UGA students try textbook rentals to cut costs

ATHENS - University of Georgia students looking for ways to save money now have the option of renting textbooks instead of buying them.

Independent textbook seller Off Campus Bookstore has begun renting books in Athens. "The students are requesting it," said Off Campus Bookstore owner Charles Fuller.

Bookstores at the University of Georgia and Athens Technical College will begin rental programs in the fall.

Follett Higher Education Group, which manages stores at both schools, said the program will allow students to save an average of 50 percent over the cost of a new book.

Between 20 percent to 35 percent of university textbooks will be available for rent this fall, said Jim Dwyer, manager of the UGA Bookstore.

"The ultimate objective is to drive down the cost of college materials," Dwyer said.

Some students said they are better off with the traditional system of buying books and selling them back. They will still be able to do that.

"I'd definitely rent if it's cheaper," said Haley Fisher, a single mother studying to be a certified nursing assistant at Athens Tech.

Fisher was not sure it would be cheaper to rent. Her anatomy textbook cost $150 new, but she was able to pick up a used copy for $45 online.

The Athens Tech store paid her $25 for the book, meaning a net cost of $20 - much less than the $75 or so a rental might have cost her.

She wasn't as fortunate with her $40 nutrition book: She couldn't sell it because instructors were not using it anymore.

Fuller said if college professors would use the same basic texts for several years instead of changing every year or two, students could resell books more easily.