For those living in the area of NE PA and the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania there is a website that was created to serve you.

PoconoBay.com is a website that offers free listings for those who place items for sale, auction, free, and even yard sales. Pocono Bay does not charge a listing fee, or a final value fee. Bottom line is, it's all free.

It has received some attention from an area newspaper. The Times-News published an article about it in October of 2009, apparently impressed that a site would not charge users for services that most have become accustomed to paying for because of the success of sites like eBay. The Times-News article verified the information regarding Pocono Bay's no listing fees policy and other facts.

What makes Pocono Bay unique over other websites that offer free listings? A few things.

PoconoBay.com isn't just a "submit your item" website like so many others. It offers a control panel for each registered user. Within this control panel a user can edit, remove, or even pause items they have listed. Each area (Sale Items, Auctions, Free, and Yard Sales) offers the user full and complete control over their listings with a separate panel of controls for the listings they add.

Like eBay, the Pocono Bay users are rated on their listings. Feedback can be left for both the buyer and the seller in the auctions area, emails can be sent through the site to inform friends of items available. In almost every aspect Pocono Bay performs as eBay does, but with one main exception. There is no fees or money taken for the basic listings by the website. It lives on donations and advertising alone.

What about the "Free" area? Also, the same as Freecycle, but instead of Moderators being able to review all items and having the ability to inform friends and family of a great item being given away (or even rejecting the submission), Pocono Bay posts all offers of free and wanted items immediately and then reviews them. This means an equal and level playing field for everyone. The members of the site are the moderators. If a listing is innapropriate, they report it and it isn't allowed. It is a system that seems to be working.

Sale Items are different than auction items. This is another area in total control by the member using the services of Pocono Bay. Again, they maintain their own listings and in this case, they set a firm price for what they want to sell the item for. When it is sold, the item is removed from the listings by the member. Unlike Craig's List, Pocono Bay is vigilant in monitoring listings and has openly stated that should anyone be found to be scamming other individuals, PB will not hesitate to assist authorities, should they need information for prosecution purposes. Pocono Bay is determined not to become a Craig's List, allowing individuals to continually rip people off.

Yard Sales. Another area with no fees. List your yard sale, when it is being held, what is being sold, and even be able to provide complete directions all at no charge.

Another nice feature is the payment options that can be chosen by a member. Members can choose to accept cash, check, M.O., Paypal, or even Google through option buttons provided at the time of listing the items they are selling. It is all done within the Pocono Bay website program, which makes things simple.

Pocono Bay is currently restricting their area to NEPA and the Poconos for now. They serve the 10 counties of Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Susquahanna, Pike, Wayne, and Wyoming.

If you are lucky enough to live within those borders you should become a member of Pocono Bay.