Amazon Textbook Rental Competitor Chegg Chucks Physical Inventory

Online college textbook rental company Chegg is getting out of textbook ownership to stay in the textbook rental business.

Chegg, which competes with Amazon on physical textbook rentals but preceded Amazon into the rental market by several years, has cut a deal with Ingram Content Group. Ingram, a well-known book distributor, will take over responsibility for buying, warehousing and shipping the physical textbooks, with the phase-in beginning May 1 and complete by the end of 2015. Chegg will continue to market its textbook rental service, but essentially Ingram will handle all actual textbook purchases and fulfillment.