After an unpleasant experience with a purchase she made through Craigslist.com, Melonie Reynolds of Falcon decided to start her own website for local people who wanted to buy and sell items. Reynolds said she and her family had just moved to Falcon when she found a dress for her daughter on Craigslist. ìI went to pick everything up and got the worst products possible,î she said. ìThey smelled like feces. I had wasted all that time and gas money, taking the kids out during naptime for that. I gave the family (selling the dress) the money and told them to keep the dress.îWhen Reynolds told friends about her experience with Craigslist, they learned that one of their friends was having money issues.ìWe all started sharing and bartering and finding ways to help each other,î Reynolds said.Two years later, Reynoldsís Facebook site, Falcon Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style, has more than 1,300 members, she said. Because the page is ìsecret,î membership requires a current memberís invitation and Reynoldsís approval.ìA part of having this group as a secret group is that you have to know the people,î she said. ìIt started out with six of us who created this page, and we only share it with our friends. We know somebody and you can trust them. It gives it a lot of security because youíre dealing with friends.ìI do monitor it. Occasionally, you have those friends that come in that are about creating drama and conflict. I step in, and I will delete or ban them permanently. I see how you present yourself; and, if I donít like something, since itís my page and my rules; I can do what I want. Iíve had people complain about it and threaten lawsuits.îReynolds said the page has helped members build their businesses as well as advertise different events in the community. ìIt acts like a neighborhood watch type of thing, too,î she said. ìWe have posted information about people who were breaking into homes. During the Black Forest fire, we had members whose spouses worked for the fire department or the police department so we were getting more information on it from the site than from the news media. I use it as a resource.îSince Reynolds works at the Space and Missile Center for global positions system satellites at Peterson Air Force Base, she said she doesnít have time to constantly monitor the site. Her administrators, Rebecca Townsend and Andrea Kessler, monitor the actions on the site and alert her if something is unacceptable, she said.ìIíve been fortunate because there havenít been a whole lot of problems,î Reynolds said. ìWe do list security guidelines and occasionally bump them up to remind people. The rules indicate whatís OK to sell and whatís not. My theory is, if itís not OK to sell to a 9-year-old, then donít sell it here.ìSelling things here is about helping people two blocks away. You save time and money, and youíre helping somebody. Youíre reducing stress and saving money. Especially for stay-at-home moms who want to help the family; they can contribute to the family by bringing in a little money or finding good deals on clothes.ìItís not so much a page but like a big family.î
