How Much Is That Book?

 

     One of the unexpected things that happened when I started blogging was being contacted by companies to review their products, host a giveaway or provide a link to their webpage. I am sure that any of you that are bloggers have had the same offers made to you. I am very selective about what products or websites that I will feature on my blog. I only agree to review a CD if I think there is a good possibility that I will actually like it (sometimes I don't). I will only do a Giveaway/Review if I think it is something that some of my readers would want to buy or win. I almost always turn down the requests to feature a website or service on my blog because they rarely have anything to do with what I write about.

     I am making an exception today. When I was in college the first time (back in the dark ages), my books were rentals and were included in the price of my tuition. It was shocking to me when I went back to finish that degree a couple decades later, the cost of my books. My youngest graduated from college 6 years ago and her textbook expense at her private university was unbelievable. We did everything we could think of to purchase used textbooks and if we were lucky, sometimes we would find the exact book from an online used book source for under $100. Many of her books we had to buy at full price and then when it came time to sell them back to the bookstore...she would be offered  next to nothing for them.

     I was asked to take a look at CampusBookRentals.com. It is a website created by a college student, for college students. I checked out the reviews and tried out the website and it is easy to use and just makes sense. You type in the name of the textbook you need by ISBN number, author or title. The book comes up and you select the length of time you want to rent it (quarter, semester etc.) and the price is listed. The prices are very reasonable and could literally save a student hundreds of dollars a semester. When your rental time is up, you ship the book back. Shipping both directions is free. They have also created RentBack.com for the textbooks a student already owns. The student can ship (for free) their book to RentBack.com and it will be rented to other students. Each time the book is rented, the student/owner gets paid. It is likely that the student will earn more money renting their book to other students than selling it for a few dollars back to a campus bookstore. One other thing that I think is worth mentioning is that CampusBookRentals.com partners with Operation Smile, the organization that provides cleft lip surgeries to children who could not have it done any other way. What a great way to give back!

     If I had a college student, this is exactly where I would go to take care of the expense of textbooks. College is so expensive and over 4 years, the cost of books is astronomical. This could literally save thousands of dollars for a student earning a degree. I hope you will check out their page or pass the information along if you know someone who might be interested.