Classy Mobile Inc., a startup Delaware corporation based out of Boston Massachusetts, has launched a free iPhone application that allows college students to sell and trade textbooks and other items with each other on a student marketplace.

Classy sets itself apart from others by eliminating the danger and anonymity generally associated with other online marketplaces. To maintain user safety, Classy requires students to authenticate themselves through providing their Facebook information and an .edu email address.

Classy is currently available to students located in four Boston area universities including Harvard University, Boston University, Northeastern University and Babson College.

About the Classy Founders

Former University of Massachusetts Boston student Michael MacLean and Paul English former co-founder and CTO of Kayak.com developed Classy last December, a few years after finishing college. The idea sparked after a professor asked MacLean and fellow students to provide their names and phone numbers if they were interesting in reselling their textbooks to students. 

Classy co-founder Paul English

“The way people buy and sell textbooks between each other is a really antiquated system, there was no good solution for the peer-to-peer selling of textbooks” MacLean said.

How Does Classy Work?

First, students must download the Classy application and register through their Facebook accounts and an authenticated .edu email address.

Students looking to sell their items, must photograph the items, such as their textbooks, clothes, or dorm room furniture, and offer a listing price. The listing will then be advertised on the application to all students near the universities. Students interested in purchasing the listed items can then either phone or text the seller and coordinate a time and place where they can exchange the items for cash.

On the other hand, students interested in purchasing items such as textbooks, electronics, or other items can view images of listed items at different universities. Each listing includes a price and description of the said item and then allows students to place bids. Next, students just wait for the sellers to contact the if they’re interested in selling. 

For now, Classy offers its services to iPhone users for free and has no plans to generate an income. The next generation of the application will also be available to Android users and process credit cards, charging students a processing fee.

Topics: Apps, Delaware, Facebook, Small Business, Startups