And the winners are………

Lulu was our Grand Prize Winner of one year of free textbooks ($1,000 value) Back to School Sweepstakes.

Lulu a CalState fulerton senior was over joyed when she got the news:

I just want to say I LOVEEEEEE BOOKRENTER!!!!  I am sooooo excited to have won this sweepstake. 🙂 When I the news  I was jumping up and down screaming. Thank you sooooooo much and the one year of free textbook rentals will really be a big help to me towards school.

Lulu is currently enrolled in two school to try and meet her goal of graduating in 2011. She is an international business major- dreaming to someday work for herself.

 

Steven a Psychology major at Albright College was the winner of our $250 Scholarship!

A surprised Steven said:

For once, luck is on my side. I happened upon a way to save a lot of money on my books. Winning some extra money is always a plus.  Asked what he planed on doing with his winnings he said, ‘ I don’t know right now. I will most likely put it aside and save it for something important.

This past semester Steven saved $200 by renting his books from BookRenter! “Got what I needed, when I needed it. Saved around $200 this semester. Will use BookRenter again.”

Congrats to both Lulu and Steven! Hope you both have a great semester!

You can enter our Scholarship on our Facebook Fan page; http://www.facebook.com/BookRenter

 

Tikiman Chats with 1st Time BookRenter Customer

This week Tikiman had the opportunity to interview Harry Bowron, a student at the University of Virginia who rented his textbooks from BookRenter the first time this semester. A third year engineering student, Harry was happy to sit down and discuss his experience renting his textbooks online from BookRenter.

Tikiman: Harry thanks for sitting down and talking with me. I’m interested to know why you decided to rent textbooks for this semester. Have you ever rented before?

Harry: I actually rented through the UVA bookstore once before and found the process not only incredibly convenient, but also very cost effective. I figured that since I had such a good experience renting textbooks before, I didn’t have a reason to hesitate to rent from BookRenter.

Tikiman: Is renting textbooks a popular choice at your school?

Harry: I certainly think that the idea of renting is growing as the word of mouth spreads. I even saw someone with a BookRenter sticker on their notebook the other day in class! It was cool to know that there are other people at UVA renting textbooks and saving money just like I did.

Tikiman: Good Point.  How was your experience renting your textbooks via the BookRenter website?

Harry: I was actually really surprised at how intuitive the website interface was and how quickly I was able to find the textbooks I needed.

Tikiman: So how much exactly did you end up saving? Was it about as much as you expected it would be?

Harry: Before hearing about BookRenter from a friend, I had visited the UVA bookstore’s website and noted that my textbooks would have cost around $600. However renting from BookRenter enabled me to save over $400, much-much more, than the $100 I expected to save, by renting.

Tikiman: That’s great! So, you were able to save 4X as much as you were expecting. Since you had such a great experience, how likely are you to tell others about how easy it is to save money by renting?

Harry: I know a good amount of friends and fellow students who everyday worry about paying their way through college. Renting textbooks is such an easy way to save money that I feel like everybody who wants to actively be saving money should rent as well.

Tikiman: It sounds like you would be a perfect member of TikiTribe, our referral program that helps you earn cash for every friend you refer to BookRenter. Sound interesting?

Harry: Wow that would definitely be something I would be interested in joining. Where can I join or find out more details?

Tikiman: Head over to tikitribe.bookrenter.com to sign-up and get started building your tribe.

Harry: I’ll be sure to check that out, Thanks for letting me know!

Tikiman: No problem, thanks for chatting with me. Good luck this semester!

Ohio State University- Alpha Gamma Delta Sisters Promoting BookRenter!

Ohio State University- Alpha Gamma Delta sisters, are going to be out on campus for the next few days promoting BookRenter!

Check out the stylin’ shirts they’ll be sporting!

Modeled by BookRenter Staff.

We’re Celebrating Earth Day All Month Long. Help Us Make A Difference!

Earth Day is quickly approaching and to celebrate the 40^th Anniversary we’re partnering with Sustainable Harvest to save 10,000 trees. To save a tree all you have to do is become a fan of the BookRenter Facebook page. We’ll even let you name the tree (ours is Willow) and we’ll send you a link to download a certificate of honor and give you a online badge for some bragging rights!

Why Save a Tree?

– Trees are key to our ecosystem and create homes for our furry and winged friends!

– Forty trees remove 80 pounds of air pollutants annually

– An average size tree produces enough oxygen in one year to keep a family of four breathing

– A 70-year old tree stores over three tons of carbon

Plus…we’re also having a Hug a Tree contest.  Simply give a tree (any tree) a big old bear hug, take a picture and submit it.  You’ll be entered to win a do-it-yourself eco-trip ($600 in REI store credit, a 1-year National Parks pass plus other eco-goodies).

So become a fan, get your camera out and join in on the fun. The first 50 people who enter the Hug A Tree photo contest also get a free BookRenter.com Earth Day 2010 t-shirt.

Go Green!

Save a Tree
Hug a Tree

P.S.  In addition to saving, naming and hugging a tree, a few of us in the BookRenter corporate office pledge to use reusable bags when we shop for all things personal life.  It is something that we do on occasion, but we want to make it happen every time we shop.  At the grocery store, at the mall, at the farmer’s market, etc.   Just taking the extra time to remember to bring it and use it.  Do you have a personal pledge this Earth Day?  If so, let us know, we would love to hear about it.

The BookRenter.com Team

A certified green company, to learn more about our green efforts, visit http://www.bookrenter.com/green

BookRenter, Twestival & over $375,000!

On Thursday March 25, 2010, in cities all around the world, people came together to support the importance of education via Twestival.  BookRenter was excited to be part of the over $375,000 the event has raised to date.

The Twestival event was to support Concern Worldwide.  Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to reducing suffering and ending extreme poverty.

What is a Twestival you ask (we had to ask the same thing!)? A Twestival is a worldwide event that brings hundreds of cities together to rally and create awareness around an important cause.  Last Thursday’s event was to raise awareness for the 72 million children in the world who do not have the opportunity to go to school. Concern Worldwide was selected by the Twestival Global team and local organizers to be the recipient because of their comprehensive and well-respected approach to education.  You can learn more about Concern Worldwide here.

We look forward to participating in future  events and recommend you do the same. Giving back in small ways can add up to a big impact.

Here are the results of the fundraiser as of March 30, 2010:

BookRenter Community In Action

Dear BookRenter Community,

When the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti reached us, we at BookRenter wanted to do something to help as quickly as possible.  We also heard from many of our customers, who were also interested in contributing to the relief efforts.

As such, we decided to quickly raise money to donate to Relief International (RI), an organization known for its low overhead and hands-on efforts.  With our customers’ support, we set out to donate 5% of all rental revenue (up to $25,000) to aid victims of the earthquake.  Our plan was announced on January 14^th, and the rapid outpouring of support from our community truly amazed us.  Thanks to your efforts, we met our goal in less than 10 days, and the money is now on the way.

So where are those funds going, now that the check has been cut and sent? RI is using our donation to send food, medical supplies, and other high-demand items to the people of Haiti who so desperately need it.  The organization is also running emergency clinics to provide urgent medical care and surgeries.  Thanks to RI and your help, together we can all take pride in knowing we’re helping to make a small but significant difference for those in need.

Thank you.

Michael Geller

Vice President