The trend of having a garage sale is moving out of front yards and onto computer screens.
Two local people have acknowledged the need for people to make money or find good deals and have created online sites with a Craigslist-type outline and targeted them for Borderland residents.
Gayle Haugland is taking the Facebook approach to virtual garage sales and Joshua Brooks designed a website that doesn’t require a social network registration.
Haugland holds the role of site administrator for about 12 local sell and swap groups on Facebook. Each group targets a different audience.
“I’ve got a general sell and swap page, one for women, men, boys, girls, babies, electronics, and even formals,” Haugland said.
The drive to start the sites came more than one year ago when Haugland came across a sell and swap site in Bemidji.
“I thought it was so cool and knew International Falls needed one like it,” she noted.
Fast forward a year and her sites now have thousands of members with more being added daily.
“It has really caught on and people love it,” Haugland said.
The site administrator feels the convenience of selling and buying items posted in her groups is one of the biggest factors in the growing popularity for the sites.
She said there is no setup required like there is for a garage sale, and stuff is going out the door quicker than traditional sales.
“It’s all about making a deal,” she added. “With times as tough as they are, I see these sites as something that is helping the community.”
With a laugh, Haugland continued that it isn’t always all fun and games.
“I feel like a referee sometimes,” she said of the disagreements the come up between site users. “If people have a problem, they come to me. They know I’ll take care of it, and I do the best that I can.”
On the same note, Haugland admitted she is her best customer.
“It really is fun,” she said of using the groups. “I buy great toys for my grandson at $5 a piece. It is all about the thrill of the hunt.”
Non-Facebook users
For people looking for that good deal who don’t have a Facebook account, Brooks created www.borderlandswap.com, a website with “both the benefits of Facebook groups and Craigslist.”
“It is a simplistic website with commenting capability,” he said.
Brooks, who is new to the area, has been an avid Craigslist user in the past. After noticing the site didn’t have a local region section, he saw the opportunity to create borderlandswap.com.
“I wanted to provide a free, open public service that people all over the area can use to sell and find things they may want,” he said. “Tough economic times make it advantageous to buy used (items).”
Since the site launched two weeks ago, Brooks said he has been making “minor tweaks” and additions. So far, he said about 200 users visit the website daily.
“I have actually had a great response,” he said of his site. “The website hasn’t become the most popular yet, but the people who know of the idea, or have used borderlandswap.com, have had great ideas and reviews.”
As the site takes shape, Brooks said he plans to expand with more sections, more features, and advertisements.
He added that sites like his own have given him the benefit to “find things cheaper, and things I may have not found otherwise.”
To buy or sell items on Haugland or Brooks’ sites, logon to Facebook and search ‘International Falls and Littlefork Sell and Swap’ or visit www.borderlandswap.com.
