By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
Got something you want to buy or sell?
“The guy wanted 10 bucks. I said, ‘I’ll give you five for it,’ and he agreed to it so we met at a 7-Eleven. I gave him the $5, he gave me the item and that was it,” said David Lee of West Orange.
More and more people are going the way of online garage sales, using apps and social media sites like Facebook or Craigslist to swap their stuff.
“So there are three locations people can set up an exchange, feel safe that police are present and can feel safe about what they’re doing,” said West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi.
West Orange is designating “safe exchange zones” with the police department. It’s an effort to help online buyers or sellers avoid sketchy meet-ups or risk giving out personal address information.
“Once I realized that people who do this on a regular basis really saw this as something that could be helpful, I contacted our Police Chief Jim Abbott to look into it,” Parisi said.
“We’re just looking for areas that either there will be an officer present or at least there’ll be some sort of video surveillance,” said Lieutenant John Morella of the West Orange Police Department.
Right now the parking lots and lobbies of the town’s main and sub police stations will be available Monday through Friday for face-to-face transactions. The officers aren’t there to watch over the sales, just lend peace of mind through their presence.
“We’re going to have signage also over here in the parking lot that’s going to be seen by video cameras so that this way if they don’t want to come into the building and it’s a nice day out, and they just want to exchange it outside, they can do that also,” Morella said.
“That’s good. It really is because 7-Eleven is a public spot but it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily safe, but it is public,” Lee said.
“I do worry about the whole thing about meeting the people to do it because you do hear those stories about sort of deals gone bad and people acting a little crazy whether it’s for services or goods,” said Montclair resident Rebecca Reed.
In West Orange and surrounding towns, Facebook swap groups are becoming the place to find or get rid of a treasure. The mayor’s in on it.
“We got rid of my son’s old bedroom set. So I participated, it was my first transaction,” Parisi said.
“I think that’s a good idea. I think that would probably entice people more, because I think it’s better than meeting someone at your home or something like that,” Reed said.
Whether you’re using one of these safe spots or not, the police department says use common sense and to do your transactions during daylight hours and let either a friend or family member know before you go to meet up. And if the buyer or seller refuses to meet at a safe zone, you might want to reconsider the sale.