Textbook rentals a success, store managers say CMU Bookstore now offers 300 digital textbooks

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Only one thing can stress students out the very first week of classes — buying textbooks.

Neal O’Connor took a new route last semester to beat the stress. The Dearborn sophomore opted to rent his books from the CMU Bookstore.

“Why would I buy a $300 book and sell it back for $10 when I can just rent it for half the price?” he said.

About 9 percent of books sold at the CMU Bookstore last semester were rented. The store debuted the book rental system in August.

“We rented over 7,800 units,” said CMU Bookstore Director Barry Waters, in an e-mailed statement. “For our first shot at it, I think it was very successful.”

Book rentals already commenced for the spring semester and will run until Feb. 12. Waters said 523 titles are available to rent.

Students renting books pay a lower price and return them at the end of the semester. Highlighting and underlining are generally allowed in rentals, but students could have to pay full price for excessive damage.

Waters said the large student body prompted a good book rush.

“I expect similar numbers (this semester) to last semester,” he said. “It seemed to be very popular last time around.”

The Student Book Exchange, 209 E. Bellows St., saw success with its new book rental system, said General Manager John Belco. Students can rent books from SBX the entire semester, he said.

Belco said renting offers many benefits for students and the store.

“It’s better for the store because it’s better for the students,” he said. “Students who rent don’t have to worry about whether or not a book will be bought back.”

SBX offered more than 450 titles for rent last semester; Belco would not release specific figures on how many books were rented.

E-book influences

Livonia freshman Ryan Gabrish curtailed buying hardcopy textbooks altogether. He found it cheaper to rent e-books online from Barnes and Noble.

“My Psychology book was $50 for about nine months of use,” he said, noting the same textbook costs nearly $200 at CMU and SBX.

Waters said the bookstore increased the selection of digital titles available this term.

“We have offered digital textbooks for the last two years, but there has been little demand,” he said. “Clearly electronic versions of books are becoming more of the mainstream. Of course, not all textbooks are available digitally (so) our list will be around 300 titles.”

University Editor Carisa Seltz contributed to this report