Joplin Give & Take

Chances are by now, you've at least heard of the new trend on Facebook offering an alternative to garage sales.  It is called Joplin Give & Take.  I found out about it through some friends and found it to be very helpful.  After being on the site for a while I was asked to be an administrator by the creator.  So, first I will explain to you what Joplin Give and Take is in case you haven't heard of it yet.  It is a closed group which requires approval by an administrator to join and participate.  Once you're approved, you can buy, sell and trade items which you would normally put in a garage sale, but only after reading the rules!!  It is similar to Craigslist, but I find it to be more convenient because you can post and follow all of your items in one album and are notified through Facebook when someone comments on one of your pictures, showing interest.  It is better than a garage sale because you can shop from the comfort of your home and meet up for exchange whenever it's convenient for you.   The site is split up into two separate groups.  The adult site is intended for miscellaneous household items, men's and women's clothing, cars, and anything else that isn't for children.  The other site is Joplin Give & Take Children's Edition.  On the children's edition you can post children's clothing, toys, maternity wear, children's furniture, and other child related items.  I have found it to be very helpful in selling my son's clothing that he has outgrown.  It really helps bring in a little extra income every once in a while.  As far as administrative duties, I agreed to do it over the summer because I wasn't working or going to school.  It really was a lot more work than I anticipated and of course it doesn't pay anything.  I was told I could just help by watching the posts and making sure people were following the rules, deleting old photos and photos of items that have already sold.  Well, it turned more into a babysitting gig.  People were always fighting over items, claiming it should go to them, sending private messages asking what they should do because "this person wants it for more than this person", etc.  It got old quick!  Before too long we had to take on 4 more administrators just to keep things under control!  The site has grown to have over 12,000 members just on the adult site.  They were recently featured on the local news.  If you'd like a closer look at things you can check out the story on Four States Homepage!