What to Expect When Renting College Textbooks

If you are thinking about renting college textbooks, you may be feeling a little uncertain about the process. After all, if you have never rented textbooks, you may be a bit nervous about the concept. In reality, thousands of college students are choosing to rent their textbooks rather than buying them and the process is actually quite simple. Here's a look at the basic process of renting college textbooks.

Step #1: Finding the Book

Finding the book you need from a textbook rental site is a very simple process. When the college provides you with a list of the textbooks you need for the courses you are taking, it will also provide you with an ISBN number. The ISBN number is an important piece of information because this number is unique to every book. In other words, if you know the ISBN number, you can be certain any other book with the same number will be exactly the same. Therefore, all you have to do is search for the ISBN number on the textbook rental Website and you will find the book you are looking for right away.

Step #2: Check Into the Company

Before you go ahead and rent a book with that company, it is a good idea to do a bit of research on the company to make certain it is a reputable one. You will also want to look into the company's return policy. Ideally, you will want to work with a company that will allow you to exchange the book for free if you are unhappy with the quality of the book for any reason.

Step #3: Use the Book

Once your book has arrived, it is time to start using it. While using the textbook, you need to make certain you are not writing inside, as all textbook rental companies forbid writing inside their books. More than likely, you will be able to highlight inside the book, but be sure to read the company's policies in order to find out how much highlighting is acceptable.

Step #4: Return the Book

After the course is finished, you simply return the book to the textbook rental company. In most cases, the company will provide you with a postage-paid box and label, so all you have to do is place the book inside the box and then drop it off in the mail. It is important to have the box post-marked by the due date in order to avoid being assessed late charges. If you do need to keep the book longer, on the other hand, you should contact the company before the due date and ask for an extension. In most cases, textbook rental companies are willing to work with students who need to keep their books for a longer period of time. In fact, many will even allow you to purchase the textbook if you decide you want to keep it.