With textbooks costing each college student an average of $400 per semester and rising, it’s no surprise that someone figured out how to curb these costs. Indeed, two reputable companies have gotten together to offer textbook rentals and lots of savings!
Follett Higher Education Group and Bookrenter are teaming up to bring two new programs to bookstores nationwide. Let’s break them down for you:
1. Online Affiliate Program
This program will use Bookrenter’s self-described “state-of-the-art textbook rental technology,” one that’s complete with a list of millions of book titles students can select. Not only will the program be simple to implement, it’ll also eliminate start-up costs to independent bookstores. Bookrenter’s technological platform will make it easy for bookstores to track information on all titles and give them ownership of building their customer service.
2.In-Store Rental Support Program
The use of online marketing and promotional materials, inventory management, premium customer service (something which both companies take great pride in ) and other logistics will be implemented as part of the partnership in order to help students rent books easier. One example is sending students automated reminders when books are due. A simple gesture, to be sure, but it beats getting a nagging letter, like the ones that the school library manages send over and over again.
This partnership will certainly meet the goals of both textbook providers. Follett’s President, Thomas A. Christopher said in a press release that, “Independently-managed college bookstores are seeking ways to stay competitive and better serve their customers.”
And students are appreciating the effort. Melissa Thomas, a junior at New York’s FIT, has used Bookrenter for the past two semesters.
She says, “Anything that lets college students save more money is huge, especially with books. We need them but they only get more and more expensive.”
It definitely seems like a win-win situation; the partnership will bring added revenue to both Follett Higher Education Group and Bookrenter, lower overhead and college students get to save some money. All I can say is, I wish this was all happening when I was in college. All those books cost me a fortune. Well, the ones I actually paid for, that is.
