A new store on University Way is shaking things up on campus. Book Kennel opened at the beginning of December, right across from the University Bookstore, the traditional default location for textbook purchases.

With rising college tuition costs, a worsening economy and ever-present necessities such as food and rent, college students have a lot of drag on their wallets without even adding textbooks to the list.

“We try to give students the best discount and lowest price on the sale of textbooks, and more money when they try to sell their textbooks back as well,” said Brendan Wood, Book Kennel’s general manager.

Book Kennel is not “the exact same setup” as the University Bookstore. Instead, it focuses primarily on textbook and buyback sales. With this focus, Book Kennel seeks to lower the cost of overhead and provide students with competitive prices. Ads for the store claim the “guaranteed lowest prices” and that the store gives “more cash for your used textbooks.”

“That guarantee applies across 97 percent of our titles I would say,” Wood said. “It’s good for customers to have options and that they can decide who offers the best price.”

Currently, however, the Book Kennel does not have the capacity to be a “one-stop shop” for students looking to find all of their textbooks in the same place.

While Book Kennel carries all textbooks for most departments on campus, according to Wood, they do not yet carry books for the UW School of Medicine or School of Dentistry, and they carry only a few law textbooks. Course packets are also not yet offered, but the store is considering carrying them in the future.

In addition to textbooks, the store’s “bread and butter,” Book Kennel will also sell some UW apparel, merchandise and school supplies such as notebooks and pens.

With two floors for retail and a basement for storage, Book Kennel’s space totals 8,000 square feet. The property occupied by the store had been vacant for a year.

Bryan Pearce, CEO for the University Bookstore, said he thinks competition is good. The University Bookstore plans to stay competitive by offering the same services it has offered for years, such as 10 percent UW customer rebates and year-round textbook buyback that returns earnings to its customers, Pearce said.

Over the years, Pearce has seen stores competing in the UW textbook business come and go. So far, however, Book Kennel’s business has been good, and Wood is pleased with the student response.

“[Students] seem very, very excited there’s competition in the area, and that they have another option to purchase their textbooks and sell their textbooks back as well,” Wood said.

When he visited Book Kennel Friday, senior Brian Cian was impressed. Not only was there complementary popcorn, but “their service was exceptional,” Cian said. “And their prices were comparable [to the University Bookstore’s] without doubt.”

“My only thing was they don’t offer course packets, which is kind of a downside for them,” Cian said.

Fellow senior Kevin Lam thought the two competing stores would benefit students.

“I like saving money,” Lam said. “I am a broke college student with no income.”

Reach reporter Joy Yagi at news@dailyuw.com.