The college textbook industry offers digital options to students wanting to spend less and carry less.

A group of college students founded a company called Packback to “ease the burden of expensive textbooks.”

The company made its debut on the reality television show Shark Tank where “shark” Mark Cuban decided to invest in it. 

Packback is working on launching a new service for ULM students to allow them to compare and find lower prices to buy or rent textbooks.  The free “Compare Tool” compares prices from all major retailers.

The company also created the $5 digital textbook rental.  This charge is for one day’s rental and allows students to rent books only on the days they are needed.

A daily rental can change to a semester rental if a textbook is often needed. The company said it would credit any money spent on a daily rental toward the price of a semester rental.

Their website offers a free digital textbook rental for signing up.  

Students can use their services to rent digital textbooks or to buy and sell physical textbooks. The company offers free shipping to students selling textbooks.

According to a Packback video, 78 percent of students open their textbooks less than once a week.

Lauren Richardson said a digital textbook rental would be helpful for a class in which the textbook is not always required.  She also said she would use the service if she had a problem in a class where the textbook was not technically required.

“If you don’t need the book every day, then why would you spend upward of $150 or so on a book you don’t really need?” said Richardson, a sophomore biology major.

Richardson also said it would be easier to have digital books so she could carry what she needs on her devices instead of on her back.

Packback still offers services to buy and sell textbooks for students who prefer having physical copies.

“I don’t think that I would use it. I like to have my own copy that I can write in, highlight in and takes notes in. I feel like I learn better this way,” said William Arrington, a senior modern languages major.

Students can also apply to become a brand ambassador that plans events on campus, gives free rentals to friends and shares content on their social media. This is a paid and commission-based position.

The company says a student can “learn ins and outs of quickly growing startup and how to be an entrepreneur.” The company calls itself a “mash-up between Redbox and Netflix.” Since its beginning, Packback has added 2,000 titles for digital rental.