It’s the hideous ceramic cat collection your aunt left you, the flamboyant pillows that just don’t go with your new furniture or the set of dumbbells you bought but haven’t gotten around to using.

Each of them sit in your home collecting dust while you work up the nerve to advertise them online, simultaneously worrying that the buyer who arrives at your home to whisk them away might be a scam artist or a criminal in disguise.

But those fears can be banished, say Orangeville and Midland police, who have kickstarted a new initiative aimed at offering safety and peace of mind to online shoppers.

Divisions in both cities have flung open their doors, welcoming online sellers to hand-off items within the police headquarters lobby.

The open-door policies, meant to offer safety and peace of mind for buyers and sellers, were introduced earlier this month in response to a growing number of online scams involving the exchange of goods.

The concept, said Orangeville Const. Scott Davis, originated with Vancouver’s police department, which introduced the option a few weeks ago.

“Our chief really liked the idea and thought it would benefit members of the community,” said Davis. “For several years, our parking lot has facilitated child custody exchanges between families, so opening up and advertising our space is just an extension of what was already happening.”

The same is true in Toronto, said Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu, but the unit isn’t formally promoting their spaces for exchanges even though they are available for public use.

She didn’t know if anyone has used the police station for an online purchase.

Since the open-door announcement, Sgt. Randy Fincham in Vancouver said his headquarters began experiencing regular meet-ups.

“We don’t want to turn it into a flea market,” Fincham said. “We don’t want someone bringing the sofa or their 1986 Honda Civic, but certainly the smaller, high-risk items could be exchanged there.”

Susan Brown, a Mississauga retiree whose family has advertised furniture, DJ equipment and speakers through Kijiji, said the concept was interesting, however, she wasn’t sold on using a local police station for transactions.

“Some of the items I sell are too large,” she said, referring to a tan, three-piece sectional sofa she is currently flogging on Kijiji for $850. “I wouldn’t be able to pick that up and drive that to a station.”

But Tanya Roberts, a letterpress artist from Scarborough who has listed everything from electronics to toys online, feels differently.

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She usually meets up with buyers in her apartment lobby and refrains from giving them her full name and phone number, but told the Star she would “certainly consider” visiting a police station for exchanges.

Plus, she said, “I’d absolutely offer that as an option in my own Craigslist or Kijiji postings, as a way to deter or weed out shady people from responding to my own ads.”

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