Senior Sales Offer Underclass Students Bounty

It's time of year when much of the Harvard community is concerned only with summer plans and finals. Seniors, vacating the Houses for the last time June, face an additional burden: what to do with all that accumulated dorm furniture?

For some, `senior sales' provide the answer.

These informal bargaining arenas allow seniors to advertise items for sale, in many cases objects that might seem bulky and useless outside of the college environment--like a futon or halogen lamp. Prospective undergrad buyers inspect the goods and sometimes try to haggle over price.

"If you can get stuff cheaply, they're definitely a great idea," says James Celestin '00. "Organized sales especially are good because they save you time, you have less hassle and you might find something you didn't know you wanted."

Sales benefit both seniors and student buyers, since prices are often very reasonable--less expensive than either buying a new futon or shipping the old one home.

Sales are traditionally advertised through word-of-month or flyers. This year, however, some Houses are attempting to organize the process to better suit the needs of House residents.

Dunster House recently developed a system that allows the House Office to consolidate a list of the items seniors hope to sell. The resulting list was e-mailed to residents last Wednesday, including rising sophomores. Interested students can contact seniors by e-mail to purchase specific pieces.

"I hadn't planned on buying anything for next year now, but on the list some of the stuff looked good," says Dunster resident Joseph J. Lee '00.

Earlier this semester, Cabot House organized an auction that gave seniors the opportunity to sell unwanted items.

"The auction was a good idea, but I think they had it too early in the semester," says Patricia L. Santos '00, a Cabot resident "I wasn't yet thinking about I need for next year."

Many students, however, do have a wishlist ready for ongoing senior sales. Celestin says he intends to purchase a room partition that the group that inhabits his home for next year is offering, and "maybe an Oriental rug, too, if [he] can get one really cheap."

It seems that first-year students may not be as well-informed about the senior sale ritual as their counterparts in the Houses.

"What's that?" says Jason J. Jun '01 when interviewed during a stroll through the Yard with friend Gabriel M. Struck '01.

Struck, who will live in Dunster House next year, is better informed, thanks to the House-wide sale e-mail.

"I plan to purchase a lamp or a fridge," he says.

Students may not be shopping for specific items, but most are open to the possibilities senior sales offer.

"I hate buying new stuff that I have to bring from home," says Cassim C. Shepard '01, "And I'm always open to a bargain."

While some may scour campus for more popular items like the "VCR and couch at a cheap price" that Ariel B. Osceola '00 craves, students can also find less-common items on sale.

The Dunster House list, for example, offers a bathroom scale, assorted vases and fireplace sets alongside the usual range of used couches and tables.

The sheer variety of goods on sale seems to indicate that seniors find the sale tradition a boon. Participation in organized sales is high, and many seniors take their own initiative when not privy to such organization.

Joshua A. Gluck '98 echoes the thoughts of many seniors faced with the sobering notion of shipping furniture home.

"Once I'm done with exams, I'm going to start trying to sell my futon and maybe a lamp," Gluck says. "I'll put up signs and hopefully someone will want them. Otherwise, I might have to just give them away."