Bookmob.ca Textbook Rentals – A Review

Textbooks are more than just books; they’re pages of educational material necessary for college students. However while they are useful in the journey of learning, they are incredibly expensive—it’s not rare for a single textbook to cost over a hundred dollars. If you’ve ever attended classes, you’re most likely aware of how absurd the prices of these books can be; way more often than not, they are priced significantly higher than what we’d like to pay for them. When you consider the total amount of texts that you’ll need throughout your university career, the numerical figure can be bewildering—we’re talking well over a thousand dollars! That’s a substantial amount on top of the already costly, tuition fees! What are some alternatives to our bank accounts having to take a major hit?

In order to save our wallets, most of us opt to buy our college books used; there’s no doubt that it’s an attractive option for money-conscious students. Although second-hands may not be in as mint of condition compared to the new, factory-wrapped textbooks off the bookstore shelves, you can typically own them for a fraction of its list price. With the amount of students going for used texts, it’s without saying that there’s also a huge market for them; they’re also fairly accessible. Not only can you find them at the campus bookstore, but you can also easily find used copies online via Craigslist or other similar websites—the only difference is that you have to meet up with the other person to do the transaction.

While buying used books is undoubtedly more wallet-friendly, there’s also a down site—you’re stuck with the text at the end of the term (which you probably won’t ever flip open again) unless you decide to try and re-list it for sale. Are there any other options out there for those of us who’d like to skip that hassle? The answer is yes; you can rent your textbooks. Although the notion of textbook rentals might not be as common as buying used copies per se, it’s actually a great alternative to having to pay for a book that you most likely, won’t want to keep after your final exams. The process is simple; with a small rental fee, you’re able to borrow the textbook for the duration of your course. After you’re done with it, you just send it back to its original supplier—it’s cheaper than having to purchase books and it’s more convenient!

There are a lot of online textbook retailers that offer this service, now that its gained traction over the past years. However most of said companies, only service the United States. Today, we’ll be delving in to talk about Bookmob.ca, one of the most established textbook companies that service students over in Canada.

Overview of Bookmob.ca

Are you envious of those in the US who get to take advantage of cheap textbook rental services? Don’t be! Founded in 2010, Book Mob is regarded as Canada’s biggest and most popular Textbook Destination on the web. Since their humble beginnings, the company has grown to be the most widely used independent textbook rental company in the country. Featuring some of the largest selection of book titles available, Book Mob is dedicated on providing their customers and students with the cheapest, and most affordable books for their college experience. Complete with a textbook-filled warehouse, Book Mob undeniably has the best selection of books for Canadians.

On top of their textbook rental services, the Toronto-based company also boasts a wide range of inexpensive used textbooks for sale—all with competitive, low price tags. Looking for a place to get your books? Book Mob is the answer! Not to mention they also have one of the greatest buyback programs in all of the country (something that they take extreme pride in); you don’t even have to worry about the shipping costs, it’s all taken care of for you! With buybacks available for over 1,000,000 book titles, turning your dust-collecting books into cash is only a few clicks away!

So go ahead and give Bookmob.ca a try—what do you have to lose?

How do I Rent a Textbook from Bookmob.ca?

While we’ve outlined the general process of renting a textbook, how would you go about actually borrowing one from the website? Let’s walk through it!

Once you’ve loaded the main page on your browser, you’ll notice a search bar in the center of the site; to look for the book that you want, you’ll want to enter its title, author or ISBN into that area and press “search.” Upon doing so, you’ll be presented with a whole list of book titles; you’ll also see their corresponding information. Locate the one that you’re looking for (it should typically be at the top of the list), and press the orange “Rent or Buy” button on the right hand side of the title. Right after, you’ll be transported to a more detailed page about the textbook—you should see its rental and purchasing prices on the right and other information on the title towards the left.

After confirming that it is indeed that book that you’d like to rent, click the orange “Rent” button (notice how its cheaper than if you were buy even a used copy)—remember to take note of its due date—it may be a good idea to write this down somewhere so you won’t forget. As soon as you press the button, you’ll be brought to a rundown of your order; if you’d like to borrow more books from Book Mob, you can re-access their book selection by clicking on the grey “get more books” button. Otherwise if your order is complete, you can select the orange “Checkout” button after double-checking the cost of the textbooks; for your convenience, your total savings amount will also be displayed next to your rental amount.

In order to complete your rental, you will then be prompted to login to your Bookmob.ca account. If you don’t have one, don’t worry—it’ll only take a few minutes max to create one! You’ll just need to fill out information on your school, as well as your contact and shipping information, easy! After signing in, you’ll be brought to the shipping and payment screen; pay extra attention to the address that you’re typing in—make sure it’s accurate! At the bottom of the page is where you’ll be entering in your payment information; Bookmob.ca accepts American Express, Master Card or Visa.

After your rental order has been successfully placed, it will take Bookmob.ca approximately 1-3 business days on average, to process and ship out your order. If you find that your books haven’t arrived within the expected time period, you can check the status of your textbook’s shipping by accessing the “My Account” page and selecting the “Track Book” option. Given that your items have a tracking number, you will then be able to check where exactly the order is in transit. However having said that, most textbooks do arrive at their addresses within their estimated time frames, so I wouldn’t worry about it all too much.

If you’d like to extend the length of your rental (perhaps you’ve noticed that you won’t be able to return the textbook on time), you can easily extend your book rental by choosing the “Extend a Rental” option after signing into your account on Bookmob.ca. Do note that however that your textbooks will undergo an “auto-extension” past your due date; in other words, if they are kept beyond when they’re due, their rental will automatically be extended by 15 days. To avoid additional fees, it is highly recommended for you to send the book back to Bookmob.ca within that period. You can extend a textbook for as many times as you’d like, but keep in mind that after a few extensions, it will be cheaper for you to simply buyoff the book!

Likewise, if you’ve changed your mind about the rental and would like to buy it off instead, that’s an option as well. To own it the textbook, all you have to do is choose “Buyout” in your account; the fees, which you’ve already paid for borrowing it, will go towards the purchase of the study materials.

How Do I Return a Textbook to Bookmob.ca After I’m Done With It?

Are you apprehensive about the returning process? Don’t be—it’s simple and straightforward! To send your books back to Bookmob.ca, you’ll first want to sign into your account; after doing so, select the button that says “Return Book”, next to the corresponding titles, which you’d like to return. To ensure that your books will be sent back on time, it’s a good idea to return them a few days in advance, prior to your rental period coming to an end. Once you’ve logged in and have accessed your account, click on “Create Shipment” to begin the returning procedure.

Upon pressing it, you’ll have generated a pre-addressed return label for Canada Post. Set that aside, and place the books that you’ll be returning into a packaging box—double check to make sure that they’ve been properly packaged to avoid unnecessary damage to the items! Now that you have your items packaged, you can slap on the return label, which you’ve printed earlier onto the outside of the box. If you borrowed multiple books and they’re all due around the same time, you can return them all at once in the same package. Once you’ve got it all ready to go, you just need to take it to your closest Canada Post Office and ship it out…and that’s it! If you’d like to check on the status of your returned items, you can do so on your “My Account” page.

BookMob’s Competitive Pricing

 By renting your college books at BookMob, you’re going to be saving a ton! Having placed a high priority on affordability, the company offers nothing but the most reasonably priced textbooks for their Canadian students. Using a state-of-the-art algorithm to price their books (as a result prices will be updated multiple times a week), there’s no doubt that you’ll be getting the most competitive prices on the market. With a network of supplier partners to source their books from, they take pride in being able to provide the greatest selection of study materials, at the most inexpensive prices in all of Canada.

While the total amount of savings will depend on the specific book, on average, students can expect to save upwards of 80% off (compared to a textbook’s list price) by renting them with Bookmob.ca—and that’s just with a single book! Imagine all the hard earned cash you’ll be saving if you were to rent the majority of your college books!

Want to save even further? You can sign up for their email list to receive exclusive offers in your inbox! For instance, right now it looks like Bookmob is offering a 5% off coupon code for new members—well, what are you waiting for?

Bookmob’s 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

If you’ve dropped your courses or changed your mind about your rental, that’s not a problem! With the Money Back Guarantee that Bookmob offers, you can return your items anytime within 30 days of the original purchase date for a full refund (e.g. rental fees, shipping fees)—the return shipping will also be FREE for refunds! Bookmob will provide you with a prepaid label so all you’ll be responsible for is packing the books up and dropping it off at the post office!

As soon as your items have made its way safely back to Bookmob, you will receive a confirmation message via email; your funds should then be refunded back to the same account from which you had originally made the purchase with (depending on your bank, it may take a few days for it to reflect in your account). To see the shipping address for textbook returns, please visit their website.

Bookmob’s Customer Service and Support Team

If you ever have any inquiries, concerns, or comments about anything at all in regards to Bookmob, you can get the answers to your questions by reaching out to a member of their customer service team. Before you do so, you’re also recommended to take a peek at their Help Page and FAQs for some of the most commonly encountered questions by their customers (chances are you’re not the only one wondering about a particular question). To access the page, click on the blue tab labeled, “help” at the top right hand corner of the site; you will then see a list of frequently asked questions and their corresponding categories towards the left—simply click to the headings to view the answers!

If you’d like to go ahead and give the support team a message, you can do so by filling out their easy and convenient contact form (accessible via their Contact Page at the bottom of the screen). It’s fairly straightforward; simply fill out your contact information as well as your inquiry in the comments section and press, “submit” to send your inquiry straight to their staff over at Bookmob! Committed to providing prompt responses, you can typically expect to hear back from their staff within one business day.

Or if you’re looking for some quick answers to your questions, you can also follow and reach out to Bookmob on social media; you can find links to their Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus accounts at the bottom of their main website. You know what they say; using social media is the speediest way to get a reply!

As another option, you can also contact them directly on by email; you can reach their customer support team at [email protected] Alternatively, if you’d like to talk to a member of their staff on the phone, you can give them a call at (613)-796-2526 Monday to Fridays.