UT student finds way to save on textbooks

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- Students at the University of Texas went back to class Wednesday morning, and when it comes to getting textbooks for class, many students are ditching the idea of buying them and instead opting to rent their books.

Students spend between $500 and $900 a semester for textbooks these days, but that price tag can be cut in half by renting books.

One of the more popular Web sites is called Chegg.com, and it is considered the Netflix for textbooks. 

Just type in the book you need, and the rental price for the semester or quarter comes up. You can also see what it would cost to buy the book.

"Whenever they send you the book in the mail, it comes with a return envelope, and everything is paid for," said Samora Augustus, a senior at UT.

Augustus figured out renting was more economical than buying the books and then selling them back at the end of the semester.

"Definitely a savings of about $200 to $300, which is pretty nice," said Augustus.

Nice, because when you are in college, a little extra money can go a long way.

All of the books Chegg rents are either new or slightly used.