Penny-pinching students hoping to save money on textbooks have a new way to get their books for bottom-dollar.
For the first time, the Penn State U. Bookstore is offering students the option to rent their textbooks.
Penn State Bookstore Manager Steve Falke said the bookstore now offers about 900 titles in the rental service and began offering the rental service because “that’s what students were telling us that they wanted.”
The numbers won’t be in for a few weeks, but the bookstore has received positive comments so far, Falke said.
“People are trying to get their arms around it,” Falke said. “The longer the option is available and it becomes part of the routine of book buying, the more it will get used, like any new process,” Falke said.
While renting textbooks or buying them used online has been a growing trend, some students still prefer to buy them directly from the bookstore.
Brianne Kyle (senior-architectural engineering) said she’s rented and purchased used textbooks from the GotUsed Bookstore, 206 E. College Ave., downtown. She said that she likes the convenience of having the books right away, rather than having to wait for them to be shipped to her. GotUsed Bookstore also offers textbook rentals.
Falke voiced similar sentiments, saying the new rental service is about giving students options. “When people are provided those kinds of options, it’s a plus for their shopping experience,” he said.
Kyle said she only bought three of her books this year and four last year. She estimates that she spent $200 –and that she saved just as much by buying used and renting. “I think it’s a good idea, especially with college kids and their tight budgets,” Kyle said. “Books cost a lot of money.”
While waiting in line at the student bookstore Sunday, Rachel Cotter said she tried to buy her books online from sites like eBay.com.
Cotter (sophomore-biobehavioral health) said she thought the rental service was a good idea, because of the low returns from reselling textbooks at the end of the semester. “If you resell the books, you get like a tenth of what you paid,” Cotter said.
Lauren Fraser (senior-psychology) was in line buying textbooks Sunday afternoon, but said she’d look into the rental service in the future. Textbooks are so expensive that the rental service seems like a good deal, Fraser said.
Fraser said she thought the rental service would “definitely” be a benefit in helping students save money and, for that reason, may entice more students into acquiring their books from Penn State’s bookstore.
“Costs play such a huge part in where students buy their books,” Fraser said. “So if it’s more cost-friendly, more students will come here to buy books.”