Textbook rentals

gareman

gareman

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I was surprised to see how new all the College textbook rental sites are. I have done a bit of research. I was wondering has anyone had any good experience with renting over buying? Also anyone know the cheapest/best website to use is.
 
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[quote name='62t']borrow a copy of the book and photo copy all the pages you need.[/quote]

I don't know if you are kidding, but that seems like a lot of paper and ink...

and I don't have access to a free copier.
 
Which website were you looking at renting your books at? I know Chegg.com seems to be a pretty good site with decent prices.....not sure of any other ones that are as cheap though.
 
[quote name='gareman']I don't know if you are kidding, but that seems like a lot of paper and ink...

and I don't have access to a free copier.[/QUOTE]

A page cost no more than 5 cent (cheaper at most place) for 200 pages thats $10. Not bad when most text books are a lot more than that.
 
[quote name='62t']A page cost no more than 5 cent (cheaper at most place) for 200 pages thats $10. Not bad when most text books are a lot more than that.[/quote]

Depends on your major maybe, but many of my textbooks run into the 1000s of pages, and considering when I look around, I can find $60 or $70 for a used copy, might as well pay the $10 to get a good binding and everything.

Anyhoo, considering if I find a cheap enough used copy, selling it back usually only results with a mininal loss. Of course, it might depend if your books are in great demand as well as if your professors use the same books.
 
There's also the option of utilizing your school's library. Most schools order several copies of all recommended texts to keep on hand. You can't check them out most of the time but they're there for you.
 
I've honestly never heard of textbook rentals (aside from those in libraries here and there), but I usually just buy textbooks at half.com. Haven't had a problem with any of my purchases so far, and I almost always sell them back that way as well, like Link927 does. Usually college classes have the names of the textbooks online, so you can have them on the first day or week.

I dunno about you guys, but putting aside the time it takes to scan/copy pages from a textbook is a little extreme, even for a cheapass like me. 'Course, you would probably be saving a lot of money by doing so, but in that time, you could probably make money by working or something
 
Depending on the course, I almost always buy old editions for like 2 bucks on ebay. I've never heard of rental sites.
 
[quote name='CYRiX']Instead of photocopy scan in to a pdf and upload it to www.textbooktorrents.com[/quote]


I will definitely check that out.

As for the library, I have tried that and the our library is very inconsistent, and often times doesn't have the book "yet", or the one copy they got is out, etc. But yea text book torrent sounds good. Maybe I'll try just one or two book rentals and see how it works out.
 
[quote name='Surferflames']Depending on the course, I almost always buy old editions for like 2 bucks on ebay. I've never heard of rental sites.[/quote]

The content doesn't change that much between the older edition and the new? This might seem like something I might want to try and do....would same me a ton.
 
Generally, no. The main differences tend to be problem sets, which is a bigger issue for the math texts, and also depends on what your prof uses for grades.

FWIW, I checked out chegg for the one book I know I'll need this coming semester and it was about $10 less than what I would be paying to outright buy the book. Personally, that wasn't worth the hassle of having to send the book back by a set date, especially if I decide that I want to keep it for any reason or if it gets damaged and they decide to charge for a replacement.
 
[quote name='62t']A page cost no more than 5 cent (cheaper at most place) for 200 pages thats $10. Not bad when most text books are a lot more than that.[/quote]

where do you go to copy the entire textbook? i'm assuming they would also bind it. also would the place have a problem about copying an entire textbook?
 
[quote name='buckfiftyplustax']where do you go to copy the entire textbook? i'm assuming they would also bind it. also would the place have a problem about copying an entire textbook?[/QUOTE]

Yes, considering it's theft. Though this torrent site will likely be shut down now that schools are going to be notified about it. Selling books is a big money maker for them and as a college student you can pay up or work at a gas station.
 
If you're going to get on your high horse and claim you purchased all your books new through the campus bookstore then you're either a fool or a liar. Universities don't see jack from people who buy books from other sources than their book store. That said, you generally can't just walk into Kinko's or CopyMax and ask them to copy a textbook for you.

Also, if you're going on a crusade to try and get the site shutdown, good luck since it's hosted in the Netherlands. Not every country has the same IP laws that the US does.
 
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