Paying for a college education is expensive enough, so why not look to cut costs wherever possible? That appears to be the motivation driving an increase in textbook rentals on campuses across the U.S.
According to a report by The New Haven Register, students can rent a book for a semester at a fraction of the price of purchasing it. Interestingly enough, the move to rentals hasn't appeared to have financially hurt college bookstores.
Larry Gal, manager of Southern Connecticut State University's bookstore, said students are pleasantly surprised to find they can rent a $100 textbook for as little as $23.
"We thought our sales would be down, but we're actually moving more product," Andrew Tranquilli, manager of the Quinnipiac University bookstore, told the Register. "Some people won't buy textbooks and for once we're offering" options.
At this point, roughly 35 percent of textbooks at Quinnipiac are available for rental. Those made available for rental are ones that professors have chosen to use for long periods of time. Those without a track record still need to be purchased.
Discussion Questions: Do you see textbook rentals growing? Are there other categories of products that are primarily sales driven where you see a rental business opportunity?