With all the various course material formats, sometimes it might be difficult to keep everything straight. Today, let’s take a deeper look at Publisher Consignment Rental (PCR).
What are Publisher Consignment Rentals and what do you need to know?
A publisher consignment rental is simply a collection of rental-only titles that have been selected by the publisher. These titles can be a great low-cost option for students. Publishers do require additional reporting, but for many, the benefits outweigh spending a little extra time on reporting. So, what do you need to know about Publisher Consignment Rentals?
- Student savings - These books are rented at a price less than the new book selling price which helps bookstores provide students with greater savings as well as faculty with the latest editions.
- No up-front cost to stores - There is no up-front cost with Publisher Consignment Rentals.
- Support academic freedom – It is important that your store is prepared to provide any course materials that faculty adopt on your campus. Being prepared to accommodate any course material request, including Publisher Consignment Rentals, helps you keep course material sales on campus.
- The difference between a PCR title and a store-run rental - With consignment rentals, publishers pick the titles and have control over prices, non-return fees and rental terms. Publishers also require stores to report the transactions to their distribution partner each month.
Getting Publisher Consignment Rental Books
When your store chooses to use MBS as your consignment rental source, we will provide you with the consignment rental agreement that must be signed and returned, opting your store into the program. MBS is an authorized U.S. publisher consignment rental distributor with Pearson and McGraw Hill.
From there, we will work with the publishers to fulfill your consignment rental want list as well as handle all invoicing and payments to the publishers. We will work with your store on the reporting requirements to help you stay in compliance.
As you know, MBS is a one-stop shop for wholesale textbooks and course materials. Through our partnerships with publishers, we can provide easy access to publisher consignment rentals, helping you increase low-cost student options while also streamlining your store’s:
- Ordering process
- Fulfillment
- Reporting
- Invoicing
Managing Publisher Consignment Rental Reporting
MBS system partners–When Publisher Consignment Rentals were introduced to the market, MBS enhanced its system to simplify everything from adoptions, returns and reporting for this new course material format. For step-by-step instructions from adoption to returns, watch our Publisher Consignment Rental How-to Video.
For non-MBS system partners, MBS makes required reporting as simple as possible while keeping your store in compliance with the publishers. We will supply you with an easy-to-follow Publisher Consignment Rental reporting spreadsheet template.
If you have any questions about Publisher Consignment Rental, please contact rentalreports@mbsbooks.com for assistance.
