Textbook platform BookRenter reports its college partners' combined rental revenue increased 180% year-over-year, opens over 115 new RapidReturn locations

Kendall Sinclair

SAN MATEO, California , November 16, 2011 (press release) – BookRenter, the leading textbook platform, today announced that its college partners grew their textbook rental revenue by a combined 180% year over year. Students responded positively to the expanded BookRenter offering which allows them to rent textbooks at up to 80% off the price of a new book directly at their college store as well as online. Now, BookRenter is expanding its local footprint by opening more than 115 new RapidReturn® locations. BookRenter's exclusive RapidReturn program enables any customer to return their rented textbooks to a local store, rather than by mail.

"Traditional online shopping provides consumers with access to better prices and a much greater selection, but sacrifices the convenience of local service," said Mehdi Maghsoodnia, CEO of BookRenter. "The BookRenter Platform enables college stores to offer the best in price, selection, and local service in ways no online company can match, and in the end, the students and schools reap the benefits."

By offering students a convenient local option for textbook rentals and returns, the BookRenter platform helps college stores become a more attractive place for them to shop.

"Students like RapidReturn drop-off because they can go to one place to return their rentals and sell unwanted textbooks," said Wendy Johnson, book manager for the San Francisco State University Bookstore. "And it brings students into my store during the critical buy back season."

"Students really do value a combination of online and local options for textbooks," said Russell Weldon, course materials director for the Auburn University Bookstore. "After offering the BookRenter in-store rental program, we recorded thousands more transactions in our store than in previous seasons, and our online textbook rental business still doubled."

BookRenter Platform

The BookRenter platform offers college stores three services to better serve their students locally:

RapidReturn drop-off -- Enables students to easily return textbooks to a local store, increasing foot traffic during buyback season.
Mobile price comparison -- BookRenter's Snapshot™ Mobile tool gives students the ability to comparison shop on their phones, increasing the likelihood that they will transact in the store.
Pick up in-store -- Students renting books online from a participating store can elect to pick them up locally.

"Ultimately, our platform is all about making educational content more affordable and accessible," said Maghsoodnia. "With the cost of education and student debt rapidly rising, we can improve both the affordability of and access to quality course materials. We leverage the benefits of both online and local service, allowing our store partners to cut the tremendous inefficiency out of the system and get the maximum value out of each educational asset."


About BookRenter

BookRenter founded the first textbook rental service in 2006 with a mission to make education more affordable by allowing students to rent textbooks for up to 80% off the retail price. BookRenter helps students find the best price, highest quality books, and most flexible rental experience through their campus store or online at www.bookrenter.com. Offering more than 5.5 million titles and serving millions of students on over 5,000 campuses, BookRenter has saved students more than $150 million on their textbooks. And every time we rent a book, BookRenter makes a donation to First Book to put new books in the hands of children in need. With offices in San Mateo, California, BookRenter is a private company that is funded by prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms. To learn more about how to use BookRenter for all of your textbook rental needs, please visit www.bookrenter.com.

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