Do your college students buy or rent textbooks? Please share experience with renting college textbooks.
My D will be a sophomore in September. We bought all her textbooks this past school year, either new or used.
Now we are thinking of renting to save some money, especially for the elective courses. Her science textbooks are very expensive and she wants to keep them, so we will buy used ones for those.
Thanks.
My son rented the books he didn’t want to keep. It still costs a lot, even to rent, but unless the student is really likely to use the book, every little bit helps.
Then I have another child who comes home with books I’m sure he (I) paid full price for, still in the shrink wrap, but that’s a story for another thread.
If they rent a text, be sure it gets sent back in time. D ended up paying 2X + for a text which she failed to return.
I’ve bought and rented. I rent for the pricey books that are in specialized classes or ones that I have a pdf for. I rent through Amazon and have never had a problem getting a book or returning it.
I also turn to renting because the task of finding a buyer for a book is sometimes hard and I don’t want to have to deal with it.
Lake Jr. doesn’t care to rent his textbooks because having to return them in pristine condition can be a hassle. He’s nevertheless saved a bundle of cash because he buys used books, prior editions, and International Editions for his STEM books.
Rent can actually be more expensive sometimes, depending on your college’s bookstore’s policies.
For example: I bought a used book for $150 at my college’s bookstore and sold it back to them for $90. Renting the book would’ve cost me $120. At the end, I didn’t keep the book but technically payed $60 rather than $120.
This only works if your bookstore has generous buyback prices, though. Always check which books they generally buy back and for how much -do this at the beginning of the semester. It’ll only work for textbooks that are widely used every year and rarely change the editions, such as that one calc textbook for example.
Sometimes they’ll even buy back books from other places. My school doesn’t ask for a receipt during buyback. I could get a book on amazon for $40 and sell it to the bookstore for $60. 
My kids did some of both. They bought books (new or used depending on what was available) if either they felt the book was one they would want to keep or if it was in a subject where they felt highlighting woudl be an important study tool (can’t highlight for rented books). Other than they they rented (I think through Chegg or Amazon) or bought books used books on amazon (if they were cheaper).
S would buy his books and then sell them back for more than her purchased them for. He’s also sell books of his friends for a commission, so he found buying and reselling profitable (tho it took a bit of time).