College students spend plenty of money on school, so any option that can cut costs and save money should be considered. The typically expensive endeavor of buying textbooks can often be avoided by using a textbook rental online service. Instead of purchasing a book (and possibly having to deal with the hassle of selling it later), students can choose to rent their books from many respectable websites for a fraction of the price.
There is no one, single thing that makes a textbook rentals online service a viable option. A deep feature set, an easy-to-use website, various shipping options and dependable and helpful customer service are some of the main things to look for when deciding between online textbook rental companies. Here is a breakdown of these key features:
Features
Most rental services provide textbooks on a pay-per-book basis. Others deliver textbooks via a monthly subscription fee. Either way, a good textbook rental service should offer customers various rental options, whether flexible per-book rental periods or tiered monthly plans. Rental extensions should also be easily attainable, along with rent-to-buy options. Certain students may appreciate a lenient highlighting policy, while others may look for more stringent quality-control standards.
Website
A clean, streamlined website will go a long way. In addition to being easy on the eyes, a well-designed website fosters quicker navigation, easier-to-find help and gives more time back to students for what really matters: schoolwork.
Shipping
A textbook does not do a student any good if it's stuck in the mail. Multiple shipping options (e.g. standard, express, overnight) make it easy for students to get their books on-time. Easily accessible order tracking is also a welcome feature, so you'll never have to wonder where your books are.
Help/Support
If you have any questions, whether about a price, policy or anything else, a quality textbook rental company will take the time to answer fully and completely. Availability of customer service representatives via phone, email and live chat provide human support when FAQs don’t have the answer.
These are the main focus points of TopTenREVIEWS' evaluations of textbook rentals online companies. Fully featured services, professional websites, flexible shipping options and helpful customer support all coalesce into the quality of the textbook rental experience. Budget conscious students should explore the rental option and depend on TopTenREVIEWS for guidance. Check out our three top rated websites, Chegg, CampusBookRentals, and BookRenter, and be sure to read our articles on textbook rentals online.
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Chegg | CampusBook Rentals | BookRenter | eCampus | Skoobit | CollegeBookRenter | ||||
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| Damage Fees | Retail Price MINUS Rental Fees | Varies | $15 and up | Company's Discretion | Retail Price MINUS Rental Fees | Retail Price | ||||
| Late Fees | Varies Per Book | Varies | 15-day auto extension fee | 20% (7 days) | Retail Price MINUS Rental Fees | 15-day Extension Fee | ||||