Mohammed Qureshi looked at his textbooks as he worked on a homework assignment in Fondren Library.
“I used to spend a lot more money on textbooks at the bookstore before I learned I could rent them online for a cheaper price,” the senior finance said.
Qureshi’s experience with high textbook prices at the campus bookstore is nothing new. Students have complained about the soaring costs of textbooks for sometime.
According to a July 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office, college textbooks prices “nearly tripled between December 1986 and December 2004.”
The report states the overall price increase during the 18-year time span was 186 percent, or 6 percent each year. This compares to tuition and fees, which increased 240 percent, and inflation, which rose 72 percent during the same time span.
According to The National Association of College Stores report, “Student Watch 2008,” students spent an average of $702 on required course materials during the 2006-07 academic year.
The high cost of textbooks has left many students like Qureshi seeking alternative methods such as renting textbooks instead of purchasing them.
In recent years, Web sites such as Chegg.com, BookRenter.com and Campusbookrentals.com have made it easier for students to rent textbooks.
Chegg.com, which touts itself as the “number one [company] in textbook rentals,” allows patrons to rent textbooks for a semester, quarter or 60-day rental period. If extra time is needed, patrons can purchase an extension on their rental.
Tina Couch, vice president of public relations for Chegg, said the company uses a business model similar to Netflix to send textbooks to more than 6,400 college campuses around the country.
Qureshi said renting his textbooks for the last three semesters from Chegg.com has saved him several hundred dollars. He also said the effectiveness of the site appeals to him.
“Renting a textbook is the most convenient way to shop,” he said. “Sending it back is also easy, as you just print the return label on the Web site and mail it back to them.”
Students may also highlight in the books rented, but writing in them is not permitted, according to Chegg.com.
Also, since the books are rented, additional materials such as CD-ROMs may not be sent with them. This is true of other textbook rental Web sites, although the students interviewed said they had never come across this issue.
At Chegg.com, BookRenter.com and CampusBookRentals.com shipping rates vary by what shipping method is used. All three Web sites guarantee the textbooks will arrive within 14 days, but faster options are available.
Rental periods also vary among the companies. BookRenter.com has five different rental periods compared to Chegg.com and CampusBookRentals.com, which offer only three.
Unlike Chegg, which allows users to rent, sell and buy books, BookRenter.com only allows users to rent books. CampusBookRentals.com allows users to sell books, although it is through a sister company and not its Web site.
All of the companies also use U.S. editions so students will not receive international editions, which according to SMU finance graduate Nasir Manori, are cheaper than their U.S. counterparts.
“If the normal price of a textbook is $150 and the online purchasing price is $75, then the price of the international version is usually 10 to 20 percent cheaper,” he said.
Other students still say it is hard to break the ease of shopping at the bookstore.
Allyson Arana said she knows “international versions are cheaper, and renting is an option,” but she said she “was too lazy” to do the legwork.
The psychology senior said despite the costs, she goes to the campus bookstore because of the convenience.
“I find it much easier to go to the bookstore and charge it on my SMU account or use Pony,” Arana said.
But senior Jordan Johansen said shopping at the bookstore is more than a matter of convenience. She said the process of purchasing books from sources other than the campus bookstore is still quite difficult.
“SMU makes it very difficult to figure out editions and ISBN numbers for textbooks, especially by not providing details about course materials outside of the SMU bookstore or on the syllabus, which is given to students after class has started,” she said.
Johansen said she has heard of renting but has not done so.
“I haven’t rented because I like to keep my textbooks for references later,” she said.
But Couch, Chegg.com spokesperson said: “Chegg saves students on average 60-75 percent off the price of their textbooks. To date, Chegg has saved more than $55 million dollars! Why wouldn’t a student want to use Chegg?”