Bookoo

About a week ago, I received a message from a Bookoo representative, Kellin Smith.  Apparently, they are looking to promote their new Chicago branch.  I was quite surprised, of course, but I opted to reply to the message with some questions.  I'd never heard of Bookoo before.  Naturally, being a curious little ferret, I asked Mr. Smith lots of questions.

First off, Bookoo is a garage sale style listing site for artisan crafts and other goods.  Unlike craigslist, it primarily trades goods and services.  There's no job listings and very few ponzi scheme listings that tell you how you can make up to $400 dollars per day selling widgets and policies to other people.  It's easy to navigate and you don't have to filter as much because there's less spam. 

Here's how the short interview went down. 

How long has Bookoo been active as an organization?
     About seven years. The owners started Bookoo in Texas. As it kept expanding, they moved to Illinois to be closer to family.

What sorts of transactions does it support, besides online 'garage sales'?

     You can post about online yard sales, you can also list items of service, items to trade, and wanted ads.

Does Bookoo have any special features for crafters or artisans?

    You are able to offer the service of "$5 painting of whatever" or something like it.

Are local artisans benefiting from Bookoo now that it has come to Chicago?

     It is a site where they can go to showcase their work. If someone is interested in one of their items, they can see more items from that seller.

Will Bookoo ever host any offline special interest fairs or outdoor events that local artisans can participate in?

    Occasionally we do a Bookoo summer picnic. 2013 we did one for Aurora, Oswego, and Naperville. Last year we did just a big Bookoo picnic and invited all the nearby sites.

Are there any other reasons to be excited about Bookoo besides the ability to list items for sale?

    It's free! We don't charge members to post items. Also, we keep it family friendly by blocking profanity and deleting inappropriate items.

Does it support applications like paypal?

    No, the members interact with each other and usually pay cash.

What's your role in it?

    I am a marketing intern. I work full time doing whatever Adam and Austin need me to do. Most of the time it's spreading the word about Bookoo to our newer sites!



So there you have it.  Bookoo allows you to list FOR FREE.  You can offer goods and services.  You can rest assured that you won't have to deal with people seeking sexual favors after seeing you post photos of a fabulous scarf you made, and, there's the possibility of you being able to go to a picnic in the summer.  I know a lot of artists trade services and such between each other.  Bookoo could be another way for us to all network.  Check it out, try it out and send me a message about what you think.