By: Erica Murphy (Syracuse University)
As a college student, textbooks are an essential. Whether one opens them 20 times per day or not at all, textbooks are dispersed across every college student’s dorm room. For those over-achievers that do purchase books at the beginning of a semester (we all know those couple of kids that don’t even buy books), the average cost is probably $200 a semester. This equals about $400 a year and $1600 in four years! On top of the already over priced tuition, college students have to shell out another $1600 just for the books. That’s almost one summer’s worth of work. How can I buy a new pair of shoes if I have to spend all my hard earned cash on books? I guess I’m going to have to give up on the luxury of splurging every once in awhile, in order to save money for that brand new edition with approximately two new words. God forbid those old words remain! Those two words could change my entire opinion of world history! And we simply cannot let that happen.
While some may find comfort in that many bookstores allow you to sell back books, that comfort will soon be thwarted. From my experience, as I’m sure many others have had these same experiences, I probably sell back a quarter of my books for a tenth of the price. For those who struggle with math, with that average of $200 a semester, one would get back a mere $20! Sometimes, it can be even less. I know that places like Amazon.com and other websites offer better prices for used textbooks, but I frankly don’t have the time to spend hours searching the web. There is too much else to do at the beginning of a semester. I am, however, intrigued by the idea of renting textbooks. The concept is appearing more and more throughout the college world. I think this is a great idea for those silly requirement courses that no one really wants to take. My only problem with renting textbooks is that the ones available for rent are too few. I think that the majority of books should be available to rent and purchase. Renting should benefit everyone, not just the students who happen to take those courses in which renting is available. If you want to find out more information on renting textbooks, check this out.
