College is expensive enough without the high cost of textbooks. It is summer and there are better things to do with money–things like going to the beach or to the movies to see a summer blockbuster. Save some extra cash for summer fun by renting text books instead of buying them.
Rented Vs. Used Text Books
Rented textbooks are of the same quality as the used textbooks that are for sale. The only difference is that you can save as much as 80% on the price of a book, this can add up to hundreds, even thousands of dollars . This can add up to an overall savings of 40% on the overall price of college expenses. There are many advantages to renting textbooks besides the obvious savings.
With rented texts, there is no hassle with trying to sell your book at the end of the semester. You don’t have to make that trip to the campus book store, or put an ad on Craigslist or eBay. An added advantage here is that you don’t have to worry about collecting the money owed to you by the person buying your book.
Disadvantages
There are some obvious disadvantages that should be considered, as well. With rented text books the student is not at liberty to highlight and write notes in the margin of a book. A student may wish to keep the book for future reference if the book pertains directly to their chosen career field. The latter is easy to solve. Students may choose to buy some text books while renting others. This means that the student can buy the books pertaining directly to their career choice and rent books needed for their general studies courses.
Do watch out for hidden costs. If you do not rent your textbook form your college book store; you will have to pay for shipping charges. While going with the cheapest rate makes economic sense, students would be wise to consider how much time it takes to receive their books with standard shipping. You will want to pay the more expensive rate if your classes start soon so that your books arrive on time.
Take Care of Your Books
Keep your books in good condition. Don’t highlight or write in your books. Doing this will cause you to have to pay a fine when you return the book. If the book is in bad condition, the retailer may even require you to buy the book.
Return your books in on time. Retailers charge a late fee which can run up quickly. When renting your books, make sure that you check it out for the right amount of time. Books can be rented from 60 days to 190 days. Make sure you have the book rented out for enough days to finish your course.
What to do with all of that savings? Have some summer fun. The amount of money you save this summer by renting your books could be in the hundreds of dollars. That is enough money to go to an amusement park for a day, or go to the beach for a day. No amusement park or beach around? Rent a hotel room with a swimming pool. Other ideas: eat out, spend the day at a spa, invest in next year’s college expenses.
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As a mom in school you know that one of the many financial burdens of college is textbooks. From new to used it can still become pretty pricy. What if I told you there is a way to save big bucks if you ordered your textbooks through Amazon Student?
Now that I have your undivided attention here are some great benefits to purchasing your spring semester books on Amazon Student:
Amazon Student Benefits
- Save 90 percent on used textbooks
- Save 30 percent on new textbooks
- You’ll love this one, get up to 60 percent back when you sell your textbooks back on Amazon.com.
Doesn’t this sound fantastic? Who wouldn’t want to take the time to go through Amazon to purchase their spring semester textbooks or any semester textbooks for that matter?
The other fantastic benefit to using “Amazon Student”, is you get free two day shipping for one year with “Amazon prime shopping benefits and exclusive offers via-email.” There is absolutely no cost to sign up. The only information you have to provide before becoming a member of “Amazon Student” is your school, major, and .edu address if applicable.
I am betting by now that you are sold to this idea as I am excited that Amazon offers such an opportunity. If you are a mom this probably sounds beyond exciting since what mom doesn’t want to save money for their college education; especially while raising a family?
At this point you may be asking yourself; “does Amazon literally sell any textbook that I may need?” I asked myself this exact same question and honestly so far what I have seen, they have a wide variety of textbooks ranging from Accounting to Visual Arts. They also sell test prep and study guides.
Amazon Student makes it easy for college students to search for any textbook they may need whether starting fall semester, winter semester, spring semester, or summer semester. The Amazon Student page contains three search links:
Search Links
- Allows you to enter the title of the textbook.
- Allows you to enter the name of the author.
- Allows you to enter the ISBN.
What exactly is an ISBN? It stands for “International Standard Book Number.” The ISBN can be used to search for all the books you may need all at once. You can read more information about ISBN on Wikipedia.org.
Pretty nifty! I like how Amazon Student makes everything so accessible and simple for anyone to search for the textbook they may be needing for spring semester.
If you find that after a year you truly enjoy “Amazon Student” and all of the benefits, you can choose to do shipping upgrades. One-day shipping for $3.99 an item. That’s not too shabby and I think that any mom in school would jump on this money saving opportunity.
How about you? Did you know that Amazon had this program for college students? Would you consider using Amazon Student now that you know of the benefits? We would love to read your comments on the subject.
* If you would like to take advantage of saving money on your textbooks but you are still searching for the right online school, check out the featured schools on classesandcareers.com.
]]>Since textbooks are the largest expense for students besides tuition, and housing, the owners of chegg.com decided to make that their primary service. Although that didn't work well either because no one wanted to buy books in the spring when students were trying to sell them. So the students would just end up selling their books back to the bookstore for zilch.
One girl that I saw selling her books back ended up getting $80 dollars back even though she spent $450. She remarked "Wow Christmas came early this year." Even though everyone felt the same, she was the only one that voiced her annoyance at the fact that we were being ripped off.
Having the option to rent books online however, ends up saving students lots of money. As more and more students are trying new alternatives instead of buying from the bookstore. Many students have turned to buying their books online, or trying to get a professor to put a spare copy on reserve at the library, or copying all the pages from someone elses book at the copy center. These options have worked well for students, but renting is also another great way to get books at a lower price.
Initially how the system worked on Chegg, was that the order was placed online and then the company searched the web for the cheapest copy. Then the book would be placed on Chegg's owner's credit card. As Chegg's has grown the system has improved. They now have an automated system that is much quicker.
For students interested in renting, book prices vary. A macroeconomics book retail priced is around $122 but renting from Cheggs is $65 a semester. An organic chemistry book worth $123 is offered for $33. However, there is a $4 shipping charge for each book. The books are not only offered at a cheap price, but they are also in good shape. However, they can only be rented out so many times.
Chegg's offers a great alternative for book buying. Renting books can help students handle the rising costs of education and the savings offered at Chegg's has turned many students into big fans.