UF students can add another company to their list of textbook providers.
Chegg.com, a textbook rental site, helps students save 65 to 85 percent off the list price of textbooks, wrote Tina Couch, the vice president of public relations, in an e-mail.
"With the economy the way it is, parents and students are being a lot more cost-conscious," Couch wrote.
As a result, people are becoming more aware of rental services like Chegg because they are being more proactive about finding products and services to save money, she wrote.
Couch wrote Chegg.com, which houses more than 2.4 million books at its Kentucky warehouse, is free to join and students can choose to rent books for a semester, quarter or a summer.
Sophomore Shakara Lawrence said she heard about Chegg.com from a classmate during summer session and a "Good Morning America" segment.
Lawrence said she used the site because it's inexpensive, and, unlike other students, she does not have to worry about bookstore buybacks.
But Kenny Roberts, owner of Orange & Blue Textbooks, said students do not have time to wait for the books they ordered online.
He said his bookstore offers promotions that online services don't, like 30-day deferment, free movies and free drinks, to help offset book prices.
Lynne Vaughan, the director of UF Bookstores, said UF might eventually offer a textbook rental service.
Vaughan said Follett Higher Education Group, which manages the UF Bookstores, is testing rental services at other schools this fall.
