Amazon starts renting out physical textbooks to students

[tereza18gr]

Textbooks have always been one of the problems for students whenever classes start. Tough these materials are the ones responsible for us to learn the lessons, and their professors of course, these bulky things are sometimes expensive and at the same time a hassle to carry around.

Well, American company Amazon is trying to make students’ lives better, as they are now rolling out their new rental service for textbooks.

This is nothing new for Amazon, since they have been renting out digital textbooks through the Kindle. But the company is also going to start to rent out paperback and hardcover books for a semester.

Renting textbooks can enable students to save up to 70% from the cover price of the books. Since students just throw away the books after their course, then why purchase them, right?

This is the first year that Amazon is offering the physical textbook rental service. Terms will likely change in the coming years.

Amazon’s Kindle textbook rental service offers ebook rental services from 30 to 360 days, depending on the student who rents the book.

Another company, Half.com, is also giving this service to students. They offer ebook rental for 30 or 125 days.

Will you be renting a book from Amazon?

http://technewsgadget.net/2012/08/am...s-to-students/

Amazon seems to have a point. Don't you agree?

[RainingLemur]

This would have been great when I was taking my BIG courses. Even buying the used textbooks from the campus store put a big dent in the ol' pocketbook. Renting the books would have been so much easier for me. I like the idea!

I will disagree, however, with the line "Since students just throw away the books after their course, then why purchase them, right?" Nearly everyone I associated with re-sold their books to recoup some of the money they spent on them. I sold some of mine and kept some others (since they were fun/useful/a great bludgeoning tool). I don't know anyone who just threw their books away.

[jbcohen]

I am agreeement with Lemur, I recall wha ta burden it was when I was an undergrad and graduate student to pay for all of the books that I needed for classes. Renting text books would have made much more sense for me and most of hte classses that I took as an undergrad, not so much as a grad student since my grad classes focused on my degree subject. To turn in the text books at the end of the semester and not have to wory about disposing of them would made much more sense.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

I will disagree, however, with the line "Since students just throw away the books after their course, then why purchase them, right?" Nearly everyone I associated with re-sold their books to recoup some of the money they spent on them. I sold some of mine and kept some others (since they were fun/useful/a great bludgeoning tool). I don't know anyone who just threw their books away.

They wouldn't be throwing them away if the textbooks were necessary for the courses (the ones I bought weren't) or they could get some resale value (which would require the manufacturers to stop publishing a new edition every semester).

Amazon's renting of textbooks is only going to annoy the textbook publishers, and probably hasten the move toward self-destructing e-textbooks.

[BeccaPrice]

B&N has been renting textbooks for at least a couple of terms now, so this isn't new to Amazon.

[wizwor]

B&N isn't saving anyone any money. Here's to hoping Amazon does.

[wyndslash]

man, i do have a strong dislike for textbook publishers, and new "editions" that are essentially the same with the old ones except for the examples. i'm almost glad we just photocopy the books that we need here (well, if we need the whole book, we buy it too, but we can get the used ones for cheaper)

[SeaKing]

I just noticed that the last independent book store in the college town 10 miles from where I dock my inland houseboat has closed. I think they still have a store over in the student center. I will have to check. There were 2 independent book stores downtown for years, and then one and now none. I guess it will become another bar or a "college team" clothing store.

[mbelec]

The best way my daughters and I have found to get textbooks is to email the teacher weeks before the class starts, buy the book on ebay or half.com, use it, then resell it on half.com/ebay. Sometimes we've actually broken even.

We looked briefly into the rental option, but it's not very cost efficient.

[tereza18gr]

Never sold my books (wonder why) so for me looked a good idea.

[Rich_D]

Not a new idea. I've been using e-textbooks or renting physical books through B&N or CourseSmart for about 2 years now.

I'm working on an online degree through my local community college and renting saves me from making unnecessary trips to campus. Maybe not for everyone but works great for me.

[BeccaPrice]

I was just getting my kids' textbooks... the school store had no rental book for the most expensive one, but Amazon had it for rent for 1/3 the price of the purchased book. Amazon also had another book used for $15 where the bookstore had the same book used for $30. Amazon just got another customer. I wish I'd thought to look for my son's books on Amazon before getting them from his school store.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by tereza18gr

Amazon seems to have a point. Don't you agree?

Of course they do! You can't sell it. You can't give it away. It's not yours although you've paid for it. They've found a way to license the use of paper books, just like one does with ebooks.

[tereza18gr]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Of course they do! You can't sell it. You can't give it away. It's not yours although you've paid for it. They've found a way to license the use of paper books, just like one does with ebooks.

True!

[BeccaPrice]

but the price is so much less! We rented a textbook for my daughter's college class. Normally the book would be $160; we're renting it for $60, which is better than if we purchased the book new and then resold it... assuming that we could resell it, which is often doubtful.