A new option for purchasing overpriced college textbooks has arrived.
BookRenter.com lets students rent, not purchase, their books and return them via mail services. Though it's been in development for nearly a year, the company launched just last month, coinciding with the 2005-06 academic school year.
"I think we have a real strong product to offer students, and the idea is long overdue," Colin Barceloux, president of the company, said.
BookRenter.com is an e-commerce company based out of Northern California. It is currently the only book rental system on a national level.
The company provides both undergraduate and graduate text books for its customers, along with a wide variety of other products such as audio CDs and study aids. All of its books are either brand new or like-new, and the books can be found easily on the search engine provided by the Web site.
BookRenter.com receives most of its inventory from the Baker & Taylor Corporation.
"We have over 300,000 books currently available, and we continue to grow our inventory each day," Barceloux said.
The company is strictly Internet-based and does not plan on opening any retail stores. However, they do plan on rolling out a Campus Rep program that will place BookRenter.com student representatives on various college campuses.
"This will make it even easier for students to access us," Barceloux said.
BookRenter.com will soon be collaborating with Mono Dry Highlighter, a company that produces erasable highlighters, to ensure that the books stay clean for future renters.
"Their Web site is a really good idea," UCF freshman Jennifer Slyh said. "The rental system seems like it would save students a lot of time and money."
BookRenter.com offers six different rental periods ranging from two weeks to four months. Rental periods begin from the date the books are delivered to the last day of the period. Students also have the option of buying their rented books anytime they choose.
"The various rental periods are there to meet the needs of students at both semester and quarter schools," Barceloux said.
Barceloux and the other co-founders of BookRenter.com are recent graduates of Santa Carla University in California.
"We know how costly it is to be a student, so we're all about helping our customers save money," Barceloux said.
"It's exciting that the owners are recent graduates. It means that they definitely know how expensive college textbooks are," UCF sophomore Amber Stirling said.
The average student saves around 65 percent on their rental purchases, and the only service fees are the costs of shipping and handling. There are also fees for damaged books and late returns.
"I felt that the site was unclear about their rental and return policies," CB&S Bookstore textbook manager John Meyer said.
"According to them, students could be charged extra for just the everyday damage they do when carrying around their books. I think we're a little more forgiving.
"A lot of their prosperity will depend on how lenient they are about taking back books," he said.
According to the company's Web site, students are required to return the rented books in "like-new" condition.
If the book doesn't look brand new but there is minimal damage to the cover and pages and very little writing, then the renter will be charged 20 percent of the book's retail value.
If the book possesses scuff marks on the cover, bent corners or minimal damage to the binding and the majority of the pages are present and undamaged, but there is writing or damage to less than 10 percent of the pages, the renter is charged 30 percent of the book's retail price.
If the book is missing pages, noticeably damaged on the cover, a broken binding or stains and writing on more than 11 percent of the pages, then the book is classed unacceptable and the renter must pay the full retail value.
At CB&S Bookstore, a new Kendall Sociology book costs $70. The wholesale buy-back rate at the end of the semester is $22. The net cost a student would pay for a new Kendall Sociology book at CB&S is $48.
BookRenter.com rents the same Kendall Sociology book as having a retail price of $72.95. Its rental fee is $24.32 for 15 days, the shortest amount of time available, or $37.83 for 120 days, the maximum time available. These prices do not include the cost of shipping and handling.
The Web site offers two different shipping methods: U.S. Postal Service or UPS. The cost of shipping ranges from $2.95 to $12.95. There are also additional per item shipping costs that apply.
Free prepaid mailers included in each order provide customers with the option of free return shipping at any USPS drop location.
"Their idea of renting books is good, but I don't think it's convenient enough for students," UCF sophomore Marc Kozlow said. "We'd have to worry too much about shipping."
BookRenter.com is planning to expand the company in the near future.
Within the next three months, it will be offering rental period extensions to their customers. A trade page that allows students to trade in their current rented books for other books that they may need the next semester will also be added to the Web site.
"Students have different needs when it comes to their text books," Barceloux said.
"The trade page and other additions will definitely make BookRenter.com a one-stop-shop for all students."
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