There are many ways to read books without paying full cost. Ebooks can be downloaded for less than the cost of a paperback. Another way to read books for less is to rent them. There are several book rental services available online. Most of these book rental services are set up along the lines of Netflix, the popular DVD rental company, with unlimited rentals, free shipping, and a no late fee structure to their book distribution model. Most companies either send books to consumers on a monthly subscription, though some also offer other plans.
Book Rental Services
Bookswim delivers best-selling books to your door. You return the book in the prepaid return bags. Book Swim focuses on renting out all kinds of books, from literary fiction to non-fiction to college textbooks on algebra and chemistry. There are no due dates, no late fees, and no shipping fees.
Bookswim offers several plans. The Casual Reader plan is $29.95 per month and is for five books at a time. The Devout Reader plan is $59.95 and offers 11 books at a time.
For those who have limited reading time, Bookswim offers a one-book-a-month for $9.95 per month with a $3.99 per book shipping fee.
Booksfree is another online rental company. Booksfree advertises as the world's largest online library, offering members over 250,000 paperback, CD, and MP3-CD audiobooks. They offer children’s books, also. They have a variety of plans that include only books, only Cd or MP3-CD audio books, or a combination of media.
Textbook-only Rental Services
The first online textbook rental company was CampusBookRentals in 2007. They advertise the largest textbook selection in the nation and 30-day risk-free returns.
Skoobit offers a number of rental plans that you can choose from. The most popular of these plans is the $10.99 a month for four months or one entire semester. It does not matter if you have to rent one or fifty textbooks in a month, you can rent all the books you like and still pay $10.99 for everything you get.
Chegg is another online textbook rental source. Textbooks are mailed in branded bright orange boxes. Chegg pays postage both ways. Chegg has an arrangement with American Forests' Global Releaf Program to plant one tree for every book that is rented or sold.
Why Consumers Rent Books
There are several reasons why readers rent books.
Immediate gratification:
Getting the latest bestseller at the library may require signing up on a waiting list. Through a rental service the newest novel is shipped as soon as it is requested.
Budget:
For some, renting is the least expensive way to have access to the latest bestseller or classic novel.
Storage space:
For others, it is a matter of space. For people with limited storage space, using a book rental service prevents them from stockpiling books.
The environment:
For people interested in a more green approach, renting allows one book to be read over and over, thereby keeping it in circulation longer.
Book rental services offer consumers options that are not available when you simply buy books.
Debbie Whittemore - I've been blogging for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) since 2006. SIBA is a trade association which represents over ...
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