Thank you to CampusBookRentals for sponsoring this post!
Whether you are gearing up to send someone to college this fall, or are a homeschooling mother trying to get a curriculum together, the high cost of textbooks can be a real challenge. When I was in school, it was frustrating to buy an expensive book that was needed for just one course. Now that I’m teaching my own children at home, we need books from time to time that I am hesitant to buy because of the high price tag. That’s why the concept behind CampusBookRentals is so appealing to me.
CampusBookRentals came highly recommended to me by some of my friends, and it seems like an ideal solution to the rising cost of educational materials.
I checked their website and discovered that you can realize savings of 40 to 90% off the prices paid in a traditional bookstore, or online. By renting instead of buying, you get the books you need without a huge financial investment. And you don’t have unused books gathering dust when the coursework is done. Other perks you can get from CampusBookRentals including free shipping BOTH ways, flexible rental periods and the ability to keep books that you fall in love with by simply paying back the difference. You can even use a highlighter in the books while renting them!
CampusBookRentals also gives back by donating to the children’s charity, Operation Smile, with every book that is rented.
There are a couple of 5th grade textbooks I’d like to try out for Joseph next year that are quite pricey: From Sea to Shining Sea and McGraw-Hill science. When I searched for them today at CampusBookRentals, they had all been rented. I wasn’t too surprised, since they are highly rated titles in high demand, but the website did say to check back in a few days because books are constantly “making the circuit” and may become available again. I will definitely be checking back, because the retail price right now is $55.00, and CampusBookRentals is running a Summer Special that allows you to rent ANY book on their site for just $29.99!
I also found one more neat program that’s available through CampusBookRentals: it’s called “RentBack” and allows students to make money by renting books that belong to them to other students. This is a much better financial return than selling them back at the campus bookstore.
How do you save money on books each year? Have you ever considered renting your books? This is definitely a new concept for me!
Disclosure: Compensation for this post was provided by CampusBookRentals in exchange for my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links.
The only options that we had back when I went to university was “buy used at an off-campus bookstore to save” or “buy at the campus bookstore and pay more.” This was pre-internet. (Good grief, how old do I sound?!)
Well, that makes me old, too, because those were my options as well! It was so depressing to take a nice, shiny, hardly-ever-used book back to the campus store at semester’s end and have them pay you beans for it, when it cost $75 new! ~Anne
Wish this would have been around when I was in school! What a great resource looking forward to our homeschooling years. Thanks!
I’m glad my post was helpful, Shannon! ~Anne
I only wish this option was available when I was in school! (Or that I knew about it). I ended up keeping a lot of my books because I’m a nerd, but this would have been so helpful for subjects that I could care less about!
I agree. There are a lot of required courses, and the books aren’t worth keeping, but the traditional buyback is just terrible. ~Anne
This would have been a great resource when you girls were home schooling! Hope you find the books Josph needs. xo
I love this review! I’m still planning on homeschooling my kids when my baby is old enough that I can dedicate the time to my older 2 so this is an invaluable resource to have, THANK YOU!
I’m a firm believer in renting, as in many cases I’ve rented a brand new textbook for pennies on the dollar. Sometimes it pays to forgo used and simply buy brand new textbooks and return them in exchange for cash or credit to go towards the next courses. I normally won’t buy used if I plan to return them, as I’ve gotten stuck before with used editions that were no longer accepted. I usually do this on Amazon.com.
I wish I had rented or at least remembered to sell back my school books! Now I have quite a stack I will probably never look at.