ULOOP.COM | Students get free storefront

Books are pricey.

But this time around, there's a new and more affordable way to buy, sell and trade them.

Uloop.com, an online marketplace with over 50 participating colleges nationwide, has expanded its website to include NYU. The website, which is only available to people with a valid ".edu" e-mail address, allows students to post ads for the items they want to sell and arrange a way to exchange them.

Uloop is able to offer low prices because, unlike sites like Amazon.com, it doesn't charge students a service fee, and there are no shipping costs.

"[Uloop] is plain and simple," ULoop's East Coast Campus Rep Meredith Waite said. "We cater specifically to one certain network, which we feel makes it a safe and secure environment."

Uloop originated at the University of California at Santa Barbara last year, and nine other colleges in California were quickly added. During this semester, the site has grown to include campuses nationwide. NYU, with 700 new members last week and 800 new posts, is its most successful participant so far; other Uloop newcomers include Cornell, Rutgers, Duke and Penn State.

In addition to book sales, Uloop includes postings for jobs, carpools, housing and events.

"I sold a keyboard that I didn't need anymore," said Steinhardt junior Nick Stergiou, a campus representative for Uloop.

Many NYU students have already received responses to their posts and have gotten rid of their books and picked up some cash in the process.

"Usually, I would just sell my textbooks back to the NYU bookstore for the pitiful 50 percent or less of the original price," CAS sophomore Amy Armani said. "It's often difficult to find university-specific texts on other sites."

But while Armani said she found a more profitable way to sell textbooks, she hasn't used it yet for buying them.

"I have actually been able to find my required textbooks for less on other websites," Armani said. "Some students definitely price their books a little too high."

Marc Beja is a contributing writer. E-mail him at campus@nyunews.com.