When Ure Egbuho, sophomore theater major, tried to sell back her pre-algebra book to the Hornet Bookstore last semester, she was turned down because the bookstore no longer used her fourth-edition book and started using a newer edition.

“I was so upset because I spent so much money on that book,” Egbuho said. “It was absolutely ridiculous. I ended up using that book as a doorstopper because I had no other use for it.”

This semester, she decided to rent her textbooks to avoid the same fate, and she’s not the only one.

In addition to the Hornet Bookstore offering textbooks rentals, outside textbook rental companies are also making it easier for students to save money and get their textbooks.

Chegg.com is a textbooks renting company with a system similar to Netflix’s DVD renting.

Just like Netflix, students can rent textbooks through Chegg.com by ordering them online and receiving them in the mail.

Students can save 50 percent or more per textbook if they rent them, said Aayush Phumbha, vice president and co-founder of Chegg.com.

Phumbha launched the company in 2007 with his friend Osman Rashid after being frustrated with spending so much money for textbooks every semester.

Returning the textbooks at the end of the semester is easy because the shipping is free and students return the books simply by using the orange box in which they were delivered, he said.

The pros of renting a textbook outweigh the cons, Phumbha said.

“It’s easy on the pocket and students don’t need to worry about selling back the books at the end of the semester,” he said.

In addition to saving students money, Chegg.com selects students who are then paid to promote the company.

When a student is accepted as the brand ambassador for the company, or the Chegg Champion, the student receives a promotional code to give out to his or her peers.

When those peers use the code to rent from Chegg.com, the Chegg Champion receives $5 with every order that uses his or her code.

“For each book rented or sold through this code, the Champion receives payment in addition to valuable real-world experience,” Phumbha said.

There are 26 Chegg Champions at Sacramento State this semester, according to Angela Pontarolo, Chegg.com spokeswoman.

In addition to Sac State, Chegg.com rents textbooks to students from about 6,400 campuses nationwide.

Ciandra Cole, sophomore Spanish major, has been renting textbooks from Chegg.com since last semester.

“It’s really easy to use and they have most of the books that you need,” she said.

Cole said she has rented four textbooks from Chegg.com so far, and plans to use the website for upcoming semesters.

Since the starting of the Hornet bookstore’s textbook rentals this semester, Pam Parsons, Hornet Bookstore director, said it has been a success.

“We don’t have the exact numbers to compare because we started this semester, but it has been a success enough to continue into next semester,” Parson said.

While the Hornet Bookstore now offers textbook renting, Cole said she would rather order her textbooks from Chegg.com.

“I recommend anything over buying from the bookstore,” she said. “So I recommend others to use Chegg. I always go there first to get my textbooks.”

With many students struggling with tuition and fee increases, more students are turning to renting their textbooks, Egbuho said.

“I don’t want to risk getting turned down again,” she said. “With renting, I can just return my books at the end of the semester and not get upset over whether they take my books back or not.”

One of the best parts about renting textbooks is how much money a student can save, Phumbha said.

For example, a $140 criminal justice book can be rented for $58 a semester from Chegg.com.

At the Hornet Bookstore, the savings are similar to Chegg.com.

Students can expect to save 50 percent or more per textbook when they rent them.

“The only con that I can think of is that you obviously can’t keep the textbooks,” Parson said. “So if you need a textbook for your major, renting might not be for you.”

While students are to return the books at the end of the semester, they have the option of buying the books from Chegg.com if they decide to keep them.

“There just isn’t much cons to renting textbooks,” he said. “There are so many more reasons to why students should rent their books.”

In addition to helping the environment by reusing books and killing fewer trees to print new textbooks, Phumbha said Chegg.com plants a tree for every textbook rented from the company.

As of this month, the company has planted more than 3,000 acres of trees in 21 different countries.

“We have planted over 1 million trees so far,” Phumbha said. “And we have helped students save more than $72 million by renting from our website.”

One of the reasons why renting from Chegg.com is better than renting from the Hornet Bookstore is Chegg.com’s effort to save the environment, Cole said.

“I love the fact that Chegg plants a tree for every book you rent,” Cole said.

While the Hornet bookstore offers textbooks in variety of course sections, not all books are available for rent.

Parson said about 15 percent of all textbooks are available to rent from the Hornet Bookstore.

“Not all textbooks are available because they need to fall under certain categories,” she said. “Titles that are updated every year or do not get used for multiple semesters are not going to available for renting.”

There are about 2.4 million textbooks available through Chegg.com.

The trend of textbook renting is growing and it is likely to continue to grow, Parson said.

For those who rented textbooks this semester, Dec. 21 is the deadline to return them.

Cole and Egbuho both said they plan to rent as many textbooks as they can next year.

“I definitely recommend others to rent their books,” Egbuho said. “And I already have a doorstopper; I don’t need another one.”

Miyu Kataoka can be reached at [email protected].