If you want to save money on college textbooks – then rent them online instead of buying them.

Chegg.com, BookSwim.com and other textbook rental services are changing the way college students (and parents) get their books.

When using these online services, you find the books you need by searching with the ISBN number, author, title or keyword from an inventory of more than 2.4 million books. The results returned include rental price, rental term, due date and detailed information about the book. Once an order is placed, you receive your books within four to seven business days. When it is time to return the books, simply print a pre-paid shipping label and drop the books in the mail using the re-usable box that the books were originally delivered in. Not only do you save a ton by renting, but there is no need to wait in line at the bookstore or worry about how little money you will get back for your books at the end of the semester.

You can save a lot of money this way. One of the most popular Economics textbooks (Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies) lists for $187.50, but can be rented for a semester for $11.99. That pays for lots of pizza at midnight.

These are the same exact textbooks as you would get at the college bookstore. The rental companies purchase the books from the same publishers that the college bookstores do. The only difference is that by renting the books, you save money compared to buying and returing the book at the end of the semerster. If you want to buy the book, you are charged the price of the book minus the rental fee you have already paid.

There are no subscription fees to rent textbooks from Chegg.com. BookSwim is different – is is like the “NetFlix” of books. You pay $9.99 a month and get unlimited books delivered to your door. There are a variety of rental terms you can choose from: 125 days, 85 days, and 60 days. There are also options to extend or purchase your book. Highlighting in the book is acceptable within reason. Most ask that you are considerate while using the book; a book returned with every line of every page highlighted is overdoing it.