To Rent or Not to Rent?

By Kevin Kalunian

            With college tuitions increasing, parents and students must find more ways to cut corners where they can. One corner to cut could be the cost of a textbook.

            College bookstores aren’t just selling new and used textbooks, they’re renting them in an effort to lure students into stores with lower prices.

            In the struggle to stem the flow of student money to websites, such as Amazon.com, eBay.com, and bookrental.staples.com, college bookstores are pumping up textbook rental programs.

The option to rent books isn’t new, it’s been in place at some bookstores for a while. Since 2009, 250 college campuses have offered textbook rental programs.

            “I will buy used, or we will rent textbooks, definitely. It is a costs saving factor. Are you ever going to go back and use them as a reference tool?” said Shelly Littlefield, whose son Tyler attends Bristol County Community College in Fall River, Massachusetts.  

            Christian Kalunian, a 20-year-old Communication major at Curry

College, in Milton, Massachusetts has rented textbooks from the

college campus bookstore run by the Follett Corporation.

            “I have rented books at the Curry Bookstore multiple times and they were paid for by credit cards,” Kalunian said.

            He has rented both new and used books.

If it makes a difference, and you need a new book with that new book smell, then rentals can still live up and deliver a new book smell experience.

            “Depending on the major, or what the class was, if it was a new book to rent, it was maybe half price,” Kalunian said.

            The book rental program offers students unmarked college

textbooks, without the used book drawbacks, such as dog-eared, or ripped-out pages.

            “You could also get a book that is possibly missing pages and that’s got certain things highlighted, or underlines that are incorrect or not that useful,” Kalunian said.

            If Kalunian rents his astronomy course book, he must select a used rental because a new textbook is currently unavailable for this semester. The purchase price for the used book is $135.50. The rental option at the school bookstore for the same astronomy book is $90.25, and is due back when the semester ends. The savings is $45.25 or about 30 percent. Kalunian purchased the book used on-line at Amazon.com instead. It was classified in good condition, and cost $80.99, with shipping included.

            Matthew Brown, 20, of Norwood, Massachusetts, is a Communication major at StonehillCollege, in Easton, Massachusetts and rents books.

Brown said he is satisfied with the condition of the rentals.

            “Some of these books are so expensive,” Brown said. “The rented books are in good condition…but I don’t think they were brand new. The Stonehill bookstore keeps their books in great condition.”

            The textbook rental plans appear to be programs well suited for students with savings on their minds.

            Based on research in a National Association of College Stores report from 2013, about 87 percent of students say price is an important factor in deciding where they shop.  The study found 78 percent of stores surveyed offered a textbook rental program in 2011 through 2012. This compared to 68 percent in the 2011 survey, and only 9 percent in the 2009 through 2010 survey.

            While the statistics support that the college campus bookstore industry was slow to recognize the growing needs of students to save money, retailers, such as Staples’ on-line unit, and others have been taking advantage of this developing trend in the marketplace.