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Amazon has launched an app specifically focused on college textbooks and students today to complement their Kindle textbook rental store and their textbook buyback program which offers trade-in credit instead of cash for textbooks.  Amazon has been making a big push into the college student marketplace this year as we have chronicled in Amazon stories.  The new app allows college students to quickly check prices on textbooks or any Amazon item they might want to buy online including Kindle book rentals (though it has a very limited amount of titles).  It also allows collegiate students to find Amazon buyback prices for books and electronics, and also allows students students to list any items they want to sell online: textbooks, games, movies, etc.

Basically, the app has a barcode scanning feature that allows a student to scan the ISBN on a school book or a UPC code on a DVD or other item to check current prices on Amazon including apparel, food items, or really anything Amazon carries which is about everything these days.  Users can also add items to their Amazon “wish list” for someone (parents) to buy at a later time.  With Amazon’s College Student Program they are offering free two day shipping for up to six months to those that join up as the program is similar to Amazon Prime membership.

Amazon is also allowing students to check trade-in values on a variety of items: textbooks, video games, DVDs or electronics.  Amazon does provide free shipping like other buyback companies; however, they only offer Amazon gift cards not cash.  However, Amazon is normally offering a great deal more credit than cash, but always get a textbook buyback price comparison.  Amazon says it is currently buying back over one million college textbooks and accessories through it’s trade back program.  In summary, this is just another attempt by Amazon to lock up it’s user with “Amazon currency” instead of allowing a complete price comparison search when attempting to buy textbooks online whether used or renting textbooks as we provide you here at RentScouter.

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More and more companies are releasing tablets from the iPad to the Kno tablet, many with high hopes of rapidly converting everyone to reading electronic books.  However, according to a new survey by the Student Monitor, students still prefer printed textbooks and really like to rent textbooks online.  The survey consisted of 1200 participants with an average age of 20.6 years and the statistics showed the renting textbooks doubled from the same time period last year, with an average savings of $132 dollars.  Over a third of the undergraduates surveyed said at least one textbook rental was in their future for next semester if they didn’t wind up renting all their textbooks when possible.

Students prefer renting textbooks.

A new trend was renting books from campus bookstores instead of renting textbooks online.  BookRenter’s new campus book store program, and others, made a huge push to get ahead of online book rental companies like CampusBookRentals.  However, many students gave high marks to Chegg siting price, punctuality, and ease of use.  It is surprising that nearly 30% of students surveyed still did not know they could get an textbook rental price comparison online or even buy their books online instead of the campus book store.  Etextbooks still remain very distant, at only around 5% of textbooks sold, despite efforts of tablet makers.  Two of the biggest reasons sited: they are generally more expensive than printed textbooks initially, and to compound the problem, there is no way to transfer or sell back the licensed electronic textbook whereas a textbook rental is a fixed price transaction or a used textbook can be sold back for cash.

This trend was also voiced when it came to the news, as 38 percent of college goers prefer their print on dead trees, versus only 13 percent who would go all digital for their news reading.  Students also echoed this stating that for over 75% of them their campus paper is available online less than 20% said they have read the web version within the last month.  Perhaps the printed version is a better cover for that comic book or to spy a look on the new freshman?

So if students find renting textbooks pleasing what else where the top trends in the survey?  Well, outside of drinking, technology swept the top interests: Facebook, iPhone, text messaging, and laptops, while grad school and working were not considered nearly as cool as new smartphones and other technologies.  In fact, smartphones (iPhones, Andriods, Blackberrys) are now owned by over 50% of college undergrads up from 40% last year.  These gadgets which are like mini-computers and wonderful soul sucking time vampires continue to grow in popularity and power.

Perhaps when these devices can project a textbook in 3D will electronic textbooks beat out a textbook rental.