<p>Is there an advantage to renting a textbook over buying it? Friends have suggested buying used because of the price but I haven’t heard about renting textbooks.</p>
<p>I’d suggest checking Amazon for your textbooks before purchasing or renting.</p>
<p>I found for many of my courses that I could buy books used on Amazon for even cheaper than I could rent them.</p>
<p>When possible, avoid the school bookstore. They’re a complete rip-off. Sometimes it is unavoidable though. (In the case of brand newly published books and USC-specific books).</p>
<p>If you buy, you can sell back and regain a good portion of your money. If you rent, you’re just throwing away money.</p>
<p>Also check facebook for current students selling books. You’ll find a lot of upperclassmen posting on the Class of 2016 page closer to the beginning of the year who are selling books.</p>