Online marketplace focuses on students

A new marketplace is available for students at IU, but it is not located on Kirkwood.\nUloop, which was founded in January 2007 at the University of California at Santa Barbara, is an online marketplace college students can use to find textbooks, an apartment or even a part-time job.\nSince its founding, the Internet company has expanded its service to include 50 universities nationwide. \n“The primary motivation for Uloop is for students to connect with each other on campus,” said Corey Cleek, Uloop co-founder and CEO. “We did some focus groups and there’s a lot of different areas in which students designated their campus resources were inefficient, so the categories on the Web site are designed to make up for those inefficiencies.”\nThe Web site is free to all IU students, and students only need an e-mail address ending in .edu in order to log on.\nOnce logged in to Uloop, students can browse the sections of items for sale by other students at their university. Once an item has been selected, students can e-mail each other to discuss the price of the item.\nJessica Smith, a campus representative manager for Uloop, described it as a direct student-to-student trade. \n“I wouldn’t compare it directly to a bookstore,” she said. “Students are increasingly looking outward, and they’re looking to get more out of buying and selling their books.”\nBut the Web site is not just for buying and selling textbooks. College students can post practically any item they would like to sell. Items for sale range from bicycles to computers to furniture to apartments.\n“Uloop is a practical-needs network,” Smith said. “It really is a one-stop shop for college students.”\nUloop has representatives at many large universities in the U.S., and has plans for adding an additional 50 universities in 2009, Cleek said. \n“A lot of times we get requests from students to come to their university, so it is still constantly growing,” he said.\nUloop will also expand the content it already has in place on each particular Web site. \n“We’re going to be adding additional sections to help students, like course reviews, upcoming campus events and professor ratings,” Cleek said.\nWith Uloop in place at IU and a new school year set to start in September, the popularity of the Web site will depend on word of mouth.\n“I think the Web site sounds interesting,” junior Bette Skove said. “The prices at TIS and the bookstore aren’t always fair. I feel like they overcharge for books, and don’t give you enough when you return them.”\nSmith said she hopes IU students will utilize the Web site to their advantage.\n“I’m really excited to be at Indiana University; we hope to branch out more to IU students and provide a new resource,” she said.