Save Money with the Textbook Rental Program

For many students, the start of the winter semester means renewed resolutions- to study more, join more clubs, speak up more in lecture; the number of resolutions students make are endless. But by far one of the most common resolutions is to save money. And as any U of T student can tell you, one of the areas students spend the most money on is textbooks. Textbooks can, and often do, run upward of a hundred dollars. What’s even worse is when you know you won’t be able to sell the textbook back to the Bookstore because there will, inevitably, be a new edition of the textbook published sometime in the next twelve months. Add to that the frustration of having to buy a textbook for an elective that you’ll likely never use again, and textbook buying can be both frustrating and expensive. A great alternative, however, can be renting your textbooks from the U of T Bookstore!

The textbook rental program is offered by the U of T Bookstore and allows students to get their textbooks without having to pay full price, with most students saving anywhere from 40-70% off the price of buying the textbook. Both used and new textbooks are available to rent and while renters still have to keep the book in good condition, they can continue to write and make notes in their textbook just as they would with their purchased textbooks. While you may be thinking that discount or used bookstores can still be cheaper, there is no guarantee that you’ll be able to find the right edition even if you manage to find a cheaper alternative (which is very unlikely if you’re saving 70% off). Renting from the U of T Bookstore also guarantees that you get the right edition of the book, and if you don’t manage to get the right edition or end up dropping the course, the Bookstore has a flexible return policy and you can return the book. Renting is made all the easier because students can rent books in two ways: you can reserve the books online and then pick them up in store or you can rent it in store right away (books that have a green tag are part of the rental program). So really, why wouldn’t you choose to rent your textbook? You save money, you get to write and highlight as usual, and you don’t have an additional book taking up valuable space on your bookshelf after the course is over!
 
Keep in mind, however, that you must have a credit card in order to rent the book and that you have to return the book after your final exam. But the Bookstore even makes that easy by sending you regular reminder emails. Also, not all books are part of the book rental program and things like course readers are, obviously, not included in the program. If your textbook is part of the program, however, I definitely recommend renting your textbook as an alternative this semester.  
 
So next time the cashier at the Bookstore asks whether you’re interested in renting your textbook, don’t just say no because you want to get out of there quickly. Take the time to listen to what they have to say and give the textbook rental program a shot!
 
For more information about the rental program and to see if your textbook is available to be rented click here: http://www.uoftbookstore.com/online/rental_textbooks.ihtml