This season many students at the University are finding themselves turning to Web sites such as Craig’s List and eBay, which offer them the opportunity to get more bang for their buck.
These Web sites often see a lot of use by college students, according to a recent survey done by eBay. Ian Fletcher-Waterworth, sophomore and frequent eBay shopper, thinks the reason behind this might simply be “laziness.”
“One huge reason why I do it is because it’s so easy to just get things shipped to you,” he said. “Many people do it just because they’re too lazy to go to the store.”
The ease for online shoppers to sit at a computer and buy whatever they want is not the only reason for the high numbers in shoppers this season. According to eBay, there was a 27 percent increase in shoppers this year than last on Cyber Monday, the online equivalent of Black Friday that takes place the Monday after Thanksgiving, and many of them were looking for electronics.
These Web sites have recently had a lot of traffic during this past week for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to an eBay press release, the Nintendo Wii Console was the most popular product sold on Black Friday, selling 3,171. The second most sold item was the Nintendo Wii Fit with 1,059 sold.
One of the online shoppers on Black Friday was freshmen Tom Price, a frequent eBay shopper.
“I’ve already started my Christmas shopping on eBay; I bought some music equipment for my brother,” Price said.
Price also mentioned some incentives for college students to shop on eBay.
“eBay is fantastic for us because we want to get things cheaply, especially this year,” he said.
One other reason for people to use eBay, especially in Bowling Green, is the ease of getting something shipped here.
“There aren’t a lot of stores that sell the things I need for my hobby here, so I can order it on eBay and have it shipped to me,” Price said.
Another Web site that sophomore Ryan Hilgefort said he will be using this holiday season is Craig’s List.
“I love sites like eBay and Craig’s List because they offer you great ways to shop, with cheap prices,” Hilgefort said.
Craig’s List differs in many ways from eBay. On eBay, there are many people bidding on an item. Craig’s List is like a classifieds site, in which the buyer contacts the seller and negotiates a sale.
“eBay is more official,” Hilgefort said. “You use a great system to pay for everything called PayPal which offers you a safe way to pay for everything, and you don’t have to worry about having a credit card. In general I like Craig’s List better though, because you can get better deals.”
Regardless of which site one favors, Hilgefort loves shopping online because a bargain goes a long way in a time of economic strain.
“To me, eBay and Craig’s List make up one huge garage sale, and that’s where I plan on doing my Christmas shopping this year,” said Hilgefort.
