Rent or Lease Textbooks
Finding the money for college textbooks can put a strain on already tight student budgets. Today, however, many students are finding some relief by taking advantage of the rental options offered by increasing numbers of campus bookstores, textbook sellers and publishers.
As of January 2011, students who rent textbooks can save between 50 and 75 percent off the purchase price of new textbooks. Textbook rental rates depend on the length of the rental period. Most textbook rental services allow students to choose from several rental periods, and some rental agreements offer free shipping for timely returns.
Instructions
1. Go to your campus bookstore with your class schedule or list of required textbooks. Show a bookstore associate your list of books and ask which ones are available for rent. Find the shelf location of books for your classes. Ask a bookstore associate to explain the textbook rental process. Pay the rental fee using a form of payment accepted by your campus bookstore. Read and understand your textbook rental agreement.
2. Follow links to "Textbooks" and "Rent" from the Barnes & Noble homepage. Read Barnes & Noble renting, return, and rental extension policies on the "Renting Textbooks" page. Look for required textbooks by entering their ISBN numbers into the search book. Choose a 60, 90, or 130 day rental period. Add it to your cart. Check out by following the website prompts and pay for your books with an accepted form of payment.
3. Enter ISBN numbers of required textbooks on the Book Renter website. Select required books. Use the pull-down menu to choose your rental period. Book Renter offers rental periods between 30 and 125 days. Go to the "Help" section linked to the top of the page to read about the rental process. Click on the "Shipping Details" link to learn about your shipping options. Call or chat with a representative to ask any questions you have about the rental process. Follow the website prompts to pay for and submit your order.
4. Search for the name of a required textbook by ISBN number on the CengageBrain website. Read about textbook rental terms in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of CengageBrain. Look for a "Rent" icon underneath the book description to find out if the book is available for rent. Select a 60, 90, or 130 day rental period. Make note of the book return date. Register for a CengageBrain account and follow the checkout prompts to pay for your books and submit your order.
Tags: rental period, rental process, required textbooks, textbook rental, about rental, about rental process