Two popular buy-and-sell Facebook groups in Abbotsford are freezing new auctions amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The administrators of Abbotsford Bidding Wars and Abbotsford Buy & Sell posted a message for their members on March 23.
“To our 45,000 members. It is with heavy hearts our admin team has come to the decision to temporarily shut down,” the post says. “Thank you for your understanding. We wish our community much strength, love, and health. We look forward to the day when our sites will re-open.”
Taylor Lindsay has been the main administrator of Abbotsford Bidding Wars for three years. He said the move to freeze auctions was made to keep the community safe by discouraging person-to-person contact and containing the spread of COVID-19.
“If somebody has something in their home that they’re selling and they are infected with the Coronavirus, and then they sell to another party, the [virus] could stay with the item,” Lindsay said. “[They] could be infecting thousands of people, depending on how much their stuff sells.”
Users will still be able to bid on items posted to the Facebook groups before 9 p.m., March 23, but new auction items will not be allowed.
“Everyone thought it would be a good idea to close it down,” Lindsay said. “You hear about [COVID-19] everywhere you go… When it comes to the safety of other people, that’s obviously at the top of our priorities.”
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