Classified ads website question

Hi guys! I'm planning to make a nice classified ads website for college students. I know it's gonna be hard getting people to post since it's new, my question is, will it hurt SEO if I scrape some content and ads from other classified ad websites. And I'm planning to send tons of emails for people to post.

I'm planning to buy wordpress classified ad themes since I dont have any background in programming though I'm learning Ruby on Rails right now. I'm thinking of hosting it via Bluehost (3.95) since I'm low on budget. My plan is to change to a more expensive host if I get more visitors and ads. Is it a good idea?
Thanks.

The short answer is Yes. Quote: "scrape some content and ads from other classified ad websites". Search engines discourage copied content in the first place. Unless you can re-write or write fresh content, chances are your site may get penalized.

Do share your thoughts on writing unique articles.