It’s No Fun Being a Broke College Student

College is supposed to be the time of our lives… so why do we have to be so broke? We all know what it’s like to be the “starving student”. Everything is so expensive! Classes, books, housing, beer : ).  Every time I feel like I have some financial breathing room, something comes up… Regardless of whether or not you’re seeing extra funds from your parents, we are all searching for opportunities to either make or save money while we juggle our crazy college schedules.

As BookRenter’s marketing intern I’ve been tasked with the opportunity to promote a simple way for my fellow students to make money. How cool is that?

Recently BookRenter launched a program where, YOU, the student (or an organization you’re part of) can open your own online textbook rental site.  The website for your site shows your name, so people know it’s related to you; and all the website pages and technical stuff is handled by BookRenter, so don’t worry about knowing HTML or anything like that.  Having a  store gets you 8% on every order, which comes out to about $8 per person who orders on your website.

Sounds good, no? It takes 2 minutes to set up your store (see some examples below) and start earning cash. If you’re part of a fraternity, sorority or other organization, just think about how this could impact the way you raise funds. Every student needs textbooks – and they’ll save 75% when they rent from your store.

If you’d like to learn more, add me as a friend on Facebook. If you’re sold and ready to get started, you can open up your store now.

Here are a few examples of live stores:

http://deltanu.bookrenter.com/

http://tigerbookstore.bookrenter.com/

No logo, no worries: http://pbb.logicquest.com/

BookRenter Eric

Gift Ideas for Grads

It’s that time of year again when family and friends are now graduating from college.  No matter how old the graduate may be, picking out a graduation gift is an important, but sometimes tricky task.

You want to get something that is congratulatory and fun, but not just another standard gift, so what are your options? To help you out, we’ve put together our top 5 gift picks that we think any graduate would like:

1. Cash

Let’s face it, cash is king. Your student can use it to pay off loans, buy clothes – heck, even throw their own graduation party. Ben Franklins provide the most flexible grad gift.

2. Laptop or iPad

After spending the last few years cranking away at papers and other assignments, who wouldn’t want a newer and faster machine?  For the more practical (they already have a summer job or internship and are entering the workforce), buy a laptop.  For those enjoying their freedom and taking a cross-country trip, offer up an iPad – it will surely please.

3. Smart phone

These days our lives are on our phones- contacts, music, games, and plenty of applications. Upgrade your grad to the newest smart phone so they can download some useful apps to make life easier and more fun!

4. Gift cards

Although they’re not as flexible as cash and sometimes have strings attached, gift cards to a favorite store, restaurant, or service are a fun present.  Plus, if you’re running late, just hop into your nearest grocery store and score!

5. Something fun and wacky

After awhile, graduates can start to receive a bunch of the same thing.  If you get a funny, but still practical item, your gift will end up being the perfect combination of enjoyable and memorable.  Some funny things we found were t-shirts, classic books, and stuff for the new apartment.

And remember, don’t forget the card!

Strong Momentum Around BookRenter’s Donation to First Book

A week and a half ago, BookRenter proudly announced the launch of its Gives Back program and partnership with First Book.  We’re happy to say that support for BookRenter Gives Back is growing strong.  We’ve donated over 1,300 books so far thanks to our customers’ textbook rental orders and BlogHer has received more than 120 comments about what books are most memorable and meaningful.

This progress is great and we’re elated that people welcome the idea of our program.

For the month of May, BookRenter is donating up to 1,000 books in BlogHer’s name for related comments and blog posts, so keep those stories coming!  Our plan is to get to 10,000 books for First Book’s little readers by the end of summer, so please help us in making a difference by visiting BlogHer to post your comment.

Hug a Tree Winners

BookRenter is proud to announce the winners of its April Hug a Tree contest.  Centered around the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, the contest asked Facebook users to upload a picture of their best tree hug.   The most creative pictures with the most user votes were deemed the winners.

Our grand prize, a $500 REI gift card, National Parks Pass, and collapsible water bottle, was awarded to Alyssa Nicole from Alabama.  The Shelton State Community College student was super excited to win and said she’d share her prize with family and friends and use her pass to visit Yellowstone.

We also gave away two runner-up prizes, which went to Samantha Chapman and Sarah Graser.  Both ladies were psyched to have won a Timbuk2 bag, collapsable H2O bottle, lunch set, and $25 Whole Foods gift card.  Sarah, who earlier won a Timbuk2 bag as a daily prize, told us she was excited to get another one: “I have been using my tote every day since it showed up in the mail!”

The pictures of all three of our winners are below.  Thanks to them and all our participants’ pictures, we got to send lots of (tree) hugs Mother Nature’s way for this year’s momentous Earth Day.

As for all the other days in the year, we want to remind our customers that we believe in being green 24/7.  Check out the image above and our website to see how we keep the process of renting textbooks green throughout the year.

Alyssa's picture

Samantha's picture

Sarah's picture

BookRenter Joins Fight Against Youth Illiteracy

We are excited to announce the launch of BookRenter Gives Back – a program directly aimed at creating future leaders by providing brand new books to little readers. Starting today BookRenter will fund the donation of new, age-appropriate books for children in need with every rental order!

The campaign to improve child literacy isn’t just about us – it’s about you, our customers. A few months ago we sent out a survey asking for feedback around a cause to support. When the results were in, the answer was clear – focus on youth education.

Our global community is faced with many challenges – environmental, economic, medical – and we believe the solution for all starts with literacy and education. So that’s where we’re going to give back – where we believe it counts most.

So please – tell your friends, family, and college-bound pets that when they rent textbooks at BookRenter, they aren’t just saving themselves a ton of money, they are also helping to improve the life of a child. 

To kick-start our book drive we’ve partnered with BlogHer to help build awareness around the facts of illiteracy and turn up the volume around the conversation. If you’d like to join the movement and donate to the cause, visit BlogHer and tell your story about the book that has most impacted your life. For every story received during the month of May, BookRenter will donate one book in BlogHer’s name.