A Web site combining elements of Ebay and Illini Book Exchange will soon be available to University students.

Ebay remains one of the most visited sites on the Internet and is ranked as the fifth most visited site, with Craig’s List, a community trading and information site, following at number 16, according to Alexa.com, an Internet information source. The popularity of these buying and selling spaces has spurred the creation of college-centered sites.

ExchangeHut.com, which will launch its University site on the first day of the fall semester, was started by a student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2003. Like the University’s own Illini Book Exchange, the founder aimed to give students a venue to list, find, and sell or buy their textbooks.

The founder of ExchangeHut.com, however, added a new twist to the equation said Nathan Lustig, president of ExchangeHut.com.

“Students make cash transactions when they meet to exchange the item,” Lustig said. “We then charge 4.9 percent of the price of the sale to the seller’s credit card.”

Lustig said like Ebay, Amazon, and Half.com, the fee has not deterred popularity.

Josh Sulkin is president of the Technology & Management Club, which created and operates Illini Book Exchange.

Sulkin said the group considered charging a fee “for about a second.”

“Illini Book Exchange is completely local, completely free, it is very easy to use, and we maintain a current list of the required textbooks so that students can be sure they’re buying the right book,” Sulkin said.

Though Illini Book Exchange offers services free of charge, ExchangeHut.com will attempt to appeal to another niche of trading needs.

The Web site, which is only available to students with a valid University identification number, sees its greatest influence in the market for game tickets.

During football season, UW students sold approximately 1,000 tickets for each game and 500 per game during basketball season.

“At UW-Madison, football tickets sell out each semester,” Lustig said. “The prices for tickets were really inflated. We’ve seen our biggest impact on the market for football tickets because the prices were down last year since students have better access to them through the Web site.”

The site will also expand to allow for trading of DVDs, CDs, etc.

A wide variety of items can also be found, or listed for sale on Craig’s List. The site remains a spot for community trading of items that may be hard to find or hard to get rid of through free advertisements. Registration is not necessary, so it is open to all Internet users.

Rob Hast, an independent contractor from Champaign, found his current occupation on Craig’s List.

“I got really lucky,” Hast said. “I was just browsing and I came across an ad. I got the job and I really enjoy it.”

Hast also uses the site to buy and sell, but, as an experienced user of the forum, he had a warning for infrequent users.

“You have to be careful,” Hast said. “There are a lot of people out there looking to scam you.”

Lustig said meeting with strangers, which is necessary to make ExchangeHut.com trades, can be dangerous and students should take precautions.

“ExchangeHut is unique because only students can use it, but people should always use common sense when meeting in person,” Lustig said.

Hast said Web sites continue to be a great resource to find things from people within the community, but added “you just have to be sure you know who you’re dealing with.”