Howard is launching soon — be first to know.

College Marketplace is the student-only buy and sell app for Howard University in Washington, DC. Every account is verified with a @bison.howard.edu email address, so you're only ever trading with other Bison — not strangers from Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

Howard requires first-time-in-college and second-year students to live in University housing, which means the trading here runs building to building. First-year women fill the five halls of the Harriet Tubman Quadrangle, first-year men are in Charles R. Drew Hall and George W. Cook Hall, and College Hall North and College Hall South take first- and second-year students in double rooms with in-room bathrooms. Continuing students move up into the suite and apartment-style buildings: Bethune Annex, The Axis on Georgia Avenue, and Howard Plaza Towers East and Howard Plaza Towers West, where kitchens and kitchenettes change what you actually need to own. Because that shuffle happens every single year, everything you need is already on campus. Howard students post mini fridges, futons, storage bins, desk lamps, monitors, bikes, and gently used textbooks every semester, usually for a fraction of retail.

Rooms come furnished with a twin bed and an extra-long mattress, a desk, and a chest of drawers, so buy Twin XL sheets, comforters and toppers and skip anything sold as a standard twin. Air conditioning is standard in the halls, and Residence Life is strict about what you plug in: mini fridges cannot exceed 2.3 cubic feet, microwaves cannot be above 700 watts, and you are not allowed to keep a separate fridge and microwave, so most residents end up with a combo MicroFridge unit. Hot plates, air fryers, toasters, toaster ovens, George Foreman grills, crock pots, space heaters, halogen lamps, candles, incense, LED stick lights and Command strips are all on the prohibited list. A meal plan is required in every residence hall, so cooking gear moves less here than storage, seating, and desk setups do.

When it's time to hand something off, keep it somewhere public and busy. The Armour J. Blackburn University Center is the default meet, and Founders Library is easy for textbook swaps between classes. The Yard works when the weather is good, and Burr Gymnasium and Cramton Auditorium are landmarks any buyer can find without directions. Everything stays on Howard's campus: no shipping labels, no delivery fees, no meeting someone off campus.

Popular categories at Howard: textbooks and course materials · dorm and apartment furniture · MicroFridge units and mini fridges · bikes and scooters · Howard apparel and Homecoming gear · electronics and monitors · event tickets · storage bins and organizers · desk lamps and study chairs