Amazon kicks off textbook rental program

Amazon has declared it’s starting a new programme that permits scholars to rent textbooks instead of buying new or used.  Amazon is promising some important reductions on the textbooks with up to seventy percent off on rentals, up to ninety percent off on used textbooks, and thirty percent off on all new books.

Textbooks offered in the rental programme are loaned out for the whole semester.  Amazon has a search function that scholars use to discover a book they require and then you click a “rent now” option and select the shipping and payment terms. All of the rental textbooks are shipped by Amazon and are illegible for free super saver shipping on orders over $25.  Once the semester is over Amazon covers the return shipping with a pre-paid shipping label.    The semester rental period according to Amazon spans 130 days.

Scholars  who find they want the book longer than the rental period can extend the rental by fifteen days or for a further semester at a further cost.  Textbooks may also be converted from rental to buy at any point.  Books rented may be a new or second-user book dependent on inventory.