Upstate NY Startup Shows What Ithaca Has To Offer

April 9, 2012 - PRLog -- Upstate NY startup, HasToOffer, has selected Ithaca as its latest target market for expansion. The startup created a web-based marketplace intended to put a fresh spin on local classifieds and, just after launching its first local site in New York City, they now have their sights set on the Ithaca, NY region.

“The idea for HasToOffer was simple” says co-founder Justin Poet, “take the simplicity of an classifieds website and inject the fun, excitement and entrepreneurialism of an online auction.” The result is something that has yet to be seen; an online auction site like eBay with the simplicity and local focus of Craigslist. Which is exactly what Upstate New York's latest startup, HasToOffer, has done with the launch of its free classifieds site. Users can post auction-style classifieds, sell their items and arrange for payment and pick-up, just as they would with any other local classified site.

Why was the Ithaca, NY area chosen as the next market?... “At its core, our service is focussed on the local marketplace” says Poet, “We don't have one massive website that handles auctions from across the country or internationally... instead we have local sites, like Craigslist, that allow people to buy and sell items locally. After launching in a major metropolis like New York City, we wanted to diversify our focus by selecting a smaller yet early-adopting society, like Ithaca.”

Approximately fifty-percent (50%) of internet users have used an online classified ads website and almost ten-percent (10%) use these sites on a daily basis, according to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center. “Approximately two hundred and ten thousand (210,000) people visited the Ithaca Craigslist each month, in 2011. We created a tool that will be familiar and comfortable to these users, yet allow them to forget traditional classified sites” says Poet.

HasToOffer is a 2012 startup that was created by Justin Poet and Brian Leonard, two Upstate New York natives that wanted to put their spin on an internet classic. The new Ithaca, NY site can be found at http://ithaca.hastooffer.com or by going to the HasToOffer homepage at http://www.hastooffer.com.

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HasToOffer.com provides free auction-style classifieds with an emphasis on the local marketplace, through its one-of-a-kind local online auction sites.