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Does anyone have any experience of FREECYCLE?
Radiomaniac
Posts: 43,510 Forum Member
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I have a few largish items to find homes for, they are electrical so my local charity shop won't take them.
So I've just registered with Freecycle (mainly to have a look first, you cant see what's wanted/on offer without registering), and some of the 'wants' are funny.
Someone wants a butterdish, another wants a laptop, another a new mobile phone and someone has a huge old telly to give away and said it'll 'beat any burglars' because it's too heavy to lift and cart off!
Has anyone here ever used this service? Is it full of people who want to sell your stuff on and make money, or are there genuine people in need that use it?
A couple almost made me cry - someone wants a little foot stool because her legs hurt unless they're elevated (now, now!) - I envisaged a dear old granny, but maybe I'm just getting soft! And another from someone who's just moved and needs a few tins of bright paint to cheer the new place up.
Really makes you think how fortunate some of us are.
So I've just registered with Freecycle (mainly to have a look first, you cant see what's wanted/on offer without registering), and some of the 'wants' are funny.
Someone wants a butterdish, another wants a laptop, another a new mobile phone and someone has a huge old telly to give away and said it'll 'beat any burglars' because it's too heavy to lift and cart off!
Has anyone here ever used this service? Is it full of people who want to sell your stuff on and make money, or are there genuine people in need that use it?
A couple almost made me cry - someone wants a little foot stool because her legs hurt unless they're elevated (now, now!) - I envisaged a dear old granny, but maybe I'm just getting soft! And another from someone who's just moved and needs a few tins of bright paint to cheer the new place up.
Really makes you think how fortunate some of us are.
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We've got rid of all sorts of stuff, it's much more convenient to have people pop round at an arranged time than to have to find transport to lug furniture to the tip or charity shop, plus it's great to be able to help folk out.
I've grabbed a few bits to sell on, but have always been upfront with the person who's listed them, and asked them to offer them elsewhere if they feel they'd rather I didn't profit from them.
We've also got a lovely sideboard and a well stocked tropical fishtank, as well as a couple of mattresses from some kind Freeglers.
Get stuck in, it's great! You've nothing to lose but your junk, and you'll be amazed how many folk are keen to help you out!
I think it's a great idea, I don't know why I'd never thought of it before. As you say, it's easier getting people to come to you, than lugging things to charity shops, especially when the items are large or heavy.
I'm quite excited about someone making use of things that still work and are useful, but that I no longer have use for myself.
Got from other people a hamster cage, a scanner, a load of old vinyl record for a craft for my Guides.
It annoys me when people are really cheeky with their wanted requests. I've seen people requesting cars and laptops no more than a couple of years old, also specific models of brand new mobiles.
I give quite a lot of scrap timber away for people to use in wood burners.
The largest 'gift' I received was a twin axle horse box, I cut the body off, weighed that in and got £100 and made a flat bed trailer out of the base.
For the other things I tried and think I succeeded in choosing someone who wanted the things for themselves but you can never really be sure. I don't believe some of the sob stories so it's difficult to make a decision but in the end I get rid of stuff so I don't really care.
One day a friend came round and said, Some people like to use those as garden planters why don't you try and sell it?
To be honest i couldn't be botherd to advertise it so after another friend mentioned Free Cycle i stuck it on there and i couldn't believe how many people were after it there were loads,
To try and be fair i got back to the people who were after it in the order they contacted me but with all things you seem to advertise you get the no shows, It beats me why people say they want something then don't turn up, We still got rid the same day and since then have also got rid of a few other things we didn't want,
Some people do seem to ask for some outlandish things as well, During the Summer one guy was asking for a 8 foot swimming pool for his kids, Plus i have seen people after Laptops, LCD and plasma TV's and mobile phones!!
There was also a 'wanted' from a woman whose son was setting up home and she "didn't want to be cheeky but he wanted a dark brown leather settee, a flat screen TV and a Ikea furniture in good condition only, thank you very much". I wonder if she got much response to that?
I do think there are people there who respond to anything they think might be of value and try to hoover it up for car boot sales and whatnot.
What I would advise is to simply take your time about making a decision to whom you will offer your items. In my local group there seems to be a group of people who will respond almost immediately to something of value but then you will not hear from these people if you offer something that is not saleable (e.g. I got rid of some broken crockery - someone took it for a craft/garden project). Often (and this is anecdotal) the ones who are hoovering up stuff to sell on seem to respond very quickly using an iphone or Blackberry and want you to contact them by mobile. I state that I prefer to correspond by email and then see what people write in their messages before I decide to whom I will offer the item. I also try to explain that's what I will do when I post an item so people know not to expect an immediate response. Often you might get later responses that seem more worthy or deserving (for example I had one person who took an item for a Scout Troop but this person was not the first respondent, I just felt they were more genuine and often these people are more grateful and more reliable about collecting).
Obviously you may simply wish to get rid of your items and not worry about someone making some money from them but I have found that people who I suspect to be doing that are not as reliable for collecting as those who genuinely want something for themselves.
There are automated scripts out there that monitor the posts and automatically reply to keywords. So be wary of those. If its a popular item then I tend to wait till next day, especially as some people can't get to their PC until the evening.
Also you can request that people not sell things on if you want, though there is no way of checking. Some people don't care about it and there are posts saying items for car boot sale so they obviously don't care.
One of my biggest bug bears is people not turning up to collect and its annoying, it happens a lot so be wary of that.
And yes there are the crazys out there asking for plasma TV and modern laptops etc. Maybe if you live in a really wealthy area that might happen but not round here.
Also be careful that some of the more valuable ads are scams and if you reply they will post a web link to something similiar. Its easy enough to ignore.
Overall, like all things charitable its works on the honesty of people and a majority of people are fine. But there are the minority of scum and leeches on there as well.
There were definitely a core of users who seemed to lay a claim on virtually everything, and usually with a pretty abrupt and rude "I will take that" email, no please, no why they would like it, no nothing!. I tended to prefer to give to people with a genuine need for a item.
I left Freecycle when people started asking for laptops, flatscreen TVs and the like! It seemed to me that some were really stretching the bounds of what the service was for.
I was also getting emails asking for items that I had listed, and had detailed as taken some 2 years previously! That really got annoying.
It is a good idea, and for those who use it as intended, it does a lot of good, for the environment, for communities and for individuals who are really in need. It's just a shame that a few people have spoiled it a bit.
Worst thing is when people don't turn up when they say they will or constantly changing when they will come.
I found this out when my daughter replied to an ad for some GHD hair straighteners - she got sent a chatty email saying the straighteners had been taken but there were cheap ones available on this website, link provided. The same thing happened to a friend who replied to an ad for a PS3. Freegle immediately blocked the people responsible once they were informed.
I am just wondering, how would they know where you live ?
I've used Freecycle a good few times and its great - I gave away two fridge freezers which were a bit too shabby for Ebay but still functioned fine - they went to grateful homes where previously there were none.
I've never asked for anything yet - when I do, I won't be titling the request as 'WANTED' - it just seems a bit demanding! :eek: I think I will say 'REQUESTED'
OK, I would have thought that you would have avoided giving out your address to the crazies.
The 'winner' had to come pick the item up! So between all the head-the-balls, I had to assess which one seemed:
(a) genuine - there were a LOT of sob stories - and
(b) was someone I'd be happy to give my address to.
No mean feat from a stack of emails from strangers.
In the end, I chose a man who wanted it for his elderly parents in the next village.
There's one on ours today that says "Wanted laptop or network in working order" and underneath it says "if anyone has a modern laptop or netbook, in good working order, I would like it" I wonder if he/she will get any replies? And someone recently requested a caravan.:eek:
I don't have an issue with the wanted ads as long as they are sensible. Sometimes I think,I have that squired away in the attic or garden shed that I no longer need.
I have asked for a few odd things, rabbit hutch, couples of meters of mains cable, etc