Campus Book Rentals Launches ‘RentBack’

CampusBookRentals (www.campusbookrentals.com) announced the launch of RentBack (www.RentBack.com), a platform that empowers students and college bookstores by allowing students to retain ownership of their textbooks, and subsequently rent them out to other students. This creates a new cost-effective option for students to collect up to four times more money on their textbooks versus selling them back at reduced profit. It also empowers college bookstores who are partnered with CampusBookRentals to become much more competitive by extending the RentBack offering to their customers. RentBack.com is now accessible to all students nationwide, coinciding with the end of the Fall 2012 semester.

With the introduction of RentBack, there is now an alternative to traditional textbook buyback models, which have been unfavorable to students and bookstores. Instead of selling their books at the conclusion of each semester, students can now utilize RentBack.com to rent their books out to other students, and receive payment via cash, check or credit towards future rentals. Furthermore, students earn money every time their textbook is rented by another student, for as long as their book is in demand. Students also have the option to donate their profits to a charity of their choice.

“It’s a very tough economic climate for students and textbooks represent the largest expense after tuition,” says Alan Martin, CEO and Founder of CampusBookRentals. “Students, including myself, have been taken advantage of for years by receiving minimal cash back on their textbooks at the end of each semester. RentBack now puts them in the drivers’ seat.”

Since founding the company as a struggling college student in 2007, Martin’s overriding mission with CampusBookRentals has focused on relieving financial pressure for students in a simple, efficient and transparent way.

Upon accessing RentBack.com, users receive a probability forecast – using a five-star rating system – to determine how quickly and how many times a book is likely to be rented. A student then prints a free shipping label to send the book back to CampusBookRentals. From that point on, students receive payment each time books are rented out and in circulation. Students can also track their textbooks throughout its entire lifespan, keeping them up to date on potential future payments.

The launch of RentBack solidifies CampusBookRentals’ position as a constant innovator within the higher education industry. Based in Ogden, Utah and one of the first companies to introduce the textbook rental service directly to consumers, the company saves students nearly $50 million each year across more than 6,000 campuses nationwide by offering risk-free rentals up to 70 percent off retail prices. CampusBookRentals continued its growth as the first in the industry to partner with brick-and-mortar college bookstores, forming a symbiotic relationship between former competitors. To date, hundreds of campus bookstores have adopted the company’s rental kiosk systems. Now, RentBack’s innovative new platform seeks to transform the traditional BuyBack model and empower students with the tools to earn fair prices on their own assets.