Textbookrental.ca
 | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Key people | Brandon Luft CEO, Gershon Hurwitz Co-founder, Mike Stock Co-founder. |
| Industry | Technology Education |
| Products | Online textbook rental. |
| URL | http://www.textbookrental.ca/ |
Textbookrental.ca is a textbook rental service company, based in Canada. Its services include textbook rentals,[1][2] used textbook sales, a buyback program, and instore kiosks in university bookstores.
History
[edit]
Textbookrental.ca was established in 2010 by entrepreneurs Gershon Hurwitz and Mike Stock,[3] in response to student concerns about the rising cost of textbooks.[4] By 2011, the online store was selling textbooks at a discount and renting texts, allowing searching by textbook ISBN, author, and title, selecting a 2, 3, or 6 month (semester) rental period, and shipping options. Once the semester is over, books are returned with a free return shipping label,[5] or in person at 11 depots.[6]
The company also set up a service to buy back used books,[6] either by paying cash for books dropped off at a depot location near campus, by providing a free shipping label from the website to ship the books to the company.[7]
In 2013, Textbookrental.ca raised $415,000 of seed funding, mainly from Seek Capital, to expand its business.[8] In 2014 it continues to be privately owned and is managed by the founders together with an executive team.
Partnerships
[edit]Textbookrental.ca has teamed up with Conestoga college Ontario to provide students with an online rental option. Students can rent their textbooks online 24 hours a day.[9] Later the company made arrangements with other colleges, including Lakehead[10] and Dalhousie.[11] In British Columbia, the website collaborates with campusconnected.ca, a student classified ad website.[12] Textbookrental.ca has partnered with Indigo to provide online rentals and second hand books.[13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ Andrew Tai, "How to Stop Big Companies from Ripping You Off". Huffington Post.
- ^ "Chapters Indigo lance une e-boutique de manuels scolaires". Actualitté.com September 3, 2012
- ^ "How to save money on textbooks–rent them". Macleans.ca. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ "Why you should try renting your textbooks". Moneyville. Toronto Star. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ "Pat Foran on how students can rent their textbooks". CTV News. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ a b "To rent or to own?". Silhouette. McMaster University. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ "How to cut the cost of textbooks". The Globe and Mail. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ "TextbookRental.ca snares $415k seed cash, just in time for school". Stockhouse Editorial. July 29, 2013.
- ^ "Your Bookstore and You". Conestoga College. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ Jon Pukila. "Rent a book and save big"[permanent dead link]. The Argus.
- ^ "Dalhousie students have option to rent textbook". News 95.7 Radio.
- ^ "Connecting campuses with a clear vision" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. BC Local.by TIM PETRUK January 30, 201
- ^ "A Little Research May Save Your Textbook Budget". Money on Trees.
- ^ " Jessica Alba serves up entrepreneurial advice". SEAN STANLEIGH, The Globe and Mail, Monday, Aug. 27, 2012