Save money, Rent-a-Text

Eastfield has introduced a new, inexpensive way to order books for classes through a website fueled by Follett Corporation called rent-a-text.com.  This website allows students to rent their textbooks at prices at least 50 percent less than the retail value simply by constructing a student profile on the site.

Though this is a fairly new concept for the Eastfield campus, it has already shown signs of success.

"When we started renting in the beginning of Summer II, it really started taking off," said Latoyia Bowser, assistant manager of the campus bookstore. "We are leading the district in rents."

Students can rent their books online or in the campus bookstore and pick them up there as well.

Summer II was the official introduction of the new program, but rent-a-text.com is no rookie to the game. It began as an idea based on the rental procedures of various Follett college bookstores on campuses across the country. It was officially tested in Fall 2009.

"We had seven tester schools across the country, two of which were in Texas – University of Texas in Arlington and University of North Texas," said Elio Distaola, director of campus relations for Follett Corporation. "We got a lot of feedback from the parents and students saying they wanted to see it again for next semester. We saved students about $2 million at the seven pilot schools alone that semester."

And it will continue to save students money.

"You can rent the book and save the rest of your money because we normally buy [textbooks] back for like less than a quarter of what you paid for it," Iyad Al'Qutob, campus bookstore sales associate said.

Though many believe that this is more convenient than the old process, there are a few cons.

"Any books with a consumable access code like those Plato math books where you use the code online to do work, and workbooks are not available on rent-a-text.com," Bowser said.

Some regular textbooks are also not available. However, there is a solution.

"We're making it flexible for the faculty so that if they say, ‘Hey, I have a book that I need for my classroom and I will be using it for a few semesters. Can you provide that on the site?' we'll make it a part of our stock," Distaola said.

The new rental process is undoubtedly easy on students' pockets, unless they don't give the book back on time or decide to keep it.

"If you don't give it back, you have to pay for the full price and then interest," Deya Rivas, campus bookstore sales associate said. "So basically, you pay for it twice."

Though some students like the money they could potentially, others feel that the late return policy is a deal breaker.

            "If they punish people this harshly, no one's going to want to do it," business management major, Breanna Kerst said. "An option they could do is if you turn them in on time you get a certain percentage back, and if you turn them in late you get a small fee. You can't charge that much starting out."

            Some don't even feel that renting from the bookstore is an option.

            "They like robbing people," Mohammad Ben Khaya, computer aided design major said. "That's why I don't even go in [the bookstore]. I just get my books from Google or check them out at the library. It's much cheaper."

Though there is a bit of speculation about the late fees, the overall consensus seems to be that the new rental process is a viable asset and will be permanent.

"I don't see it going away. Renting textbooks is a thing of the future because it saves people money," Bowser said. "And it's a way of sustainability – recycling."