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Save Money on School Books by Renting

June 4, 2013 by Anne Marie 10 Comments

Spread it around!

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.

Filed Under: Homeschooling

About Anne Marie

I'm the creator of Zephyr Hill Blog, where families can find help with child rearing, homeschooling and hobby farming. Be sure to check out my huge database of cloth diaper reviews. There's also a shopping guide to help you find the best deals!

Comments

  1. Suzi Satterfield says

    June 7, 2013 at 8:20 am

    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?!)

    Reply
    • Zephyr Hill says

      June 7, 2013 at 1:18 pm

      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

      Reply
  2. Shannon says

    June 7, 2013 at 8:37 am

    Wish this would have been around when I was in school! What a great resource looking forward to our homeschooling years. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Zephyr Hill says

      June 7, 2013 at 1:19 pm

      I’m glad my post was helpful, Shannon! ~Anne

      Reply
  3. Mercedes says

    June 7, 2013 at 9:07 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Zephyr Hill says

      June 7, 2013 at 1:20 pm

      I agree. There are a lot of required courses, and the books aren’t worth keeping, but the traditional buyback is just terrible. ~Anne

      Reply
  4. Susan says

    July 9, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    This would have been a great resource when you girls were home schooling! Hope you find the books Josph needs. xo

    Reply
  5. Renee H. says

    August 3, 2013 at 10:10 pm

    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!

    Reply
  6. yrenia says

    August 19, 2013 at 9:30 pm

    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.

    Reply
  7. Emily says

    September 2, 2013 at 11:53 am

    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.

    Reply

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