Chegg it out!

 by Lauren Cusimano
 published on Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Everyone has had that one class — the class that requires about 13 books with a complete disregard for a student's time, cash flow and backpack size.

Chegg.com can't help anyone with time management or backpack size, but it has cash covered.

This Web site allows students to rent textbooks.

According to the Web site, there are more than 2 million books to choose from. Just enter the ISBN, author or title of the book to see its availability.

After registration, Chegg.com takes students through four steps. The first is to search and rent textbooks. The second is to receive the books by mail. The third is to use and benefit. Lastly, return the books to Chegg.com in the mail.

Chegg.com saves money and the time spent in bookstore lines and at the shelves.

A commonly needed book at ASU is the seventh edition of "Macroeconomics" by William Boyes and Michael Melvin. This textbook costs $83.25 used and $111 new. At Chegg.com, this textbook can be rented for the semester for $22.46.

The savings can range up to 92 percent on a textbook, according to the Web site. Chegg.com accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover credit cards.

Students can keep the books until the semester ends, saving the haul back to the bookstore to sell back textbooks. Chegg.com even offers the option to buy the book.

Students can return the books to Chegg.com through the mail using a pre-paid label that is provided by the Web site.

Chegg.com also plants one tree for every book that is rented. The Web site claims if a publisher sells 1 million copies of a 250-page book, it will take 12,000 trees.

Therefore, the Chegg.com go-get-'em slogan is, "Together we can make a difference, one book at a time."

— lauren.cusimano@asu.edu