Renting a textbook is a low-cost solution to studying, allowing you to access the information at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one. One popular textbook rental service is Chegg.
However, while there are many benefits to renting a textbook, it also comes with some unique downsides. When you’re renting a textbook, you can’t treat it as your own.
If you like to highlight as you read, this might mean skipping your favorite study aid.
If you rent textbooks from Chegg, you are allowed to highlight a limited amount of the book. In this guide, we’ll discuss what can you highlight in Chegg rentals, writing, and damaging a rental book.
What Are Chegg Rentals?
Chegg rentals is a service that allows you to hire your school textbooks for a limited time at a lower cost. You get to enjoy the content of the book, without the major expense.
And when you’re finished with it, Chegg will take the book back, so it won’t fill up your shelves!
Chegg has a large variety of buying textbooks available for rental, in a range of subjects. You choose the book you need and Chegg will mail it to you.
A rental is often a fraction of the cost of buying the book outright — you can potentially save up to 90%, compared to buying from new.
Chegg offers a 21-day refund guarantee on all their rental textbooks. So, if the book wasn’t quite what you were after, or you aren’t happy with the quality, you can return it at no extra cost.
Understandably, Chegg is a popular service among students. But once you have your Chegg rental fees, can you treat it like your own book?
Can You Highlight In Chegg Rentals?
Chegg does allow you to highlight feature in your rental textbooks, but only a limited amount. As a general guideline, avoid highlighting more than 30% of the book.
By allowing highlighting, Chegg allows you to get the fully rented textbook experience. If there’s the occasional sentence you feel the need to note, you’re free to highlight it.
However, Chegg only accepts limited highlighting. If you highlight an excessive amount of the book, it will be considered damaged.
Chegg will then reject the return, and require you to purchase the textbook. You’ll be charged the list purchase price, minus the cost of the rental.
You can then have the book returned to you, or Chegg will donate or dispose of it. (You’ll still be charged, even if the book is destroyed).
If you do rent a Chegg textbook, try and keep highlighting to a minimum. Someone will likely use the textbook after you, so limit highlighting to respect their future experience.
How Much Highlighting Is Allowed In A Chegg Rental?
Chegg specifies that they permit limited highlighting in their rented textbooks. This is a slightly vague description, so we recommend erring on the side of caution. Highlight as little as possible.
The Chegg rental textbooks are intended for multiple users, which means there might already be some sections highlighted. If everyone was to highlight as much as they liked, the textbook could become unusable!
Can You Write In Chegg Rentals?
No, you can’t write in rented Chegg textbooks. Although a limited amount of highlighting is allowed, Chegg has banned writing in the textbooks completely.
This might be frustrating if you’ve rented a textbook, but it’s necessary to keep the book in good condition for the next user. Too much notetaking in the margins could render the text almost completely illegible.
If you have written in your textbook, Chegg is likely to consider the book damaged. You will then be asked to pay the full cost of buying the book (minus the purchase fee already paid).
You can then pay to have the book sent back to you, or Chegg will dispose of it.
An easy solution might appear to be writing in pencil and erasing your marks before returning. However, we’d advise against this course of action.
Erasing might cause further damage to the page, resulting in Chegg rejecting the rental.
Can You Highlight In A Rented Chegg eTextbook?
As well as physical books, Chegg also offers textbook rentals. These textbook rentals are available on Android and iPhones, as well as PC, iPads, and other devices.
Each rental comes with a 10-day return policy.
When you have the eTextbook downloaded, you’ll typically be able to highlight sections and make notes. These digital notes are exclusive to your device, so they won’t affect other rentals.
What Are Chegg Damage Guidelines For Rentals?
You will try to keep your rental textbook in pristine condition, but if it’s being carried from the classroom to the library to your dorm room, it’s likely to get some bumps and knocks.
Chegg does allow for a certain level of wear and tear for renting textbooks. However, excessive damage can result in the rental period being rejected.
The Chegg policy essentially allows for any damage you might expect from normal use of the book.
The occasional bent page and scuffed binding won’t affect your ability to return the book. Similarly, Chegg allows limited highlighting.
However, Chegg doesn’t allow for any damage that might affect the function of the book. For example; stains, loose binding, and torn pages. Chegg also doesn’t allow any writing in the rental textbooks.
Essentially, Chegg doesn’t allow any damage that might affect the use of the book.
Chegg rentals are intended for multiple users. If the pages are loose or the text is covered, then the next user won’t be able to enjoy the textbook.
What Is The Chegg Policy For Damaged Rentals?
If you return a rental textbook with damage, A Chegg account can reject your return. You will then be expected to pay the listing price of the textbook, minus the amount you’ve already paid for the rental.
Chegg will return the textbook to you, but you will have to pay for the shipping costs and prepaid shipping label. You’ll also have to arrange for the return with Chegg.
If you don’t want the digital book returned to you, Chegg will try to donate it or recycle it. If neither option is possible, the book will be disposed of. You will still be expected to pay for the textbook.
If you believe the book was returned in good condition, then you’ll need to contact the Chegg support team directly.
We recommend taking photos of the book before you return it, so you can prove the quality.
Can I Return A Chegg Rental If I’m Unhappy With The Quality?
Chegg offers a 21-day return policy for all its rental textbooks. If you’re unhappy with the quality of your rental, you can send it back to Chegg at no extra cost, and receive a full refund.
Exactly what constitutes “damage” can vary from person to person, so it is possible to be unhappy with the quality of the rental you receive from Chegg. If this should happen, the easiest solution is to act fast and take advantage of the Chegg return policy.
Final Thoughts
Chegg does permit limited highlighting in their rental textbooks, but too much highlighting will count as damage.
Your returned textbooks should only show minimal wear and tear and should be close to their original quality. Instead of highlighting sentences, highlight just words and phrases.
And don’t write in the books at all!
