No one knows what can be found in the nooks and crannies of a college dorm room, apartment, sorority house or fraternity house. There may be that textbook from two years ago, multiple Unofficial T-shirts, the book bag from freshman year or an outdated iPod. Although these items may no longer have a value to the owner, there may be someone somewhere who could use them.

“EBay Pickers,” an ad campaign launched this semester, can help students clean out their closets and make some money off of the various items they no longer want by setting up eBay accounts and listing items.

The campaign was inspired by the History Channel show “American Pickers,” in which a man travels across America and finds “trash” that he turns into “treasure” at an antique shop, said Laura Carroll, sophomore in Media and brand ambassador for the campaign. The campaign is based on this concept; The brand team goes into students’ living spaces and finds items that could be sold on eBay. These sessions are recorded and posted to YouTube as “webisodes,” Carroll said.

“I think this campaign is important for both eBay and students at U of I,” said Cory Zielke, senior in Media and brand ambassador. “Because, really, it’s a win-win for everyone. EBay gets more customers, while students can get rid of old items they don’t need, while making some quick cash. And the best part is there are no strings attached. You make what you sell.”

This campaign is not only on campus, but is a competition between multiple schools across the country, including Michigan State University, Arizona State University and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Each week, the schools must meet specific goals with regards to flyers, new usernames and new listings, Carroll said. The school that does the best that week gets small prizes such as gift cards. Students who participate by creating an account and listing items can also win prizes for having the most listed items or the highest bid prices.

At the end of the semester, the campus campaign team that is most successful gets to keep their rep kits. The kits include a laptop, printer, video camera, backpack and various other tools needed to help students list and auction on eBay, said Adam Grant, CEO at Campus Commandos, the youth marketing agency hosting the competition. The teams also earn money throughout the semester, as well as bonuses for hitting metrics.

The campaign team, which consists of six University students, passes out flyers, films the “webisodes,” and hosts various listing events to get students to create accounts and list items. Examples of popular items listed are textbooks, old cellphones, iPods and DVDs, according to Carroll.

The campaign is also working with apartment complexes, giving students free boxes when they move out to put unwanted items in that they have accumulated throughout the year, Grant said. The eBay pickers then help students to sell these items on eBay.

“It’s really at a relevant place at a relevant time when students would either be throwing that stuff in the garbage or just leaving it in the dorm,” Grant said. “So, we’re just giving them options on what to do with that and, you know, put some money in their pockets.”

The campaign was created by eBay as a way to get more college students active on their site, Carroll said.

“EBay is always looking to reach a younger audience,” Grant said, “and with college students developing brand preferences and buying habits, independent for the first time, it just gives eBay a chance to introduce themselves to students when they are accumulating a lot of stuff throughout their academic year.”

So far, Grant said the campaigners are happy with their success, and although no formal plans have been made, they hope to continue the campaign next fall as well as expand to more campuses.