Should I Rent My College Textbooks?

Within the last two years, a movement in the online textbook industry has explosively emerged: College Textbook Rentals. The buzz is out; my Facebook is full of posts from college students spurting the wonders of this phenomenal business model, as if it were the next handheld device invention or turbo-charged social networking model.

Having worked online textbook sales for numerous years, and having the knack to assess the value of time and expenses, I'm not fully convinced.

A typical example, using realistic averages:

A rental sites will offer a textbook, say a book titled "International Business" for $65. At the college bookstore, the book is selling for $180. The current online price on major sites like Amazon.com and eBay's Half.com for a used book is about $90. Seems like a no-brainer, eh?

I'm not so sure. If these options are viewed from the angle of what you, the student, will NET, renting is actually the second best option.

Here's the inside scoop: Buying at your college textbook store is typically the worse option for your pocketbook. If you purchase the above textbook for $180, it's likely your bookstore will offer $45-$85 for it when you sell it back to them. If the buyback amount turns out to be $65, you're net loss on this one book is $115. Ouch. Let's say you're enrolled in four other classes with similarly priced books, a likely scenario. Multiply your net loss amount of $65 by five for all your classes, and your net total outlay is $575 for the semester. Incredi-Ouch.

If you rent the above textbook, you'll spend $65, and in some cases, $3-$5 for shipping it back to textbook rental company at the end of the semester (always ship media mail, it is the cheapest route.) Your net outlay equals $69. Multiply this figure by five for all your classes, and your textbook total expense for the semester is $345. Better, but....

How about a third option? Let's say, you buy the book on Half.com for $90, and at the end of the semester, you take ten minutes to set up a half.com account (you'll need a credit/debit card plus checking account information), and then sell the book online for $83. You'll be mostly reimbursed for shipping (you'll likely net -$1.00 on this for media mail shipments) and half.com will take a ten percent commission. Your outlay: $16.00. Multiply this figure by five for all of your classes and your total textbook expense is $80 for the semester.

It's clear that buying and selling online is the best route if you want to minimize your textbook expense. And if you buy your books early enough before everyone else does (December for Spring Semester and late July/early August for Fall Semester), it is likely you'll spend only $70 versus $90 on the aforementioned book as the supply will still be plentiful online. If you sell at the right time (wait until the last two weeks of January or first two weeks of September), when everyone else is buying and the online textbook supply dries up, you may sell your book back for MORE than what you purchased.

Regarding buying and selling online, the most common objection I often hear is, "But I don't want to deal with the hassle of creating an account, selling, etc etc." It can be a valid objection, but really, what is the value of your time? If you spend 40 minutes on your first transaction which includes account set up time, and 20 minutes per book on the rest of your transactions, the amount of savings per hour you created by buying and selling versus renting is $132.50 per hour. Is your time worth $132.50 per hour?

Also, for a seamless online selling process, write a super-accurate description when creating your listing, and ship the textbook quickly, as in no later than two days after the sale date. And, if you end up purchasing an international edition online, DO NOT sell it on half.com or amazon.com, it's against their policies-sell it on eBay instead. In fact, I'd avoid these international edition books if you're just starting out.

Another objection I hear is, "But I want to keep the book as a reference." My next article will cover a strategy where you can maximize your savings and sales price on your college textbooks, and keep the books for reference. Say what?! It's much easier than you think.

Please email me for more tips on minimizing your textbook expenses and maximizing the value of your books. There are more methods and strategies to fine tune this process, which can only increase your rate of pay or savings when peddling your college textbooks.

Christopher Jenks

President

Happytime Books

happytimebooks@live.com