Textbook costs got you down? Try renting instead of buying!

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The average college student spends about $900 a year on textbooks, according to the Florida Board of Governors. And in an economy like this, that definitely makes a huge dent in your budget.

“They’re way over-priced for what they’re actually worth,” said Arizona State University student Jaime McWilliams of the textbooks required for her classes.

While many states have enacted textbook laws to help keep costs to a minimum, the high prices still hurt. But BookSwim.com, a New Jersey based company, wants to help solve that problem. BookSwim.com is a book rental service similar to an online library-but you can get your textbooks there too.

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Though many students do choose to search the internet for lower-priced textbooks, scouring Amazon.com or Half.com for the best deals, BookSwim can offer students even better deals than what they may find on discount websites, and without the headache.

McWilliams, a broadcast journalism junior, said she would have spent over $400 on books this semester if she had bought them at the ASU bookstore. She bought her books from Amazon instead and spent only about $295, including shipping charges.

McWilliams may have saved more using a rental service like BookSwim.

In fact, students can save up to 75% over buying new books and 25% on average purchasing used books from Amazon Marketplace and similar used book retailers.

BookSwim.com was inspired by Netflix to rent books to anyone as an alternative to going to the library-saving time, gas, and money on late fees. They also offer a wider variety of books, whether you want them for pleasure reading, to keep up with currents trends, or you just want something to read on the bus home.

This month, in a partnership with BookRenter.com, BookSwim is offering their customers more than just the latest best-sellers: for the first time, college textbooks that can be rented on a monthly or semester basis.

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And if you can’t find the book you’re looking for, you can let BookSwim know, and they will order it for you.

That’s certainly good news for college students!