The best thing about renting your
textbooks is the up front savings. You
can often save up to 70% off of the list
price when you rent instead of buy the
book from your bookstore. Another great
advantage is that you know your total
costs for the semester- you don’t have to
worry about whether you can sell your
book back at the end of the term. Many
rental companies offer free shipping both
ways- for initial shipment and when you
return the book at the end of the term. |
Buying your textbooks gives you more
options than renting. Compared to
renting, you have the option of keeping
your book at the end of the semester.
You also don’t have the wear and tear
restrictions of renting- you can
highlight and write in the book as
much as you want, and if you
accidently damage it, you won’t be
charged for it. Depending on the book
and how current it is, if you sell your
book back online at the end of the
semester, your overall costs may
actually be better than renting. |
Purchasing etextbooks can
sometimes save you up to 60% off
the retail price of a hardcover book
and is more environmentally
friendly. You also don’t have to
worry about carrying books around
that can sometimes be very heavy.
The major disadvantage of
etextbooks is that you can’t sell it
back at the end of the term- so your
costs can wind up being higher than
if you purchased the hardcover book.
And typically etexts expire after
your term is up so you can’t use it as
a long term resource. |