To Buy or Rent.. That is the question!

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I am starting Baptist School of Health Professions, evening LVN program, in San Antonio this fall and just got my book list! I am so excited, but I'm debating whether I should buy or rent (or maybe both) my books this semester. I've always bought from L & M Bookstore in the past, but of course money is very tight and nursing books are pretty expensive; not to mention there are so many!! I know there are a lot of websites out there, but I was hoping to get some suggestions on where to buy/rent books. Any thoughts and recommendations will be very much appreciated!

Thank you! :nurse:

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Specializes in Nursing Assistant.

Hahaha yes I was having the same issue. I found a website where you can buy, rent, and sell back your books. Its Ecampus.com Take a look at it. I believe they have free shipping when you spend over $50 (which I'm sure you will). There is also the website Chegg.com if you just want to rent your books. Good luck :D

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Specializes in LTAC, Wound Care, Case Management.

Chegg.com is great. You can rent or buy books from them. I have used them several times. The cost to rent is very reasonable.

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I used chegg.com and rented a one edition old text for $11.99. I would rent the texts, one edition old. You can better afford that. Then buy the books you want when you can afford them. Another option is to check texts out from libraries for free. If your local library does not have the book you need, ask them to do an interlibrary loan for you.

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I too have used chegg.com many times and it is great. You receive your books quickly and they pay the return shipping for you.

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I'm stuck with similar situation too (but it's about buying used or new books!) ^^

if you would like to buy it, u might want to check Amazon.com first hand, they almost always have a better deals than the other sites. (Ecampus n Chegg might be good for renting to me, but selling prices wouldn't beat Amazon!)

Renting price sometimes gets like 70% of a book, you could try to get in contact with some seniors of the program, they might just let you buy back cheap or borrow the texts no sweat! Don't u consider to keep some major books for career referrence later on too?

Good luck to us!

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I have lots of ideas for resources because I love to find bargains! :yeah:

I have also used Chegg.com for a few semesters and it's great. They've had almost every book I needed. What I've done is rent the books, but then at the end of the semester if I wanted to keep them, I just paid off the remaining purchase price. This way the overall cost is close to retail, but at least you're not paying it all upfront. There was one book I didn't want and I just sent it back; all I had to do was log in to my Chegg account and print out a shipping label. They do say on their website that they can't guarantee the books will come with CDs (if they're supposed to be) but mine did.

For my last two semesters I bought my books on Amazon.com because I knew I would be keeping them and it was cheaper than the campus bookstore. My order qualified for the free shipping too.

It's worth looking at Ebay, I've found some deals there but it's annoying when you get outbid, and it's a little risky if the seller doesn't have a good feedback rating.

Also look at Borders.com, not necessarily for textbooks, but for reference and miscellaneous stuff. If you sign up for their email list you'll get coupons on a pretty regular basis. I bought a nursing diagnosis book there when I had a 40% off coupon... and it was incredibly helpful when I was working on care plans! (It is "Mosby's Guide to Nursing Diagnosis" 3rd edition... SO worth the money and a lot better than the one we were required to buy. I had the 2nd edition for a while and bought the 3rd as soon as it was on the shelves).

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Thanks for all the suggestions! I think Amazon turned out to be the best route for me.. Their prices are amazing.. And I'm thinking all these books will be good for future reference anyway.. So, renting wasn't the best option for me.. Amazon came quick and it was free shipping w/ no tax and the books were in perfect condition.. Hope everyone has a great semester of school! I'm so excited, and can't wait! ;D

:nurse:

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be I have also rented with Chegg.com - with excellent service. I alway check retailmenot.com for promo codes whenever I order anything online. There are usually codes for 5-10% off order or free shipping.

This semester, I am thinking about trying campusbookrental.com. They have several codes for $7 and $6 dollars off. If I order each book one order at a time, I can get the $7 discount on each book. Plus, if you decide at the end of the semester that you want to keep the book, you can buy...just paying the difference from the sale price and rental price. And, they have free shipping both ways.

With nine books the first semester, every penny I can save works for me.....even if I have to be creative. :clown:

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I like owning my books because when we go over the text in class, I hi-light specific point the professor makes. I find when they stress a point in the book, it is typically on the exam.

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