PVCC Bookstore offers rental service for textbooks

Textbooks can be expensive, but luckily there is a way to soften the financial blow. At PVCC, the on-campus bookstore offers a rental program that can greatly reduce the price of textbooks. 

To rent textbooks, the service must be requested at checkout. There, the cashier will check to see how many of the textbooks are available for rental. Both new and used books can be eligible for rental. The rental service is also available online at the PVCC bookstore’s website, which is an option when putting the textbooks into the cart. After the textbooks have been selected for rental, the student must provide a phone number and their credit card to rent under. The card is not charged; it is simply put into the system and will be charged if the textbooks are not returned by the day specified on the receipt. Stickers are placed on the textbooks being rented and the price deduction is noted in the total cost. 

As an example of the price difference, the textbook Journalistic Writing originally costs $16.50 used, but only $10.44 as a rental. Rented textbooks can be written in, but on return must not have missing pages, water damage, or be illegible. 

Students may return rented textbooks for a refund the same way they would a purchased textbook. If the student wishes to purchase the textbook later, they may do so by simply paying the difference. Textbooks must be returned by the date specified on the receipt. If a book is returned late, the difference plus a service fee is charged to the card provided at purchase, and the textbook is now owned by the student. At this point, a student would be charged extra for a used book, since the bookstore would then have to replace it with a new book.

However, there are some circumstances where it would be cheaper to buy a textbook rather than rent it, according to the store manager, Bob Fred. He has worked at the PVCC bookstore since 1998, but has worked at other bookstores for 37 years. 

He described a possible situation where a student is enrolled in a two-semester course, such as ENG 111 and 112, where the textbooks are the same in both.

“If it’s a two-semester course and you’re in the first class, it’s cheaper to buy them,” Fred said, rather than renting them twice. 

The bookstore is located at M153 and is open Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The bookstore is closed on Saturday and Sunday. Their phone number is 434-961-5317.

However, due to the Coronavirus, the Bookstore on campus is closed, preventing students from returning rentals on site. Instead, students are instructed to mail back rentals following a specific set of steps. To return rentals, students should go to www.pvccshop.com and sign into their account, then click on “rentals” and then “return by mail,” following the steps on screen to print out their return label (free). After printing the label, the books should be packaged in a sturdy box, with a paper inside that includes the student’s full name and the email they rented under. After that, drop off the box at the nearest FedEx drop-off location and a notification will be sent to the email provided as confirmation that the package is on its way. Students are encouraged to have their textbooks in transit by May 11 to avoid late charges. 

For more information about selling back textbooks and buying/renting textbooks for the summer and fall semesters, visit the PVCC Bookstore website by following the link below: https://www.bkstr.com/piedmontvirginiaccstore/home.