Students renting textbooks through Warehouse Deals, an Amazon subsidiary, "may be unknowingly agreeing to an unusual condition: They are not permitted to cross state borders with their books," Inside Higher Ed reported, citing a the Textbook Rental Terms and Conditions page on Amazon.com, which says: "You may not move the textbook out of the state to which it was originally shipped. If you wish to move the textbook out of that state, you must first purchase the textbook."
Noting that this could be "another reflection of the extreme lengths to which the company continues to go in order to avoid collecting state sales taxes," Inside Higher Ed questioned whether the rule was enforceable and asked: "But could Amazon's use restriction and other complicated rental conditions cause problems for students or lead potential textbook renters to take their business elsewhere?"
Officials from Chegg and Rafter, two major competitors in the online textbook market, "said their companies do not have any policy that prevents students from bringing rental books from one state to another," Inside Higher Ed noted.
