{"id":374,"date":"2013-09-23T15:40:45","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T19:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/?page_id=374"},"modified":"2013-09-23T15:40:45","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T19:40:45","slug":"students-battle-high-textbook-prices-with-semester-long-rental-programs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/our-reporting\/students-battle-high-textbook-prices-with-semester-long-rental-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Students battle high textbook prices with semester-long rental programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted September 23, 2013<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By AXEL TURCIOS<\/p>\n

Concerned with increasing prices for textbooks, many now at $100 to $200 each, textbook renting seems to be the new trend among university and college students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cheaper and I don\u2019t need them after the course is over,\u201d Sydney Wollman, a freshman at the University of Miami, said of how renting books is helping her save money.<\/p>\n

Starting college may be a little bit overwhelming for many when it comes to finding cheaper options to get textbooks for classes. Buying a new or used textbook is the not the only choice available anymore, however; is the last one many are seeking.<\/p>\n

Wollman says that she saved more than $250 by renting her books including English, Math and business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have gotten the English textbook at the bookstore for $160, but I looked online and I rented it for only $50 and I couldn\u2019t be happier,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The UM Bookstore is not the only place that students are looking at to rent books from. Websites such as amazon.com, chegg.com<\/a> and bookrenter.com<\/a> are some of the long list that promise savings of up to 80 percent from the normal stock price.<\/p>\n

The book, \u201cIntroduction to Comparative Politics,\u201d is listed everywhere at its normal stock price of $197.50.\u00a0 However, anybody can rent it online from\u00a0chegg.com<\/a> for at least $39.99 for a four-month rental period. In other words, those are savings of almost $160 by just searching online.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy buy books when you can save lots of money for gas and food?\u201d asked Alexis McDonald, a freshman and an electronic media major who thinks that saving money should be a key priority for all new college students.<\/p>\n

McDonald, who rented her \u201cHead\u2019s Broadcasting in America\u201d textbook, says she got it from Amazon.com for only $44.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the rest of students should not buy books, you are only going to use them once,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to the UM Bookstore book sales staff, anybody who is renting a book will be asked to put a credit card number on file. If the book is not returned on the due date, the credit card will be charged with a non-return fee as well as a processing fee. For instance, if the book costs $190 and you rent it for $50 and you never return it, your credit card will be charged with the rest of the book price plus a 10 percent processing fee.<\/p>\n

David Cramer, a junior at UM, whose experience in the book rental is not new, says this only means responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has two sides, you rent the book, then you use it. But you better return if you don\u2019t want to be fined,\u201d he said. \u201cDo your research. There are many places out there where you can save even hundreds of dollars worth of your time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted September 23, 2013 By AXEL TURCIOS Concerned with increasing prices for textbooks, many now at $100 to $200 each, textbook renting seems to be the new trend among university and college students. \u201cIt\u2019s cheaper and I don\u2019t need them … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":46,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-374","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374\/revisions\/378"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}