the sites mentioned above, then please do feel free to leave a comment below!
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