Selling second hand stuff online popularized by EBay, Craigslist and Etsy has become extremely popular in the Tri-Cities with Facebook groups dedicated to exchanging goods locally.
Now folks are turning to their neighbours to offload their unwanted but somewhat valuable items through Facebook auction sites administered by local people.
The latest entry — Bro Bids — sells guy stuff to other guys and has amassed more than 7,300 members in less than five months, much to the surprise of administrator and Coquitlam resident Dave Jonsson.
"If you're wanting to get a really good smoking deal, Bro Bids is the place to go, I've seen a lot of stuff go for ridiculous prices."
The group is Metro Vancouver wide, which means there is a lot of variety in items being posted online. And with the tag line "No Girl Stuff Allowed" and a "Bro Code" buyers and sellers must adhere to, the Facebook group is clearly targeted to men and not women.
Items for bid range from automotive accessories to sporting equipment, memorabilia and man cave trinkets.
Jonsson said he and his buddy, Cameron Dailly, got the idea after joining the Tri-Cities version of Bid Wars.
"I joined the bidding site, but I noticed it was predominately toys and women's clothing, predominately the members were women,"
The two decided guys needed their own Facebook group and they started Bro Bids in April. It quickly grew, and hasn't yet plateaued, said Jonsson, who said he and the other administrators probably spend ten to 15 hours between them answering questions, dealing with problems and general maintenance.
"If a member doesn't pick up an item [after bidding], we need to remove that member. There are rules that need to be there so people can trust that this is a legitimate auction site."
The group's administrators don't get any money for looking after Bro Bids — just a good feeling from helping a brother out.
"It creates conversation and community," Jonsson said.
