<p>Apologize if this has been asked and answered…I couldn’t find it when I searched. I was poking around Amazon Student today, more specifically to get more info about the option of renting textbooks. Can someone explain why it’s more (often double) to rent books from certain states? When rentals have a range of prices our home state is always the cheapest price and DSs school state is the highest price. Should we just have them shipped home and re-ship to school as long as he doesn’t need them ASAP? I’m confused.</p>
<p>I don’t have any idea why it would be more to rent in certain states. Try Chegg, Bookbyte or Skyo. D has used all three to rent books and prices have been great. Good luck.</p>
<p>Skyo links directly into my D’s college bookstore and it seems really easy to use. She’s going to rent as much as possible this year.</p>
<p>Can’t answer your question, but always found it cheaper to buy online and resell than rent.</p>
<p>My D got almost nothing in selling back to the bookstore, and some books they wouldn’t buy back because the professor was switching to a new edition. I am excited about renting having checked the prices.</p>
<p>We’ve had better luck buying used on Amazon and then re-selling the book back to amazon.</p>
<p>I’m against renting. We always buy books at Amazon (used and new) and then resell them (if possible). However, last semester my DD decided to rent two of the most expensive books from Amazon (she tried to be kind to our wallet). Unfortunately, during the busy semester with eating on the go, late nights of studying, etc, one of the books smashed a nectarine that was forgotten at the bottom of her book-pack leaving a big stain on the book and the bag. The other rental had a coffee “accident” in one of the pages. Must be Murphy’s Law because usually DD is good with her books. I had to BUY the books at the end of the rental period because you have to return them in good condition - DD said that she would love to keep them now because they could help her in her future (good consolation;)</p>
<p>We always had good luck buying used or new and reselling on Amazon or ebay. I never understood renting, it was usually the most expensive option for us.</p>
<p>If you do decide to buy online make sure you have given yourself enough time to get the book, many ship media mail which can be slow.</p>
<p>Some of the rental companies now give you a 7 day online access (some might be longer) period so you can ‘have’ the book immediately and this takes care of the problem with having to wait for the post office shipment. </p>
<p>We just took advantage of this for a summer class for my daughter. She found out the book title at the last minute so this was an excellent option for her.</p>
<p>Skyo rental terms make it sound much more reasonable than Amazon with regard to highlighting and writing notes in the book. Amazon says if it is more than ‘minimal’ you will be charged full price for the book.</p>
<p>mamom - I don’t understand how renting can be the most expensive option, unless you are really diligent and lucky to find used books in the current edition specified by the professor. After a year at college my D has determined that she will rarely if ever refer to books from a previous semester.</p>
<p>Additionally I am <em>paying</em> money to store some textbooks this summer, along with the other contents of her room, that will never be used by my D again and could not be sold back to the bookstore as they were being replaced by another book or edition.</p>
<p>Snodwdog - I can almost always find a good used book cheaper than renting. And if you then factor in the the ability to resell the book online after the fact the cost is usually very good. Even if your D’s school has moved onto a newer addition, there are usually folks online who need the edition your D just used. We never buy from the bookstore, it is usually the most expensive option.</p>
<p>Sort of off-topic, but if you want to compare prices on books you can use Slugbooks. Just put in the ISBN and it pops up with a variety of websites. I was shocked at how cheap my $130 Spanish textbook would be on Amazon ($20 for a decent quality used textbook).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! Really helpful.</p>
<p>Well the problem also is my D getting organized to resell and ship a book from campus. Plus the fact that you are only allowed by Amazon to charge 3.99 for shipping. I’ve sold a few of my own books that way and its hard to make a profit.</p>
<p>I am curious about ‘book renting’ but not enthusiastic about it. I think that buying used is the way to go. And you just have to accept that from time to time you may be forced to buy a new book. I won’t complain if Lake Jr. can’t find a used text for 1 of his 5 classes this semester. Especially since the particular text I’m thinking of is the cheapest of the lot (when new).</p>
<p>I think that the ‘renting v buying used’ debate varies with the major.
It seems that some majors (science/business) come out with new editions so frequently that renting can be cheaper - if you must have the most current edition. </p>
<p>Sometimes my kids have gotten away with using a past edition, but you generally can’t know that until after the class has started and you have a face to face with the professor. Or you compare your book to the one owned by a classmate and see just how different they are. </p>
<p>Getting the best deal on textbooks is a game. I aim to win. :-)</p>
<p>Don’t forget international editions. If there is a chance you want to keep the book for future reference, or the professor is going to change the book next semester, an international edition is often less than a used book and the content is typically identical.</p>
<p>jjw6455 is correct. That’s the situation for at least one of Lake Jr.'s science classes. The international edition is identical to the USA English version, with the exception of the cover. The int’l edition is selling for peanuts on Amazon.</p>
<p>Good to know. Thanks for the tip.</p>