Saskatoon establishes safe zone for buy and sell trades

If you enjoy shopping for deals online, there’s a new option to help make sure your transaction goes smoothly.

Saskatoon police have created buy and sell exchange zones in the visitor parking lot at the police station.

The parking spaces offer a place for people to meet and exchange items in a well-lit parking lot.

“By implementing a Buy and Sell Exchange Zone, the Saskatoon Police Service saw an opportunity to improve community safety and provide a dedicated space to conduct legal buy and sell transactions,” Staff Sgt. Matt Bradford said in a release.

“Our goal is to prevent buy and sell frauds and reduce the number of citizens being victimized by this kind of fraudulent activity.”

Police offered other buy and sell safety tips:

• Meet in a well-lit, non-secluded, public place like SPS headquarters.
• Bring someone with you.
• Only pay for the product once you have viewed it and met the seller.
• Conduct transactions in cash; avoid using cheques and money wiring services.
• Report theft, fraud or suspicious activity to the buy and sell website and police.
• Ensure the item you are purchasing is not stolen property by utilizing CPIC.

Police said officers can respond to criminal matters, but are unable to assist in negotiating civil property transactions.