'Net Merchant Raises Stakes for Book Sellers

Don't bother breaking out the Magic Markers and the masking tape to create yet another batch of tear-off posters to sell your used books.

The Web may make your job a whole lot easier.

A new Web site for students to buy and sell used books and other items debuted Wednesday--just in time for shopping period.

"We wanted to provide students a place to post on a Web site the books they have, and for students to search to find the books they need," said David B. Alpert '00, business manager of the Harvard Computer Society (HCS).

The site, www.hcs.harvard.edu/market, is sponsored by HCS and the Undergraduate Council. It allows owners of textbooks, furniture, tickets and other items to post "for sale" notices online. Students hoping to buy used books can search by course to see which are available.

Although the site will serve as a clearinghouse for various goods, no actual transactions will take place on-line.

"Our hopes are that with this you will have everything in one place," said C. J. Mahoney '00, the Leverett House council representative who sponsored the marketplace bill.

"As it is right now, the used book market is kind of haphazard," he said. "We want to increase the number of used books in the marketplace."

Mahoney said the council hopes that the site will help to increase competition in the Harvard book market. Such expanded accessibility may cause the price of used books to drop.

"I'm very excited about it," Mahoney said. "I think this is the kind of thing the U.C. needs to do more of."

Mahoney added that he thought the marketplace was a good example of the student services called for by council president Beth A. Stewart '00 during her campaign.

Students' reactions were mixed when questioned last week at the Science Center. Some were enthusiastic about the project and the increased use of the Web, while the 'Net-shy were concerned about the marketplace's accessibility.

"I think there's a definite use for the online marketplace," Harry B. Kargman '98 said. "I've had used books that I wanted to sell but didn't want to take the time and effort to put up a sign."

However, Kargman cautioned, "The word's going to need to get out. Students need to use it for it to be valuable."

Students may appreciate the new-found ease of finding buyers or sellers with the click of a mouse.

"I would use it, because it's an easy way to do it through the Internet," Max J. Bernstein '01 said.

However, he added that already existing online resources are underused by most students.

Others were even more skeptical of the Internet exchange service.

"I don't generally use the Web that much," Kathy K. Jo '00 said. "I guess if I really needed to sell something I would."

Both HCS and the council conceived of an online marketplace independently. HCS had already considered the idea when Mahoney approached them last fall, Alpert said.

In November, the council voted $1,000 for the project, to cover the computer society's production and maintenance costs, although Alpert said HCS eventually needed few funds to finance the team of ten student programmers who created the final product.

Alpert said he is optimistic about the marketplace's chance for success and sees it as a logical progression for students on a campus growing more comfortable with the Internet every day.

"It makes sense," Alpert said. "It's a good time for it. We hope students will find it useful."