eBay Meets Harvard

Justin Timberlake made the headlines a few years ago when he put a half-eaten piece of toast up for auction on eBay. The auction site has since attracted legions of devotees. Now, Harvard has its own online marketplace, and its two ambitious founders are hoping to follow in eBay’s success.

Amateur peddlers and seasoned salespeople alike are coming together at Crimsonxchange.com to sell their textbooks, electronics and maybe even their souls at the Harvard-only auction site. Up and running since September 1, 2003, the eBay-inspired business is the brainchild of Sam W. Lessin ’05 and Tali B. Rapaport ’05.

The two worked steadily throughout this past summer to get the site up and running, working with business, encryption and legal experts to bring their vision to life. Currently there are over 250 items listed for sale and approximately 200 registered users.

Eager sellers post information and pictures of their items—in turn, potential buyers can peruse the offerings and are welcome to publicly submit questions to the sellers about the items pre-purchase. “You can sell anything,” says Rapaport. “There is one guy selling an engraved silver double-barrel nut dish—it’s quite a work of art.”

Lessin and Rapaport claim that one of the primary advantages to using their website is that users are all within the Harvard community and are therefore accountable for the quality of the goods. The CrimsonXchange policy states that on the occasion that the buyer and seller meet, the buyer doesn’t have to follow through with the purchase if they are displeased for any reason.

The dynamic pair has worked tirelessly on promoting their business endeavor, distributing information during Freshman Week and contacting transfer students. It’s catching on slowly—Rapaport says that most people find out about the site via word of mouth. The main obstacle to success is the complacency of lazy students. However, for those who choose to put in a little more effort, the rewards could be huge.