WesClassifieds, a new Internet-based service, enables students and faculty to buy and sell furniture, textbooks, electronics, personal services, and even Rufus Wainwright tickets online.
“[The program] came out of a need for a classified [listing] location for faculty and staff,” said Director of Technology Support Services Ganesan Ravishanker. “Faculty have mailing lists where they exchange information, and a lot of people were advertising things for sale. People didn’t want the discussion list to be cluttered with these things.”
The WesClassifieds service was fully established only a few weeks ago, and is still very minimal, according to Anda Greeney ’07, member of the WSA Independent Projects Committee.
“I feel like the website is not much different from a bulletin board which has fliers listing things for sale,” Greeney responded via email. “My feeling was that the website isn’t very sophisticated, and as it stands now, it could not handle large amounts of listings.”
Currently, the website is formatted so that items for sale can be listed with a description, asking price, and the seller’s contact information. A picture can be attached to the listing, although the display is relatively small. Services such as babysitting can also be listed with a suggested rate.
One feature allows users to list items or services sought with a maximum price in the “Wanted” category. Only people on the Wesleyan server can make listings, although the advertisements can be viewed by anyone if the person posting so chooses.
“I’ve already used it to purchase a recliner, a coffee table and a CD/Radio boom box,” said Functional Project Manager of the Student Academic Electronic Portfolio Jennifer Curran. “So I am a big fan.”
The website even includes a “Real Estate and Housing” section which lists several available rooms and apartments to rent or own in the Middletown area.
“It’s one of those things [where] people [who] use it love it,” Ravishanker said. “There’s a lot of people, including me, who have sold items and love it and would definitely use it again.”
The elementary set-up, however, does have several limitations. While the website is organized into ten categories, many items can be listed under multiple categories, making browsing tedious. Additionally, although items can be sorted by “date posted” or by “poster,” there is currently no general search function to help sort through the listings. This means that high traffic during textbook-buying times, for example, could render the website almost impossible to manage, according to Greeney.
“As far as going on and finding something specific you need, the chances are low,” Greeney said. “Imagine if [many] students started listing textbooks for sale; without a search function, it would be nearly impossible…to find the book you wanted.”
The website does have a subscription service whereby students can receive weekly emails alerting them of new items up for sale in particular categories.
Although there are several potential problems with high traffic, the website has so far maintained less than fifty listings. There are plans to expand the program’s services and features according to increased demand, according to Ravishanker.
“The program was written by ITS, and so we collectively do all the design, including the icons, etc…and we also do all the programming,” he said. “We wrote this like any other application, that there would be requests for additional features which need to be programmed.”
WesClassifieds can be accessed in students’ electronic portfolios through the “Classified Ads” link listed under “Tools and Help.” It can also be accessed through the website, https://classifieds.wesleyan.edu/.
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