Monica YamamotoSo, you’ve moved in, gotten settled, and you realize your living space is a little cluttered. Relax, there are many ways to get rid of your extra stuff; you may even make a buck in the process.
Online classified ads are an increasingly popular way to get rid of unwanted items. Web sites such as craigslist.org provide a place for users to post short descriptions of their items for sale or what they are looking for. After a short registration process, users can post their items for free.
According to craigslist.org, organizers strive to “provide a trustworthy, efficient, relatively noncommercial place for folks to find all the basics in their local area.” The Web site is broken down into regions, and San Luis Obispo’s area is limited by San Luis Obispo County lines.
Many students prefer using craigslist.org to furnish their living space. Mechanical engineering junior Brian Ambrosini said he likes craigslist.org because “it’s the most well-known. People give stuff away for free all the time.”
But what if you don’t have a car and you live on campus? Chegg.com (as in “chicken” and “egg”) is a Web site very similar to craigslist.org, but it is exclusively for college students. Convenience is a big selling point, as users can search within their own campus, eliminating the need to drive across town to pick up items.
Asked if he would use chegg.com, Ambrosini said, “sure, because it’s all college students. Plus, all the people graduating want to get rid of their stuff.”
Mechanical engineering senior Chuck Epperson was more cautious. “I’d look at it, but I don’t know (if I’d use it),” he said.
Craigslist.org includes categories such as Housing, Jobs, and Personals, and even has links to its international sites. Meanwhile chegg.com provides categories that the average college student may find more useful, such as Local Deals in which students can find discounts at their favorite restaurants and retail stores. There are also fun categories, such as Special, where users post their best chicken/egg recipe, and favorite Windows tip. There is even an area on the site where students can browse and post ads to donate their items for free.
Another popular option is ebay.com, but numerous fraudulent listings have thrown the company’s credibility into doubt. According to a June 15, 2006 article entitled “Do Web Auctions Encourage Sales of Stolen Goods?” in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, “in April, dozens of unauthorized carbon fiber forks bearing the Ritchey name and logo began appearing on eBay. What surprised Steve Parke, Ritchey’s general manager, nearly as much as seeing counterfeit Ritchey product on the auction Web site was how unconcerned eBay was about the fact.” Only after Parke’s ultimate threat to report the company to the Consumer Product Safety Commission did eBay put an end to the fraudulent auction.
Another useful resource is the Associated Students Inc. online classifieds at www.asi.calpoly.edu/classifieds/. Unlike craigslist.org and chegg.com, this site does not include a specific category for job listings. Some students do list their talents for hire, but for the most part, this site is limited to goods for sale.
The site breaks the items for sale down into specific categories, such as books, computers, general (where one is most likely to find job listings, if any), and vehicles.
Many students use the bulletin boards downstairs in the University Union to post ads for anything from used textbooks to carpools to and from the area, especially just before quarter breaks. Located in a high-traffic, high visibility area, these ads get maximum exposure each day.
There are many options for students searching for and selling lightly used items, many of them online. So there’s no reason to let that old couch sit there and rot away all quarter – who knows, maybe someone will have a use for it. And a little extra cash is always nice.