It’s that time of the year again when hostelers in the city are in the process of vacating their hostel rooms and clearing out the possessions they’ve accumulated. But this time around, smart and savvy students aren’t just getting rid of their things or taking them away.
They seem to have decided that it would be more practical and lucrative for them to make a quick buck by selling some of their books, furniture and other knick-knacks to their juniors.
Explaining this new practice, Ashwini K., an engineering student says, “I’m clearing out stuff from my room, but I have certain special items like my drawing board and bookshelf with lots of books, which are still very useful. Since I’ll be heading back to my hometown and won’t be able to carry those items back with me, I’m selling them to my junior for Rs 3,000. When my other juniors heard about it, they approached me, asking if I had any other stuff for sale.”
Appropriately dubbed ‘memorabilia’, certain highly-prized ‘legacy’ items are sometimes passed on from one batch to another. Swathi Sharma says, “The bike which I’m using now was given to me by my senior and now I’ll be passing it on to my junior. That’s not the only ‘legacy’ I’m passing on. I am also giving away my mirror and flower pots, on which I have my name engraved.” This ‘garage sale’ is on in full swing on campuses.
Sumanth Kedia, who will be joining an engineering college soon says, “I already know a lot of seniors. So when I heard that one of them had announced a ‘garage sale’, I immediately decided to make the most of this opportunity. I bargained with him for good deals. I even spread the word and told those who did not know of the sales about them, as I was eyeing stuff like a funky bean bag and lampshades.”