Want to Buy Local? Use Patch Marketplace to Buy, Sell From Your Neighbors

If you haven’t noticed, the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch is a little different from a traditional newspaper. It's online for one thing. You click on stories, rather than ruffling through a lot of pages. And there's no ink smudge left on your fingers.

What else is different? The Patch marketplace, a place where you can buy and sell goods and services to and from your neighbors. The Patch marketplace combines the best of both worlds: offering buyers, sellers and browsers all of the advantages of traditional printed classified advertisements but also making those ads easier to use by adding all of the searchable, limitless capabilities of the Internet.

Because the Patch marketplace has no limit on words or the space that they take up, you no longer have to deal with weird abbreviations or trying to squeeze everything that you want to say into a three-line ad. If you want to list your home at a grt lctn, w/3br, 2 bths, fntstic mstr ste, then you can revert back to English and let potential buyers know that your home is in a great location and that it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fantastic master suite.

In addition, the Patch marketplace lets you search instantly for what you need. No more eyestrain as you pore over tiny print until you finally find the ads that you seek on page 24. You don't have to worry about your own ad being buried either. It will show up instantly when other people search for the product(s) and/or service(s) that you offer.

The Patch marketplace is also an easy way to find what you need in your own neighborhood. Want to ? Check out the marketplace to see if there are any baby sitters in your neighborhood. Need to get rid of Aunt Milly's giant roll-top desk but don't feel comfortable putting it on the curb? Post a "for sale" ad on the marketplace, and perhaps you'll find that your neighbors down the street were looking for just that desk to complete their study renovation.

Plus, a lot of the classified ads on Patch are free. Those offering services — such as baby-sitting — are always free. Others may cost a nominal fee, usually only $15-20 for 30 days.

Patch is still a relatively new presence in Baldwin-Whitehall, but we want to make sure that this is heard: Patch is your place to gather, interact, exchange ideas and share information. It's also the place where you can advertise your yard sale and announce that your child made the honor roll.

The Patch marketplace builds on that idea by providing a safe, reliable online space to buy and sell goods in Baldwin-Whitehall.

If you're still wondering how this all works, let us show you:

• First, make sure that you have a profile on Patch. Signing up is as easy as typing in your name and e-mail address. Click on "Sign Up" in the top right corner of most Baldwin-Whitehall Patch pages.
• Now, look for the "Marketplace" tab at the top center of most Baldwin-Whitehall Patch pages. Click the tab to find a complete list of all of the jobs, goods and services currently available. If you want to narrow your search, pick a category from the list on the left.
• To post your own free classified ad, click the button in the top right corner of the marketplace page. There, you'll find a place to give your ad a name, pick a category, add a description and upload a photo.
• Once you choose a category, you can add details specific to what you're selling. For example, if you're putting your home up for sale, you can list the number of bedrooms, the price and the square footage. If you're listing an open job, you can note whether you're looking for full-time, part-time or seasonal work and choose from a list of specializations.
• You can cross-list your classifieds, too. Sure, you may live in Baldwin-Whitehall, but you might also want residents of Peters Township, Upper St. Clair Township and Brookline to know that you're selling your old dresser. (You need that thing out of the house, after all!)

Patch respects your privacy at all times. We stay out of your business in our marketplace. According to our Terms of Service, Patch does not review or confirm classified ads, and any disputes that you have are between you and the buyer/seller. Of course, those same terms include a pretty comprehensive list of items prohibited from our marketplace to protect you from tricksters. We — and our faithful readers — will be watching and can flag any suspicious and/or inappropriate classified ads.

But just because we stay out of your transactions doesn't mean that we can't offer you some simple tips for staying safe in the online market:

• Meet the seller/buyer in person.
• Meet in a public place and/or bring a friend.
• Examine the item before you buy it.
• Keep the payment simple; prefer cash.
• Limit personal information.
• If the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Good luck out there!