2018 Update: To take advantage of all the current discounts at CampusBookRentals.com you can click here.
Now that it’s school season, classes are underway, meaning that most if not all college students are studying with their college buddy—the textbook. As most of us are aware I’m sure, textbooks tend to be ridiculously expensive; a good ol’ science book for example, can easily cost upwards of a couple hundred of dollars. At the start of every semester, students are presented with a general list of textbooks that they’ll need for their course. According to said list, they then have to hunt down said books for their classes. But they’re pricey, and we’re not just talking about a single textbook; the average student will need way more than that to go through one semester. In fact, it’s not uncommon for textbooks to cost an extra $1000, on top of the already costly tuition.
For most of us, we’ve come to know a quick and easy way of getting our textbooks without having to shell out our wallets’ contents—by purchasing used books. Surely we wouldn’t need to buy new, factory wrapped texts that will most likely only be used a small handful of times, for retail prices? There’s no doubt that buying second-copies is a sure way to stay economical. With the majority of students opting for used textbooks, it’s without saying that there is a huge market for second-hand books. However while you can easily buy used copies at the college bookstore, a better way to save involves buying a copy from a previous student directly. Eager to unload their books from their previous classes, they are typically more lenient with the price—especially if multiple individuals are trying to sell the same books at the same time.
Although the idea of buying second hand textbooks have been around for a while, there is in fact, another option for cost-conscious students—textbook rentals. You’ve probably even seen rental signs at the bookstore before. In a process that is similar to borrowing a book from the library, students are able to borrow their needed study materials from a textbook supplier for the duration of their course; after final exams are over and the book is no longer needed, it is simply returned back to where it was rented from. It’s simple and straightforward; all you have to do is pay a minimal rental fee, which is generally way cheaper than what it costs to purchase the book.
In this article, we’ll be talking about Campus Book Rentals—a textbook renting website that was created by a fellow college student back in 2009.
A General Overview of Campus Book Rentals
Campus Book Rentals was founded by Alan Martin, after he couldn’t stand paying what seemed to be an arm and a leg for his textbooks at the bookstore on campus as a student. Wanting to prove that the idea of textbook rentals would be a lot more efficient and cost-effective, he established the website to demonstrate that it would indeed, lower the cost of the study materials. Since then, Campus Book Rentals has rented out tens of thousands of textbooks and has helped to save students massive amounts of dollars. With one of the best run warehouses in the state of Mississippi, they have practically all the titles you can choose from; their book flow is constant.
Besides their unmatched dedication to offer students their textbooks at the best possible prices, Campus Book Rentals has also prioritized education in other aspects; for instance, they have founded the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, which like its name implies, helps to provide children in third world countries with a working laptop, so that they are able to take control of their education through self-empowered learning. In addition, Campus Book Rentals has been making a difference through Operation Smile—a medical charity for children that helps to provide them with life-changing surgeries at no cost. In 2014, the company has contributed to 80 procedures, on top of the ones, which they’ve helped to fund the previous years!
The bottom line? Campus Book Rentals is highly devoted to making the college experience more enjoyable for students. They understand that college education can be expensive, which is why they’re striving to provide individuals with the more affordable, and attainable books.
If you’ve decided after using the textbook for a while that you’d like to purchase it, that’s a definite possibility! The amount that you’ve already paid for the rental will simply go towards the purchasing price of the book, meaning that’ll just need to pay the difference to own it for good!
Similarly, if you’ve changed your mind about how long you’d like to have the book for, you can extend your rental period (e.g. 15 or 30 days) or even re-rent the item altogether. To do so, access your account after logging into the main site, and select the textbooks that you’d like an extension for; you’ll then eventually be prompted to check-out. One thing to keep in mind though—if you’re going to extend the rental period for a longer period of time, perhaps consider the option of buying off the book. Campus Book Rentals does offer quite an enticing discount for those who choose to do so!
How do I Rent a Textbook from Camus Book Rentals?
To look for a specific textbook, enter its ISBN, title, or author into the search bar at the center of the main page. After you click “Search,” you’ll be brought to a page with a number of results corresponding to your search parameters. Given that the information you’ve entered in is correct (remember to double check its ISBN), the particular book that you’re in search of should be at the top of the list. Before you select it though, notice how you can already see its rental price towards the right—more specifically, take note of how its figure is much less compared to that of the purchasing price!
Once you’ve found the book title that you’re looking for, go ahead and click on its title to be transported to a more details page about the textbook. On the next page, you should see that right away, the possible rental periods are all laid out for you towards the right (e.g. 55 days, 85 days, 130 days, etc). Depending on how long you’d like to borrow the book for, choose your preferable option from the list; if you’d prefer to select your own due date, you can do that as well—just pick a date from the drop down menu at the bottom. After you select an option, you should see your saving amount in orange; when you’re good to go, press “Add to Cart” to proceed.
You’ll see a confirmation page; if you want to add more textbooks, you can do so by clicking on the “Add More Books” link in the left hand side, otherwise if you’re done, you can proceed to checkout by clicking on the orange “Check Out” button. Next, you’ll want to either sign-in or create an account if it’s your first time using Campus Book Rentals; you will then be prompted to enter your shipping address. Make sure to double check to ensure it’s correct, you wouldn’t want your books arriving somewhere else!
Afterwards, you’ll be asked to select a shipping method; with Campus Book Rentals, standard shipping is FREE, meaning that you only have to pay for the price of your textbooks itself. However having said that, if you’d like to receive your books earlier, you can opt to do so by choosing the FAST shipping option for $3.99. Keep in mind that your textbook will take approximately 7-14 business days to arrive with the free shipping option; in order to maximize your savings, it is recommended that you order your study materials ahead of time so that you won’t need to rush its transit.
Finally, you will be brought to the payment screen; you can pay for your order safely via Credit Card. After your order has been placed, it will take Campus Book Rentals about 24-48 hours to prep your items for processing. Following that, your books will then be shipped out from one of its warehouses to your home. If you’ve rented multiple books, do note that they may arrive in one or multiple packages, depending on the specific warehouse that they’re coming from.
How do I Return a Textbook to Campus Book Rentals?
With that in mind, when it’s time for you to send back your texts at the end of the semester, simply place them into the provided envelope and drop it off at your nearest mailbox or post office. To make things even easier for you, the envelope also comes pre-addressed—this means that you won’t even have to worry about finding the proper address to write on the envelope! Everything is already done for you! For your peace of mind, the return package will also be labeled with its own unique tracking number so that you’ll be able to check where your shipped textbooks are at any time! Once they’ve arrived back at Campus Book Rentals, you will receive a notifying confirmation email.
So there you have it—returning your textbooks is a piece of cake. Just be sure to send it on its way before its due date! It might be a good idea to set up a phone reminder or something similar for this purpose.
Savings From Renting with Campus Book Rentals
With the goal of keeping their prices low as their main focus, Campus Book Rentals takes pride in their ability to offer students some of the most affordable textbooks in the country. Having served thousands and thousands of happy customers of the years, the company has helped to save students over $113 million altogether—that’s a whole lot of money if you ask me!
All of the rental prices that you see on the website are only a small fragment of that of the list price. Let’s take the “Campbell Biology” textbook for example; the book retails for $229.39 plus tax, that’s over $250! But if you were to rent it, it would only cost you about $65—that’s only one fourth of the original price! By renting it, you save over $150 dollars; that’s $150 dollars that you wouldn’t have if you had bought it from the shelves new, at your campus bookstore. Now multiple the savings by the total amount of books that you’ll be needing for the semester and you’re looking at a lot of money saved!
But that’s not all that Campus Book Rentals has to offer—they also have an amazing referral system. For every friend that you refer to their site, you’re given a $5 Tango Card, which is a gift card that can be used at a number of different vendors including Amazon, iTunes and Nike. However that’s only the beginning of it; once you refer five successful friends to Campus Book Rentals, you’re actually qualified for free textbooks—yes, FREE! When your fifth friend signs up under your referral, you will be sent a coupon code, which you can then use for your textbook rentals on the site!
Campus Book Rentals’ 21-Day Return Policy
With Campus Book Rental, they want to make sure that you’re satisfied with your textbooks—that’s why they offer all their students a 21-day unconditional guarantee. Confident in their ability to provide the best value for your buck, you can always return your book to them for a full return, no questions asked, should you ever change your mind about the rental.
To get your full 100% refund, simply login to your account and print off a return label from “My Account”—you don’t have to wait for the prepaid envelope to come in the mail! Just print off the label, stick it to the outside of the box and send it back to Campus Book Rentals! Easy! After your items have arrived, you should receive a confirmation via email; your funds should then be returned back to your account within a few business days.
Customer Service and Support Team
If you have ever stumble into any questions while using the site, you can easily get the assistance that you need from Campus Book Rentals’ dedicated customer service team. One of the quickest and simplest options it to chat with a devoted staff member on their online chat—which is accessible from the bottom right corner of the main page. Once the chat loads, you will be able to ask your question right away; there is minimal waiting!
If you’re more of the phone-type, a more traditional way of reaching Campus Book Rentals’ customer support is to give them a call. You can reach their friendly support team at the toll free number 1-855-200-0021. There will always be someone ready to answer your questions by the phone during office hours, which runs Mondays to Fridays from 8:00am until 5PM MT (closed during the weekends)—so don’t be shy if you have any questions! Alternatively, you can also drop them a message via email at info@campusbookrentals.com; you can expect a reply within 48 hours.
Have any other feedback? The company welcomes comments of all sorts from their members! You can send physical mail over to their mailing address at 2805 S 1900 W, Ogden, UT 84401.
