Residents make digital rummage sale on Facebook

What do a horse, a golf cart and caring community have in common? All can be found online at the Jamestown online rummage sale on Facebook.

Anyone can join and the premise is simple. Just upload a picture of what you want to sell, name a price and wait for any of the 2,400-plus members to respond. If an agreement is reached, the buyer will come to pick it up and pay.

To be part of it, join the Jamestown online rummage sale on Facebook and you’re ready to start.

“It’s a win-win situation for everybody, and it’s also been a place too when there’s people that are in need of help or if somebody is moving to town and they don’t have a lot of stuff,” said Toby Cherney, an administrator for the group.

One time a woman was moving to Jamestown with her newborn and didn’t have much of anything, Cherney said. She became a member a posted a message asking for help.

Donations poured in from the group and provided furniture, baby clothes and more.

“You see one thread and you see 90 or 100 comments from people that just really come to life to help somebody,” she said. “That’s the neatest thing to see.”

It’s also a way to save money and make some at the same time. Since she started, Cherney has made $250 selling items she no longer wanted. She’s also found a few bargains as well.

That was the point eight months ago when the site was created to provide people in Jamestown with an alternative to the traditional rummage sale.

The items available for sale are diverse, too, from pets to vehicles and even homes.

Not everybody may have the time to put on a garage sale, but posting an item takes about five minutes.

There are rules, however — no foul language or rudeness is accepted. All items sold must match the description and anything that can be used as a weapon can’t be sold on the site.

The rules can be found in the “Docs” (documents) tab on the top of the page. There are now photo albums to categorize what’s for sale.

This helps as Cherney said upward of 100 items are posted daily.

“It’s supposed to be a fun thing and it’s supposed to be good for everybody, and that’s our goal,” she said.

It also works best if people do the browsing from their computer, instead of a smart phone or tablet device.

Cherney is one of five administrators who monitor the site to make sure the rules are being followed. If not, people are removed and barred for selling or buying.

Most cites in the region have a similar page on Facebook. But many people from other communities come to the Jamestown page to buy and sell, or get advice for the administrators, she said.

“We as the admins are a team and we all communicate with each other and we all talk to each other so there’s no decision made by one person — it’s all of us,” Cherney said.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

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