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College Marketplace is the student-only buy and sell app for University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Baltimore, Maryland. Every account is verified with a @umbc.edu email address, so you're only ever trading with other Retrievers — not strangers from Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

Most first-year Retrievers land in the traditional residence halls — Chesapeake Hall, Patapsco Hall, Potomac Hall and Susquehanna Hall — while students accepted into a Living-Learning Community can end up in the suites instead, Erickson Hall or Harbor Hall. Suite space opens up at 30 completed credits, and once you clear 50 you can pull an on-campus apartment: Hillside Apartments, Terrace Apartments or West Hill Apartments. Walker Avenue Apartments takes students at 39 credits and is the one community that also houses graduate students. UMBC has no residency requirement and housing isn't guaranteed, so people move between halls, apartments and off campus from year to year — which is exactly why the resale market here stays busy. Everything you need is already on campus. UMBC 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 an XL twin bed, a desk and chair, a dresser or wardrobe with a closet, blinds and carpet, so buy extra-long twin sheets rather than standard twin. The frames adjust to give you 24 to 36 inches of under-bed storage, which makes bins and risers worth grabbing early, and lofts can be rented through the Bedloft program if you'd rather not buy. Individually controlled heating and air conditioning are standard in every hall, suite and apartment, so skip the window unit. In the halls and suites, refrigerators have to stay at or under 4.3 cubic feet and microwaves are only allowed as part of a MicroFridge unit; toasters, rice cookers, space heaters, candles and halogen lamps are all prohibited. Apartment kitchens already include a stove, oven, full-size refrigerator and microwave, so apartment shopping is mostly pots, pans and dishes.

Hand-offs are easy here. Meet at The Commons, on the steps of the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, outside the Retriever Activities Center, at True Grit's around mealtime, or in the University Center — no shipping labels, no delivery fees, no meeting someone off campus.

Popular categories at UMBC: textbooks and course materials · dorm and apartment furniture · mini fridges and microwaves · bikes and scooters · UMBC apparel and game day gear · electronics and monitors · event tickets · lofting kits and bed risers · storage bins and organizers