Recently, there have been bakopost.com fliers around campus advertising the free Web site as a place for BC students to buy and sell textbooks. The site, only three weeks old, has even had an item in the Bakersfield Californian.
Reyna Olaguez, the co-creator of the site, explained the reason for creating another place to buy textbooks in a world with eBay and Craigslist.
“One of the main things to push us was finding out that BC students sell books outside and we wanted to do outreach there,” she said. “It’s really a site for you.”
She then related a story about a friend who had sat for six hours in front of the Campus Center trying to sell three books, but with no success.
“It was something that was needed and my husband had the skills,” Olaguez said.
Her husband, Hector Gutierrez, is also a Cal State Bakersfield graduate. Olaguez, on the other hand, has a bachelor’s degree in political science from CSUB and is working on a master’s in Public Administration there.
When asked how the site is different from sites like eBay or Craigslist, she said: “It’s different. You have to wait for your item [with eBay]. We are more community-oriented and local. [It is] not only to buy and look for textbooks, but for job opportunities.”
Reviewing the site, you can see the local focus, as it only carries Bakersfield listings.
The site itself not only has textbooks for BC and CSUB, but listings for job opportunities and the sale of other items ranging from things as unique as an ultra-light aircraft to things as mundane as crates for your dog. The site also has a section for local rooms for rent and other housing arrangements.
When asked about her plans for promoting the site, Olaguez said, “We did print out some bookmarks and we were at CSUB and we are planning to go to BC and do a promotion campaign and we are planning to give out bakopost pins.”
Olaguez also mentioned a desire to get more local businesses involved in posting job opportunities and internships for local students. The site, being only a few weeks old, has less then 20 job listings at the time of this article, but Olaguez hopes this will grow as students and businesses start to hear about the free site.