Students at Binghamton University now have the opportunity to trade and sell items in a venue specifically designed for them by one of their peers.

Binghamton sophomore Adam Amit created the Web site, known as SparkitMarket.com, because he found similar ones to be inadequate for college students’ needs.

The site, which was designed to help college students buy and sell merchandise online, enables sellers to post items and buyers to arrange meetings in an effort to bring personal contact to Internet shopping.

“Every other college classifieds/job site I went to was insufficient at portraying and gathering information to give to students,” Amit said. “I decided that I wanted to go into this field and solve that problem. I created a site that was aesthetically pleasing and had vast options, like being able to post multiple pictures, video and much more.”

Items can be classified under four different sections: for sale, books, real estate and jobs. Additionally, there is a “Whatever” section, where users can post anything from movie reviews to jokes, and even events to keep students informed about campus activities.

Amit takes a somewhat hands-off approach in terms of management over the trades.

“My site doesn’t keep track of what has been sold because the exchange happens between users,” Amit said, “but I know that plenty of items have been sold and people have been contacted for items ranging from books to computers.”

Currently, site membership is open to anyone, but SparkitMarket.com caters specifically to BU students and residents of the surrounding areas.

Users do not have to subscribe to be a member, but only some features are available to those who sign up for the free service. Users do not need to register to publish a post.

Many businesses both on and off campus have created accounts already, including Sodexho, Prospect Magazine and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

“It seems like a good idea,” said sophomore John Vargas, who visited the site. “Facebook has something close to it already, but this allows for local businesses and people to buy and sell too. It should make campus life easier.”

Amit now runs the site by himself, but had some help in the initial design phase.

“I hired a company in [New York City] called Blue Fountain Media to design and build the site,” he said. “They help me with maintenance and any problems. They have been a great company to work with.”

SparkItMarket.com is featured on Blue Fountain Media’s main Web page, just under the link to the site they designed for Martha Stewart.

Amit said he didn’t include a charge for use of the site because as a college student he understands the financial burdens undergraduates face.

“I know that college students have very little money, so I purposely made SparkitMarket.com free for all users,” he said. “I make all my revenue through outside advertising, which is mainly Google AdSense right now.”