by Abigail Ramirez
Daily Lobo
Chegg.com brings a free, alternate method of posting classified ads for students only, said Jarrad Lewis, director of East Coast operations for the Web site.
"If a student goes to a pretty big school and wants to buy a couch, they are going to have to run from building to building, bulletin to bulletin to find one," Lewis said.
With Chegg, students are able to buy, sell or donate items to other students on their campus for free, and only college students are allowed to register, he said.
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Osman Rashid, co-founder of Chegg, said by limiting the Web site to students, buying and selling items becomes relevant to them. In order to sign up, students need a valid university e-mail address.
"We are making a safe and secure environment for students to buy or sell by only letting them be a part of it," Rashid said.
With the help of Chegg, students' items will get more exposure than bulletin board advertisements, which means students will have a better chance of selling items, he said.
"I have seen one item be viewed 40 or 50 times per day," Rashid said. "The odds of 40 or 50 students seeing your ad on a bulletin board are pretty remote."
Rashid said this allows students to shop for their items before they come to a campus.
The convenience of having Chegg on the Internet allows students to view items any time, he said.
"Students aren't going to walk to campus in the middle of the night just to look for ads," he said.
Searches bring back results for the students' school and city, Lewis said.
"When students are moving in and need to furnish their apartment, or when they are moving out and want to sell items, it's easier for students to communicate with each other on a local campus to do these things," he said.
If students find something they are interested in buying, they e-mail the seller and pay them directly, Rashid said.
To sell an item, students can follow a three-step process, which includes giving a description and picture of the item and the students' school information, Lewis said.
An unlimited number of items can be posted for sale, he said.
An item can be posted online for 45 days, Rashid said. The student can choose to repost or remove the item, he said.
Students can receive donated items as well, he said.
"If someone says, 'Hey, I'm giving this away. If you need it, come by and pick it up,' they can do that here," Rashid said.
Couches, backpacks and other items have been donated, he said.
"We get funny items donated, too," he said. "We had someone donate a hamster with a cage because they couldn't take care of it anymore."
Rashid said the donation concept will be available to anyone in a couple of days, not just students, he said.
Local restaurants, jobs, housing, roommates, events and deals can also be found on the Web site, he said.
More than 1,000 students belong to Chegg, Rashid said.
"We are in the process of rolling out to other campuses," he said. "We estimate there will be 100,000-plus student users by the end of the year."
UNM student Karla Mondragon said using the Web site is a good idea.
"I would use it, because it's no charge," she said. "And it's like eBay, except it's local."
Student Brandi Owen said she doesn't shop on the Internet, because she finds it easier to shop in stores. She can find more things in one place without going online, she said.
She said the Internet poses security issues to users.
"You don't know the person," she said. "You're going to someone's house, and you just don't know the person that your going to go see. I just don't like the Internet very much."
Rashid said the Web site started out after noticing students' frustration with university bookstores.
He said bookstores sell books at an expensive price and buy them back at one-third of that price, he said.
"This gives students a way to buy books from each other," he said. "It's a way to put more money in the students' pocket when they buy or sell books."
Selling and buying other items, such as furniture, computers and televisions, was added to the Web site in response to students' requests, he said.
Chegg has been operational since 2003, but it was made formal three semesters ago, he said.
Marketing, public relations and software development internships are available for interested students, Rashid said.
"We wanted to make Chegg available for all of North America, so we are expanding across the U.S.," he said.
