Because the university has terminated its contract with the company that rents MicroFridges to residence hall students, the company is now offering them up for sale.

Students can purchase a used MicroFridge from Collegiate Concepts Inc. for $39 by accessing the companies’ Web site and filling out an order form, Glady Kays, office manager of Collegiate Concepts, Inc. said Wednesday.

Students can purchase the MicroFridges until April 1, but the deadline may be extended depending on student response. Sales are made on a first come, first served basis, but only 63 orders have been placed so far.

Sara Metzger, a customer service representative Collegiate Concepts Inc, said Wednesday the MicroFridges are 10-years-old and the low sales may be attributed to past complaints about the MicroFridges poor performance.

The company has 850 to 860 MicroFridges available, 800 are currently leased while between 50 and 60 remain in storage. Kays said the MicroFridges in storage will be inspected to make sure they are running at the right temperature, and other problems will be repaired before they are sold to students.

The MicroFridges are purchased with no warranty and have been prone to malfunctioning thermostats and uncontrollable temperatures in the refrigerator, Kays said.

Mark Hudson, director of House and Dining, said Wednesday that he also received many complaints from students about malfunctioning microwaves and refrigerators and “the company was not as responsive (with repairs) as we wanted.”

Hudson said the contract with Collegiate Concepts to lease the MicroFridges to residence hall students was terminated because of the decreasing price of microwaves and refrigerators over the past few years.

Students can purchase a microwave and a refrigerator for themselves for less than the cost of renting a MicroFridge, which rent for $178 an academic year, he said.

“If they could buy them for the same price as one year’s rent we felt this would be in the best interest of students,” Hudson said. “We wanted to give students better flexibility by purchasing what they wanted.”

However, Kay said purchasing a used MicroFridge is a good investment because they are useful after college, at work, at home, in the basement or garage.

New MicroFridges can be purchased for $500 and have a light touch pad on the microwave instead of a dial, but Kays said that was the only structural difference.

New guidelines allowing microwaves into residence halls will be proposed to the Residence Hall Association, Hudson said.