When I was in college, back in the late 1990’s, I had a major Ebay addiction. Ebay was mesmerizing to me. One could bid and purchase items from the 80’s like old school Nintendos, Teddy Ruxpins, to other cool things ranging from antique chairs to clothes, even cars for crying out loud! Not toy cars, we’re talking Nissans and Hondas.

Welcome to 2011, where I don’t have the luxury of buying whatever I want all the time. Enter Listia. My best friend, Mint, introduced me to this site, by saying: “it’s like shopping, without really buying anything, because everything is free!”

Listia is a place online where you can bid on and get free stuff. Sounds to good to be true right? Well, it’s not. Want to know more? I had the opportunity speak with Listia founders, and here’s what they had to say:


1. What was the inspiration for Listia?

James came up with the idea for Listia because he was having trouble giving away free snowboard boots on craigslist. The long version of the story is here:
http://blog.listia.com/giving-away-free-stuff-should-be-easy

2. Who are the founders? Tell us about yourselves?

James Fong

Gene Chuang

Hi guys, this is Sarah here, I’m just going to take a moment to say that James is really hot.
Don’t you think? Now, back to the free stuff!

We’re long time friends who met in college and have worked together on various projects throughout the years. For a while the two of us were running the entire site, but in a span of two years we’ve grown to a team of ten.

3. How does Listia work?

When you join Listia, you get 500 credits. You get more credits every time you list an item for sale and other users bid on it. Then you can use your credits to buy items that other users are selling. No money changes hands.


4. What are the benefits of using Listia for parents?

As your kids grow, they tend to outgrow their stuff as well. Instead of throwing away old toys, clothes and books, Listia makes it easy to trade outgrown or unwanted items for different things your kids will be able to use and enjoy.

5. If Listia were a flavor of ice cream what would it be and why?

Listia would actually be one big ice cream shop with endless flavors and lots of happy customers. 🙂

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for Listia today! If you click on this link:



You’ll be doing two awesome things:
1. Creating your own Listia account
and
2. You’ll give me credits so I can bid on legos. I need legos people!

So tell me, what are you looking to get on Listia? What do you want to give away?