Whether you live in a dormitory or a studio apartment, everyone has an endless list of everyday essentials they need to buy. But for the student who doesn't have that much money, it's not easy to afford everything.

If you’re someone concerned about balancing your budget and expenses, online secondhand marketplaces could be the answer.

These days, the number of online transactions is increasing due to the pandemic and the secondhand market is growing rapidly. From everyday necessities to gifticons and Kpop merchandise, almost everything is sold on the apps.

In this article, the Korea JoongAng Daily will take a look at three commonly used secondhand trading applications and how to use them.

Danggeun Market

What is it?
Secondhand purchases are mostly done online and often involve the hassle of packaging items into delivery boxes and waiting two to three days for it to arrive. But Danggeun Market changed how secondhand trading works.

On the app, people select which neighborhood they live in, confirm their address and can only trade between their neighbors.

After confirming your address, you can look around the products that your neighbors are selling.

Because the seller and buyer live near each other, most Danggeun Market users meet face-to-face to hand over purchased goods.

It is safer than sending deliveries because you don't have to disclose your personal information such as your address. Moreover, you can buy a product after meeting with the seller and checking the condition.

What's special?
There is an indicator called “manner temperature.” Everyone’s temperature starts at 36.5 degrees Celsius (97.7 degrees Fahrenheit), but goes up when the seller gets good reviews from previous buyers. Users can look at the past reviews and how fast the seller replies to check if they are reliable.

You can use Danggeun Market as a guide to your local neighborhood as well. It's hard to know where you can find a nice cafe unless you have lived quite long here in Korea. On the app, there is a bulletin board where your neighbors leave reviews and join or organize online and offline meetings with neighbors who have similar tastes.

Tips for users
Usually, it is more common for buyers to go to a location preferred by the seller. If you want to look at a wider variety of goods, try choosing two locations as your neighborhood. One where you actually live, and another where your university is, or a neighborhood you go to regularly because you have a part-time job there. This way, you can see products listed in both neighborhoods.

Bungaejangter

What is it?
Bungaejangter is another secondhand trading application. Unlike Danggeun Market, you can buy and sell things from anyone, without being limited to your neighborhood.

Since Bugaejangter is an app with a wide range of trading, you can find more products without being limited to your neighborhood.
With trading on a nationwide scale, people on the app tend to send items to buyers via parcel deliveries.

What is special?
There is a safe payment system called Bungaepay. If the buyer pays using Bungaepay, Bungaejangter keeps the money until the buyer receives the product. When the customer confirms they have received the product, Bungaejangter then sends the money to the seller. There’s a 3.5 percent commission, however, but using the service does protect your money.

Since you don’t meet the buyer to get the items, you need to be more careful in checking product quality. If you’re not sure, just ask! Users can chat using ‘Bungaetalk’, the app’s messenger system, and ask for more information such as pictures of products.

You can check if the seller has scammed anyone in the past by searching their account, name, mobile phone number on a website and application called “the cheat” (thecheat.co.kr) or the National Police Agency website (www.police.go.kr). All sellers are required to verify their names to register products they want to sell.

The app also has a three-strike law, suspending the account if the seller was found to go against community guidelines or scam buyers three times.


Tips for users
When buying expensive goods on Bungaejangter, you can pay in interest-free installments. Not every seller may offer to take payments in Bungaepay, so use the safe payment filter when searching for a product so you don't need to ask if Bungaepay is available. If you want to use the safe payment filter, check the red box when searching for a product. The red icon means that Bungaepay is available.

'Everytime' Market Board

What is it?

'Everytime' is an essential application for students studying in Korea. You can get various information from tips on campus life to lectures.

Each university has its own private online board and access is only given to students who verify with their student IDs.

To buy secondhand items on the app, you can go to the Market Board section.

Students freely buy and sell necessities in the section, such as gifticons, cosmetics and tickets.

The seller can choose to send items to the buyer via parcel delivery, but since everyone is from same university, meeting with the seller and directly getting what you bought is much better.

What is special?
Like other applications, people on Everytime will offer to giveaway some items for free, known as nanum, or sharing in Korean. Being an application for university students, items given away on Everytime are mostly course materials and textbooks.

There are many giveaways in the Nanum category of the Market Board, so you can get some course materials like scientific calculators and textbooks for free.

There are many book giveaways, especially at the beginning and end of the semester, — so if you are someone who wants to save some cash, keep an eye out during those periods.


Tips for users
Everytime is an app where people post anonymously, so you should be aware of exchanging contact information and just use the built-in Everytime messenger. Everytime isn’t only an app for secondhand purchases. In the Studio Apartment category, people post rental advertisements for tenants, offering to rent studio apartments for a short term. Current residents also upload posts, trying to find people that will move in once they move out.


☞ Five things you should be suspicious of before making a purchase

#1 Products that are too cheap
#2 When the name of the seller and their bank account name do not match
#3 If the seller is avoiding direct dealing even on apps like Danggeun Market and Everytime
#4 When the seller doesn’t provide specific information about the product they are selling, or avoids sending pictures of the product.
#5 When the seller tries to communicate with KakaoTalk instead of the application messenger




BY STUDENT REPORTER KIM YOON-JEONG [kjd.kcampus@joongang.co.kr]