Last Updated on September 23, 2021 by BookScouter

Let’s face it — getting your textbooks for college can get complicated. Is it better to rent or buy college books? If you want to go digital, should you rent digital textbooks? We’ve done the research for you — here are all the pros and cons.

Let’s start with the most conventional: buying textbooks. You can get to a college bookstore and fill all your needs, but it is not cheap. Consider buying used books — it will save you quite a bit of money and is a more sustainable option.

BUY Textbooks

Pros:

  • You can decide whether to keep it or sell it at the end of the semester
  • No deadline to return it
  • Sell it at the end of the semester and get some spending cash!

Cons:

  • Pay the higher price upfront compared to rental prices
  • If a new edition comes out, you will get a lower price when you sell

RENT College Books

Pros:

  • Lower cost upfront
  • Guaranteed to be able to return it

Cons:

  • Penalties if you don’t return it on time that could be costly
  • If you decide you want to keep the book, you will need to check with the company about the process

Buy or Rent Digital Textbooks

Pros:

  • No heavy textbook to carry around
  • Access your book anytime you have a device handy
  • eTextbook rental price is comparable to the rental price for a physical book

Cons:

  • May or may not be cheaper than the physical textbook options
  • You have to keep track of where your books are and how to access the different books. Did you download them, do you have to access different sites for different books?
  • In most cases, you cannot resell an eBook

If you’re still on the fence with whether to buy or rent college books, you’ll need to do the math. BookScouter.com makes it simple to check your price options for textbooks. You need to compare the difference between the buy and sell price to the rental price. BookScouter lists the estimated buyback price on the Buy results page, so when you search the ISBN, you can easily see how much we think you’ll be able to sell it for at the end of the semester. You can also easily toggle from Buy to Rent on the same results page as well.

In addition, be sure to check the rental cost for the period of time you want to keep the book. Renting may appear cheaper upfront, but companies will usually display multiple rental periods. Be certain to look at the price to keep it for an entire semester and use that as your comparison price.

 

Solving the Textbook Dilemma: Buy, Rent, or go Digital?
The question of whether to buy or rent textbooks now has another dimension…the digital option.

Is it better to rent or buy college books? Price Comparison Test 1

Here are a couple of pricing comparisons using current textbooks:

Example 1

ISBN 9780135056080
Rent $53.26 for a Semester
Buy New $146.78
Buy Used for $110.17
Estimated buyback value $64.94 includes FREE shipping
Recommendation: The cheapest option is to buy it used and sell it back. The total cost to you is $45.23.

 Example 2

ISBN 9781305957404
Rent for a Semester $29.14
Buy New $86.18
Buy Used – $84.12
Estimated buyback $34.12 includes FREE shipping
Recommendation: The cheapest option in this case is to rent for $29.14.

Buy or Rent Digital Textbooks or Hard Copies? Price Comparison Test 2

And lastly, eBooks introduces a whole new factor to the equation. Turning to cheap textbook rentals has some definite advantages, the biggest of which is not having to carry around that rucksack of books. You can access your books anytime you have a device and Internet access and if you download them you just need the device. Is it cheaper to go digital? Not necessarily. Here’s a comparison:

Example 3

ISBN 9780134523804
Buy eBook – $49.99
Rent eBook – $29.99
Rent Textbook for a Semester- $25.98
Buy New Textbook – $73.93
Buy Used Textbook- $51.69
Estimated Textbook buyback – $32.55

In this case, buying used and selling back or renting the physical book are both less expensive options than the eBook. However, if you want to stay flexible, maybe you should rent digital textbooks, or at least consider this option. So, if you prefer to access your books on your device, this example comes out close to even on price.

FINAL TIPS

Get the best price on a textbook buyback by taking care of your book and using the FREE shipping labels all the BookScouter vendors offer. Here are a few more tips to get the most value on your return.

Remember, there are no guarantees on the sell-back price. If a new edition comes out, it will certainly lower your sell-back value, or at times, eliminate it. If you are concerned that this might happen, rental is the better option. When you rent, you are guaranteed to be able to return the book. However, there is a caveat with renting.

Be sure to read the fine print when it comes to rentals! Most rental companies will allow a reasonable amount of highlighting, but they may have fees based on the returned condition. In addition, penalties for not returning your rental on time can be heavy. In most cases, they will charge you an extension fee first, and if you miss the extended deadline, charge you the full price of the book. So we can’t stress enough that you have to return the book on time. Write it in your planner, set reminders on your phone, tell Alexa to remind you…just don’t forget!

And a final note – be aware of Access Codes. If you need an access code, you may get stuck buying a new book. Used books and rentals don’t guarantee that supplemental materials will be included. Wondering if you really need access codes? Here’s some advice.

COMING SOON: Our next blog will take a deeper dive into all things eBooks.