Internet Purchase Exchange Area

[Que]

The Mooresville Police Department has established an Internet Purchase Exchange Location in front of the police department at 104 West Main Street. Sellers/buyers can meet and not have to worry about the dangers of buying/selling items to a stranger. Upon arriving at the Mooresville Police Department just call 317-831-3434 and press "0" for dispatch. Dispatch will have an officer meet with you when one is available. You can also come into the front lobby and request an officer. Officers can also make sure that items have not been reported stolen.

 

[saintnick81]

I would. While I like to think that I have a good spidey sense about the people i'm meeting, I would guess that telling them you will meet at the police station would weed out any unsavory characters pretty quick.

 

[Libertarian01]

I like this idea. They're not forcing anything on the public, they're simply offering a safe location at your convenience to promote safety. This wouldn't just be for guns, but could be used for anything as well.

I would not be surprised if they get so many calls they find out they need to just station an officer there.

Years ago I had a friend sell some Magic, The Gathering cards. Those were worth a lot of money. We met in a parking lot and probably looked like a couple of drug dealers. There was a small level of discomfort knowing we were carrying about $1,000 worth of cards and really didn't know the buyer. A location such as this would have lowered stress levels a tad.

A big hats off to the Mooresville PD for thinking of this.

Regards,

Doug

 

[CindyE]

I like this idea. They're not forcing anything on the public, they're simply offering a safe location at your convenience to promote safety. This wouldn't just be for guns, but could be used for anything as well.

I would not be surprised if they get so many calls they find out they need to just station an officer there.

Years ago I had a friend sell some Magic, The Gathering cards. Those were worth a lot of money. We met in a parking lot and probably looked like a couple of drug dealers. There was a small level of discomfort knowing we were carrying about $1,000 worth of cards and really didn't know the buyer. A location such as this would have lowered stress levels a tad.

A big hats off to the Mooresville PD for thinking of this.

Regards,

Doug

I would consider it, if it was available in our town. With some of the dangerous/deadly transactions that have happened on craigslist (non-gun related) or social media, this sounds like a good idea.

 

[DRob]

Crap! I voted before I saw it was Mooresville. Truthfully, I would most certainly take advantage of this. Attaway MPD!

 

[eldirector]

I must be an unusual "internet shopper". Even the few random Craigslist exchanges I've had, I've never gone into it without a high level of confidence. I don't meet folks late in the evening. I don't meet folks in strange locations. I don't meet folks that I can't confirm at least a bit of their identity (name, phone number, email address, INGO screen name ). For some reason, I seem to prefer the Marsh parking lot. Weird....

I could see my mom using this service, though. She still assumes the best in people, so gets taken advantage of pretty routinely. I can't always do it for her, so this would give her SOME protection. Still could get scammed, but at least not get robbed outright.

 

[steve0322]

I called the Mooresville PD last year asking if I could use the spot out front as an area to do a sale for a car. Since it was a decent amount of money and I didn't want people I didn't know at my house, I always suggested meeting at the police station. I got a bunch of offers from people, but never heard from them again when I suggested meet at the station. I think it's a great idea since you don't know what kind of people you are going to run into.

 

[varadatt]

I definitely would take advantage of this if available in my area. I just sold my jeep and that was the biggest public transaction I've ever completed. Was a little hesitant counting that much money and inspecting it in public. Never know who may be around. On a side note the transaction took place smoothly and no issues, but you can never be too cautious.

 

[russc2542]

I'd totally use it. That little bit of extra safety never hurts.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I'm not sure it is the role of the police to chaperone private sales. A nice video camera read it into a monitor and recording seems reasonable.

 

[Que]

I'm not sure it is the role of the police to chaperone private sales. A nice video camera read it into a monitor and recording seems reasonable.

Maybe they took a note from the medical community and decided to implement preventative measures.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Definitely. Seems like it would significantly reduce the chances of getting robbed, buying something that has been reported stolen, or receiving counterfeit cash. I imagine the shady folks would just back out of the deal.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

That's pretty cool. To be honest though, the only internet ftf deals I have done have been through INGO and probably over half of them have turned out to be police officers anyway. I am glad to see the Moorseville pd doing something innovative and helpful to their community, so +1 Mooresville PD.

 

[gregkl]

I'd it in a heartbeat. I think it's better than meeting at a McDonald's parking lot or some other local business.

 

[rhino]

That's pretty cool. To be honest though, the only internet ftf deals I have done have been through INGO and probably over half of them have turned out to be police officers anyway. I am glad to see the Moorseville pd doing something innovative and helpful to their community, so +1 Mooresville PD.

So what if a police officer won't meet you at the police station to do the deal? Hah!

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I'd it in a heartbeat. I think it's better than meeting at a McDonald's parking lot or some other local business.

So what if a police officer won't meet you at the police station to do the deal? Hah!

Meet him at the McDonald's, duh.

 

[jkaetz]

Even without an officer physically present I'd think that being outside of a station would be deterrent enough for a large percentage of would be bad guys. I'm torn on seeing tax payer $$ spent supervising things that will go well a high percentage of time anyway. Video recordings and plenty of light combined with the location should do the job nicely.

 

[bwframe]

That's pretty cool. To be honest though, the only internet ftf deals I have done have been through INGO and probably over half of them have turned out to be police officers anyway. I am glad to see the Moorseville pd doing something innovative and helpful to their community, so +1 Mooresville PD.

This ^^^

I don't worry much, as I vet my buyers/sellers through their INGO posts.

There is that interesting phenomenon though about how many INGOers don't readily post or announce otherwise that they are LEO's. I have had the pleasure of meeting a handful of these folks through trades also.

 

[pudly]

Meet him at the [STRIKE]McDonald's[/STRIKE] donut shop, duh.

FTFY

 

[CTC B4Z]

I always meet at either a Wal mart, Meijer, or Cabelas. Always armed, and in some situations have a person in a second vehicle also armed