Perlego: Startup for "all you can read" textbooks

[bjcheung77]

These guys "Perlego" want to become the "Spotify for textbooks"...  I guess they have competition with other big names in the textbook rental arena!  I wonder if this will pan out well as there are so many other players in the field already, but they did raise $50 million, so I guess there are plenty of supporters.  In the end though, most students will take out the cheapest, or easiest rental they can get versus purchasing an older used paper copy....

Link: Perlego raises $50M to build out its vision of being the ‘Spotify for textbooks’ | TechCrunch

[ss20ts]

This is a great concept depending on how much they're charging students to rent textbooks. The price of textbooks absolutely factors into which classes students take. I was looking at a class that I am really interested in taking until I saw it required a $236 textbook. Nope. Not happening. I'm not that interested in a class. I've dropped classes in the past when I discovered the required books cost several hundred collars. Do professors forget that most college students don't have a million dollar bank account? I know they want to support their buddies, but don't you have a duty to your students? There was hope that digital textbooks would drop the price of textbooks, but that hasn't happen. Some digital books are more than a printed version. WHY?????? All of this really just supports what students have said for decades - that textbook prices are a scam.

I have a professor this semester who doesn't use textbooks. Instead she uses business books. The price difference is astounding. I bought 3 business books on Amazon for my Kindle app for under $50 which was less than the printed versions. This really makes that class with a $236 textbook look like a joke. That book costs almost as much as 1 credit! I really hope open source books really become more of a norm.

[LevelUP]

As I recall like 2 main textbook publishers control 75% of the market.

[msganti]

According to their pricing page, it's $18 a month (or $12 a month if you prepay for a whole year). A good deal IMO.
https://www.perlego.com/pricing

[carrythenothing]

It might not be worth it if enough of your classes also require digital access codes (included in new textbooks or available as separate purchases).

[ss20ts]

It might not be worth it if enough of your classes also require digital access codes (included in new textbooks or available as separate purchases).

That digital access code is such a joke. It's just a money grab from publishers. College textbooks are one of the biggest scams out there.

[Samapolco]

I agree with you that Perlego has some fierce competition in the textbook rental space, but they seem to be making a name for themselves with their "all you can read" model.

[rachel83az]

Bumping this thread. While TESU's specific textbooks aren't listed, so far as I can tell, Perlego still offers beneficial study materials for the free TECEP promo..