Best Textbook Rentals

Before moving to the "fast" part, we'd like to say that one of the better things about this textbook rental service is all of the additional content that the company has to offer. For starters, what we have here is one of the very few rental services that provide their customer access to electronic versions of the books. This way, you can order your textbooks and read the e-books while you wait for the real thing to arrive. This is also one of the better companies when it comes to rewarding their loyal customers. With their eWards reward system, you will be able to earn a number of points for each rental (a dollar for every 3 points). Once you get enough of those points, you can trade them for a $20 discount off future rentals.

In order to rent the books, all you need to do is head to their website, choose the book that you need, and add it to the cart. For the most part, it shouldn't take too much of your time, despite the unfortunate fact that the general layout of their website is a bit clunky, so you might run into some issues trying to find the right piece of information.

Now, as for the cheap part, as long as you spend more than 59 bucks on the books, the company will not only send them to you for free but will also take care of your shipping costs as you send the books back to them. Plus, the textbook rental service will allow you to track the package digitally, so you will have a pretty good idea when to expect the books. Aside from free shipping, the company's return policy includes a little convenient system that sends you a reminder a few days before the expiration date. But if it just so happens that you'll need the book for a longer period of time than you initially thought, all it takes is a small additional fee to extend your rental for 15, 30, 60, 90 or 130 days.

Other than that, the list of the company's advantages also includes international shipping. You'll also be able to highlight up to a third of the content. And, not dissimilar to the majority of these services, eCampus can also be used to purchase and sell textbooks. All things considered, eCampus will prove to be one of the better textbook rental options for college and university students on somewhat of a tight budget who could really use the number of rental length options. It'll also prove to be a solid choice for visual learners.

Similar to a lot of these services that allow their customers to rent books online, the company will send you reminders via email before your textbooks are due back. However, unlike the majority of those services, Bookbyte also offers a 7-day grace period. Thanks to their virtue, you won't have to worry about missing the date and not returning the book on time. As long as you do that within the additional 7 days, the company will not charge you any additional fee. Another great thing about Bookbyte is their shipping policy. If your order exceeds the $49 mark, the company will ship the textbooks for free. As some of you may know, shipping costs for heavy items can often go through the roof, so we can't stress enough how much of a money saver the free shipping can be.

The books themselves arrive in a cardboard sleeve, so you'll also be able to save on packaging. Unfortunately, unlike some of the other college textbook rental sites, Bookbyte do not provide you with printed instructions on how to return the book nor do they send you an additional box for returning the book, so you will have to figure that out on your own or consult their customer support at the website.

Most of these online platforms do not just rent the school books but also buy and sell them. Bookbyte is not an exception to this particular rule. If you'd like to sell your books, simply enter the textbook’s title or ISBN and their website will show much company the company is willing to offer for it. If you're satisfied with the price, choose the "Continue Sale" option and follow the instructions. Once they receive the book, the Bookbyte will let you choose from check or PayPal.

Of course, like we've said earlier, most of these websites will let you buy and sell textbooks. But what they won't offer you is Bookbyte's page that includes some of the best ways to acquire cheap textbooks. The page consists of a number of useful tips, like buying the previous version of the book or looking for international editions that often go for a fraction of the US cost. The only major downside of Bookbyte is the fact that it doesn't offer their customers access to electronic textbooks, so you will have to make do with the physical copies.

Other than that, Bookbyte is a great textbook rental platform for a number of different reasons. But, for the most part, it is the large selection of rental terms and the minuscule requirements for free shipping that make this online platform stand out from the rest of the competition.

Naturally, the ridiculous selection of school books is by far the company's biggest selling point. But that isn't the only thing that distinguishes them from the rest of the competition. First off, this textbook rental platform offers far more leeway when it comes to highlighting and writing notes. So, as long as you don't go too crazy and start writing memoirs or highlighting entire pages, you'll be fine. But if you do, the company will ask you to reimburse the costs and pay for the book (minus the renting fee).

Another thing that distinguishes Barnes & Noble from the majority of these rental services is a lot more freedom in terms of choosing the rental period and extending the said period. You will have the ability to choose whatever rental term fits your needs, from 60 days to a quarter or a semester. And if you'll need to extend the rent at the end of your rental period, the company will provide you with the opportunity to choose from 15 to 125 days.

Though a lot of people still prefer physical copies to their digital counterparts, there's no denying the fact that the future belongs to electronic books. Of course, Barnes & Noble learned that the hard way when Amazon took a lion's share of the bookselling market from them. But the company has managed to successfully to adapt to the new landscape. Nowadays, Barnes & Noble offers their customers a variety of rental terms not just for the hard copies but also for electronic textbooks. And if you don't feel like renting, there's always the option of acquiring lifetime access to the digital version of the book. Whether you're more of a PC and Android guy or you like your smartphones and computers with a nice little apple on it, the digital rentals are perfectly compatible with any of these platforms.

So, if you're taking some sort of an advanced course or you're studying anything out of the ordinary, Barnes & Noble might be your only choice when it comes to renting school books. And if you aren't, the company still has plenty to offer with flexible extension options and highlighting freedom.

Generally speaking, one of the bigger problems with renting textbooks instead of buying them is that a lot of people are more of visual learners, often having a hard time trying to memorize the material without any visual clues. Fortunately, Alibris allows both highlighting and writing, as long as you leave the book in the sort of condition that will allow the next student to use it after you.

Of course, every textbook rental site has its flaws and, with the service in question, it is the lack of e-books and the website's layout. Sadly, nothing can really be done about the former, so if you prefer the digital version to the paperback and the hardcover ones, this isn't necessarily the service for you. As for the website, we feel that it could use some improvement in terms of the layout since it can often be difficult to locate the book that you need and the occasional absence of images doesn't really help either.

In conclusion, there is a lot to like about Alibris. The company offers a considerable selection of textbooks for a great variety of different courses. They're also one of the more affordable options on the market. Website issues aside, Alibris is a convenient one-stop shop for your textbook rental needs.

A lot of companies seem to forget that a textbook rental service is, well, a service. And any other is only as good as the way it treats its customers. And though Knetbooks doesn't have much of an online presence compared to Amazon and other giants, their website offers a great number of customer interaction options for you to choose from. In addition to the standard phone and email support, the company has convenient Facebook and Twitter accounts where you can talk to their representatives.

They also have a very comprehensive FAQ section that outlines their terms and conditions and addresses the majority of frequent concerns. That said, the section is a bit of a mess due to the sheer number of answers and questions, and could certainly use some improvement in the editing department. But the website itself doesn't really leave a lot to be desired. The search function is quite good and all of the most common categories have been conveniently placed on top of the homepage, so you shouldn't have any issues navigating their website.

If you're one of those students who prefer the highlighting approach, Knetbooks has you covered. As long as you do not highlight more than a third of the book's content or scribble too much on the margins, the company will not charge you any additional fee. Their money-back policy is solid as well, providing you with the opportunity to receive a full refund if you send the textbook back within a 25-day period.

When it comes to the question of rent extension, the service isn't the one to disappoint either, offering their customers the ability to extend the rental period from 15 to 130 days. So, what is it exactly about Knetbooks that left us with mixed feelings? Well, most of all, the company has one of the stringiest return policies. There's no grace period and if they do not receive the book on time, the company might charge you from half to a full price of the book. Plus, they keep changing their rental period options and, at the time, the folk at Knetbooks will only let you choose from 58, 79, and 93 days options, with the latter being a bit shorter than the length of the entire semester including the finals.

Bottom line, Knetbooks is one of the best textbook rental platforms as far as the question of customer service is concerned. The company also provides access to digital textbooks. Their return program is quite generous when it comes to the money-back policy but is a bit stingy in terms of the late fees.