APRIL 23, 2009
A Textbook Case of Renting Books
By PETER KING
Oh, those text charges. No, not the fees for pecking out text messages on a cellphone, but the
cost of every college student's must-buy: textbooks.
Students spend about $1,000 a year on their texts, according to the College Board. And that most
likely will increase: Over the past 20 years, textbook prices have increased at twice the inflation
rate, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. One solution may be renting.
Several companies offer textbook rentals that could save cash-poor college students more than
50% of the cost of a book.
To see how the process works, we ordered textbooks from three rental companies: Book Renter,
Campus Book Rentals and Chegg; and one textbook seller, Textbooks.com, which doesn't rent
books, but offers guaranteed buybacks on some texts, making those books a quasi-rental.
We decided to check prices and availability of a randomly selected text for an advanced course,
"Fraud Management" (third edition list price, new: $177.95). The book is required for advanced
accounting courses in about 300 colleges. We evaluated the ease of ordering and returning, and
compared prices for our test textbook and the condition of the books. We used the benchmark of
buying the text at a college bookstore and selling it after the semester to see if renting would in
fact save money.
So why rent when you can buy? In almost all cases, renting is cheaper than buying the book
either used or new. True, if you buy the book you may be able to recoup some money by selling
it at the end of the term. But textbooks are continually updated, so a student who waits to sell an
old textbook could find no buyers if a new edition is coming out. (Indeed, when we contacted
Steve Albrecht, the author of "Fraud Management," he told us he is working on a fourth edition
due out next year.)
When we checked the Web sites of our four vendors, each said they could get us the book for a
summer term. Rental prices vary according to semester, with a book for the shorter summer
session generally less expensive than the fall or spring term.
We ordered the books on a Monday afternoon and all were on our doorstep by Saturday. None of
the books had any pages missing, and all contained the companion CD.
Book Renter had the lowest rental price, but the 30-day period we selected might be a bit tight
for some summer sessions. The company offers longer periods that are slightly more expensive.
For example, a 45-day rental would have cost us an additional $3.97, which would still make
Book Renter the best-priced rental in this instance. Return shipping is free as long as you print
out a prepaid label from the Web site.
The next two shipments were a bit of a puzzle. Both came in packages with the return address
"Distribution Services, River Grove, IL." But inside each book was a slip telling us to return it to
textbooksNow.com, a company we didn't order from. Only by matching the shipping tracking
numbers with our email invoices could we figure out these were the books we ordered from
Campus Book Rentals and Chegg. Campus Book Rentals subsequently sent us a prepaid mailer
with the correct return address. When we called Chegg to ask if we should return the book to
them or textbooksNow.com, we were told we should send it back to Chegg.
A Chegg spokeswoman later told us the company sometimes uses "strategic partners" if the book
isn't in its warehouse. Similarly, Campus Books says it sometimes uses a third-party textbook
supplier. But after ordering from several companies, frazzled students could lose track of where
to return books at the semester, especially if they follow the instructions of the slip inside the
book telling them the wrong address. By the time the error is sorted out, the student could face
late charges. The companies say they contact their renters before the end of the term to remind
them to send their books back.
Chegg was our most expensive rental. The company was also the only one that charged sales tax.
And the book from Chegg's third-party supplier was the only one that had underlinings and
highlighting, courtesy of previous users. When we complained, Chegg sent us a pristine
replacement via overnight shipping.
The sites offer books that are generally used but are promised to be in good or close to new
condition. Chegg said that the company typically avoids sending out books with heavy
highlighting and underlining.
With book seller Textbooks.com, the book has to be returned by a set deadline to get the
guaranteed buyback. We were promised a $76.38 buyback if we returned the book within 90
days. While the final cost of $41.12 made this a good option, that upfront payout of $117.50
might give a college student less to spend during the semester.
In contrast, buying a used copy at the ASU bookstore costs $125.25. Subtracting the bookstore's
estimated buyback price of $55 would leave us with a net cost of $70.25.
A word of caution: If the books are damaged during your rental, you could be charged the full
retail value. Check the Web sites for each company's policy on what constitutes damage.
For our test textbook, Book Renter gave us the best price. But other titles will yield different
results. We did a spot check of prices for the "Norton Field Guide to Writing" (list price, new:
$48), which is widely assigned for English composition courses. Chegg would rent it for $9.99
for 60 days. Campus Book Rentals offered a 55-day rental for $20.09. Book Renter doesn't rent it
at all. (Book Renter's chief executive, Colin Barceloux, later told us the company's rental model
works better with more expensive texts, although they do stock many less expensive books.)
Textbooks.com would sell us a used Norton for $24, but there is no "guaranteed buyback" on this
title. In fact, Textbooks.com isn't buying back this book at any price right now. At the ASU
bookstore, a used Norton was selling for $34.50. The bookstore didn't have an estimated buyback
price yet.
Overall, we found students could save money by renting, although if they need the book for
longer than our summer rental the savings may start to dissipate. And don't forget to get those
books back as soon as the semester ends, because you are on borrowed time.
WEB SITE
RENTAL COST
bookrenter.c
om (408)
454-4015
$37.88 for 30 days
SHIPPING
COST
COMMENT
Delivery:
Best price from our renters. To
$5.90; Return: return book, student must print out
free
label on Web site.
campusbookr
entals.com
(800) 5459908
$52.54 for 55 days Delivery: free; Company supplied prepaid return
Return: free
mailer. Book came from thirdparty supplier.
chegg.com
(888) 9924344
$61.72 for 60 days
Delivery:
Book was heavily underlined.
(includes sales tax) $6.99; Return: When we complained, Chegg sent
free
us another one.
textbooks.co
$41.12 (includes Delivery: free; Our book's "guaranteed buyback"
m (877) 292- $76.38 "guaranteed Return: free
made it a good deal. But this
6442
buyback" within 90 (for buyback) feature isn't offered on every title.
days)
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B12
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved