Web site debuts for student sales

Imagine a place where you could sell some old furniture, find a Spanish tutor and arrange a ride to New York for the weekend, all without leaving your desk.

Two Penn undergraduates have created an "online marketplace" that makes communication within the University community just that simple.

Students can post anything they wish to sell on www.pennforsale.com, from clothing to bicycles to pets. Everything is organized by category, and students can also browse based on price. The site includes a search function for those desiring a specific item or service.

Interested buyers simply contact sellers, whose phone numbers and/or e-mail addresses are posted, and the two parties arrange a transaction themselves.

The Pennforsale site has only been up and running for about three weeks, since Oct. 27. It was the brainchild of Wharton junior Julie Steinberg, who paired up with Engineering freshman An Nguyen to launch the project.

The site is already seeing "several hundred unique hits per day," according to Steinberg.

Steinberg explained that the idea stemmed from frustration with Penn "newsgroups," which allow students to post items for sale. She conducted a survey of newsgroup users, which showed their dissatisfaction with the system.

"We asked users if they would use a Web site with these features if it was created, and got an overwhelming response," Steinberg said.

Steinberg believes the new site offers many advantages over the newsgroup system.

"Newsgroup users have to subscribe separately, they can't search by category, and it takes a lot of time," she said. "We integrate everything into our Web site. There's a lot more organization and categorized listings."

Use of the new Pennforsale site is completely free to students. They can manage their own inventory, update the items they post, and include whatever contact information they wish to provide.

Engineering graduate student Cora Lee has already posted a number of items for sale on the new site.

"I put up five or six items, and sold most of them," she said.

"I think the site is a good idea, but I did also put up flyers that told people to go to www.pennforsale.com to see pictures of the items," Lee added.

Although Lee has not purchased anything advertised on Pennforsale, she said she might.

Others have been using the site as a way to clear out unwanted items.

"I posted a bed, sofa, some shelves... whatever we had around the house that we didn't need," College sophomore Kay Christensen said. "It went really fast, within a day."

"I think it's a really useful, good way to get in touch with other Penn students," Christensen added. "I haven't bought anything yet, but I've looked around."

Steinberg said the feedback so far has been "98 percent positive." She and Nguygen have received some suggestions, including the addition of a search function and layout changes.

"We respond to every suggestion, and usually site changes are up within 24 hours," Steinberg said. "Our users are the single-most important force behind rapid site improvements."

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