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Freecycle: Anyone used it?
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Message 1.Â
Posted by FleetingEileenM (U14106338) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
I've recently joined my nearest group. Members who want to just get rid of things which are too good or too difficult to throw away can offer them to any member who can find a use for them. There is no payment involved. It's quite surprising what items are offered or wanted.
I offered thousands of small pebbles from a part of the garden I want to reorganise and three people are after them. -
Message 2
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
Yus I have used it to give away stuff - a lovely lass came and got my ice skates; I loved skating as a youngster but haven't done any since I took youngsters from a youth club skating about thirty years ago. They were old and scuffed but very serviceble and she was delighted.
I have recently discovered that there are "bookshops" which give away books for free - we're putting all the books we don't want or need anymore in crates ready to go there.
I hate waste and won't throw anything useable away - far better to give it away than throw it away in my view. -
Message 3
Posted by peacemaker (U14739277) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
Yes I have been using it for years. It there are several people wanting an item I put the names in a hat as that seems the fairest way. If someone then doesn't collect I draw the names again (and blacklist that person for future reference).
I have found that 95% of the people are lovely but you do get some who are timewasters and mess you around, or lack basic manners like saying please and thank you.
I am often wary of the person who replies first, especially if they reply quickly after you have posted your item. Chances are that it is an impulse decision and they then change their mind. Many don't even have the courtesy to tell you they have changed their mind.
The best thing is to use the Fair Offer Policy when you post. This gives you a day or two to decide who to give it to and allows those who are on the daily digest (which I am) time to respond.
I was messed around last weekend by a 'no show' and when that happens you do wonder why you bother with it tbh. However it is better than dumping things in landfill. And most people are really grateful. I have also gained a few things myself, but over the years have probably offered more than I have received. -
Message 4
Posted by Silver Jenny (U12795676) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
I use it too and, apart from one no show, have found people have been good about collecting items & have been pleased with them.
Great idea. I enjoy browsing the list of things offered but get a little annoyed with the 'must have dishwasher today' sort. I hear a nanny voice muttering
' must have never gets'!.
Elsethread someone was asking what to do with used jiffybags. They go like wildfire round here: I had a big boxfull and there were several people wanting them & there are requests regularly for them.. -
Message 5
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
I generally stick a new label on jiffy bags I receive things in and re-use them.
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Message 6
Posted by Silver Jenny (U12795676) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
So do I, Helen, but mostly use just the small ones so these were surplus.
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Message 7
Posted by Dunlurkin NL (U2675855) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
I wish wish wish we had Freecycle where I live. I never hear anyone talking about this in ML. I have been pleased by the increase in the number of recycling shops but you do have to make the effort to go there.
Dunlurkin -
Message 8
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
Perhaps you could start a freecycle group where you are? No idea how one goes about it - but I'm sure there must be info out there...
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Message 9
Posted by peacemaker (U14739277) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
Dunlurkin I am surprised you do not have 'Freecycle' in the NL. It is worldwide.
However strictly speaking the group I am in is part of the 'Freegle' network, which broke away from 'Freecycle' a few years ago. As far as I know it is only UK based. However I still talk about freecycling because that is the more well known term and it still operates in the same way.
If you don' t have 'Freecycle' perhaps there is something similar over there under another name. -
Message 10
Posted by savannahlady (U2362903) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
Yes, I Iove it too. A few years back I decided I'd enough with the feather stuffed cushions (the seat and back parts) on the sofas and chairs in the sitting room - they had had little wear as it is not a room we use that much and I replaced them with filllings which didn't need 'plumping up' every five minutes. I put them on freecycle and couldn't believe the number of people who fought to get them! One Indian chap was very honest and said they were for all his family to sleep on as they were coming to visit!!
Savvie -
Message 11
Posted by Dunlurkin NL (U2675855) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
I've just had a google again and thereare four in NL, including a group based half an hour away. I don't know what their range is.
It apparently has 392 members and about 10 - 12 messages a month. Is that a viable number?
I can't see any more without signing up.
Dunlurkin -
Message 12
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
There's no harm in signing up anyway as there are no costs involved and iirc you can ask other members about things - but it's a fair while since I used it as recently most of our unwanted stuff has gone to people we know.
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Message 13
Posted by Celtic Tiger (U2229153) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
There's no harm in signing up anyway as there are no costs involved and iirc you can ask other members about things - but it's a fair while since I used it as recently most of our unwanted stuff has gone to people we know. Yes, there is. I signed up a while back because it seemed to be the only way you could get properly into the site. Since then I have been plagued by e-mails from the local "freecycle organiser" telling me all sorts of things about the site which I have no interest in as I never use it.
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Message 14
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
I have never had anything like that - maybe you had some boxes ticked to say that you wanted emails?
I am always very careful not to leave ticks in boxes when I sign up for anything online! -
Message 15
Posted by peacemaker (U14739277) on Saturday, 29th September 2012
Our group covers a fairly rural area, so probably about a 20 mile range as there are also groups in neighbouring towns.
10 -12 messages a month is very low. We get at least that every day. Just checked our membership and it stands at 2707.
I suppose there is no harm in you signing up DL, but it sounds as though it needs to be better publicised and used. However if you have got a lot of stuff to get rid off it might be good to test it out and see if it works for you.
When I signed up I was asked a few standard questions by the moderator and then sent a couple of emails about the running of the group and how to post correctly. You were in a sort of pre mod at first. Now that the group has grown so much I don't think it is moderated so carefully tbh. I only get occasional emails now.
Ours also has a cafe area, shared with a neighbouring group, and you can ask all sorts of questions in there. It's good for getting local recommendations and info. Also if you want to sell something you are allowed to advertise in that forum. -
Message 16
Posted by metro-mouse (U3068238) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
Yes. I gave up, too many time-wasters, free-loaders, no-shows and downright rude. Now it all goes to the tip...oops, community recycling centre I mean. mm
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Message 17
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
How do you conclude that someone on a site where folk give things away is a free-loader? Don't understand.
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Message 18
Posted by GuzziNut (U6364582) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
It's the ones who post I want a dishwasher/frigde freezer etc must be in good condition, or stipulate the colour of the curtains / sofa they want, must be in good condition etc, don't say please or thank you...
We've had a few recently asking the group to kit them out for a camping trip, completely, they want everything, from the tent onwards
And the ones who say they'd take x or y but can I deliver it as well? as they don't have transport
And the ones that don't show up (we had a serial no show upper in the group I belong to)
That said I have got rid of all sorts of stuff on there, so I carry on with it -
Message 19
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
Well I can understand the colour thing but the rest of it sounds like a cheek! I'd just ignore anyone that said "must be in good condition" or expected me to deliver - bloomin' heck matey you are getting summat for nowt!
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Message 20
Posted by Bearhug (U2258283) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
I've used it quite a bit in the past - got rid of quite a few bits and bobs from my mother's house. Also passed on a food processor and some wood preservative and various other things.
And I got a car on it, which helped me find a better car after I had written off my own, as it meant I could actually get to places to view cars. After I'd got a new car, I passed the freecycled car on to someone else who'd been interested originally - he taught in a local college, and they used it in their car maintenance classes.
There are some people who are ill-mannered, but most are fine, and I'm much happier knowing things are being used than taking them to the household waste recycling centre (where I think things do get some recycling, but I'd rather they were used first.) -
Message 21
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
Yup, reuse is always preferable to recycle in my view.
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Message 22
Posted by Jane (U1484860) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
I recent freegled a load of paving slabs - saved me lugging them down to the tip & they were perfectly usable
Last time I bought a new sofa I free cycled the one it was replacing to a couple who'd just moved in together
I get the daily list & it had 1 to 2 dozen posts/ day
My tip would be to ask respndants to say when they could collect the item if it is large/ you need it to go pdq -
Message 23
Posted by FleetingEileenM (U14106338) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
I was delighted with my first experience. A nice young electrician came to collect the pebbles I was offering. He was the first of three to reply so I gave him first opportunity. He failed to turn up at 10am but his wife emailed to say he'd been called out on an urgent insurance job but could come after lunch.
As I helped him to load the various containers he had brought, he told me all about the play area he had made for his children and how he was going to use the pebbles in the front garden next to the drive.
I was so pleased to get rid of those pebbles and am going to sow a small camomile lawn in their place. -
Message 24
Posted by Rider_on_the_Wheel (U4404005) on Sunday, 30th September 2012
I don't use it as much as I used to. I have met a lot of very nice people but also a lot of time wasters, no shows, people I suspect are traders and unfortunately a few very rude people.
Anything that I reckon is saleable I now give to a charity shop or in the case of furniture, etc., to a local charity that will hand them on to needy people.
I generally use it for things that are serviceable but scruffy or broken but someone might be able to fix. I gave away an old shed that was a bit broken down but was good enough for an allotment, old metal shelving that was tatty and rusty but good enough for a workshop, old secondary glazing units that someone could use to make a cold frame, etc.
Last time out was old paving slabs. I had a load of no shows, people who it turned out hadn't the means to transport them and general messing around. Eventually someone took them but it took a week.
As someone said upthread beware of the instant response. It seems to me that people who are prepared to receive the volume of emails that are posted on my local service rather than use the digest are looking for saleable items for the car boot. Fine, it's not going to landfill, but IME the instant responders provide the greatest number of now shows and I suspect it is because after they've responded to your email something better has turned up and they've gone after that instead.
I wait at least until the digest has come out, usually a day, ignore that fastest finger first responders and draw from the rest out of a hat.
I never give address details until an appointment has been agreed and I'm fairly sure they won't mess me around. Even so, after doing all this, I'm astonished at the number of no shows that still occur. -
Message 25
Posted by Nomadnomore - XNo - Quiz Queen (U3180380) on Monday, 1st October 2012
We have a very large car boot sale that operates near to us March to October so I would hesitate to put anything on freecycle during those months.
I like the idea but hate the idea of freeloaders or dealers.
I'm also putting my foot into ebay to test out the water. There are a lot of things I could sell rather than give away and to be quite honest I could do with the cash. This is probably why the jiffy bags (see up thread) went so quickly on freecycle. -
Message 26
Posted by My Mum is turning in her grave (U13137565) on Monday, 1st October 2012
I've got rid of a few things through freecycle (and I'm about to offer my jiffy bags). Our group covers the whole county and seems most active in the southern part where the large towns are.
I get a daily digest and I've noticed taht many things have come and gone in a day, which is a bit unfair to those who only switch on in the evening or use the library. I make it clear that I will wait two days before making a decision and then pick at random if there are several requests.
I also find the people who want everything pristine and immediately annoying. Also people who don't reply when you offer them something. How difficult is it to say No Thanks? -
Message 27
Posted by Pin o Chocolat (U2372386) on Monday, 1st October 2012
<< I like the idea but hate the idea of freeloaders or dealers. >>
Surely anyone who takes something from Freegle or Freecycle could be considered a freeloader. If I am about to buy something new that does not need to be new, I will usually look at freegle and sometimes post a wanted ad. I got a complete drum kit for my lad like this.
When it comes to traders and dealers - I agree that it might seem galling to see something for sale that you have given for free, but this depends on how you choose to look at it. If I have a large item that I no longer want, I can take the effort to try and sell it ( rarely successful in my experience), take it to the tip (difficult with a small car) or arrange for the council to come and collect (at a fee). Or I can put it on Freegle and look out for someone I would like to give it to. If I can find a genuine recipient in need then that is great, but otherwise, if a dealer is prepared to take it off my hands, then it does me a favour. I can hardly be considered to be "in need" but I have had some wonderful finds on Freegle, lawnmowers, car cycle rack, (almost new) and loads of other things.
What I am saying is that there are a number of benefits to the system, only one of which is to provide for the needy. There is the landfill issue and also the advantage of not having to deal with it yourself.
However, don't get me started on people who are: rude, don't show (or call to explain), don't respond to an email offering the item or to an answer to an enquiry about the item.
Chancers who ask with detailed descriptions I can cope with - they might be like me and just checking. -
Message 28
Posted by misles2 (U6928301) on Monday, 1st October 2012
We got rid of most of our old kitchen this way ( and it was old), also old fridge and washing machine - again both old but in working condition, I would not have wanted to charge for them. Also got rid of all sorts of odds and ends. Most respondants have been a pleasure to deal with, no shows are always annoying and not everyone has posted a "received" message , but hey it saved us having to dispose of these items and meant they were reused.
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Message 29
Posted by Gayer-Anderson Cat (U13637930) on Monday, 1st October 2012
I had a very good experience. Just after my late cat had been diagnosed with cancer and needed a special diet, a lovely lady posted offering almost a full carton of the exact food I needed. She was only too happy for me to have it, with the stipulation that if I didn't use all of it I would pass it on to someone who needed it or take it to Cats' Protection. It saved me a /lot/ of money.
G-AC -
Message 30
Posted by Spartacus (U14762542) on Monday, 1st October 2012
That's just reminded me - our cat who was on a special diet because of recurrent cystitis died a couple of weeks ago (cried my blimming eyes out) and we have most of a sackful left. Must stick it on freecycle.
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Message 31
Posted by Rider_on_the_Wheel (U4404005) on Monday, 1st October 2012
You learn to sniff out the traders. What vexes me is that when I get a lot of responses and the winner turns up and I realise it's a trader, I wonder if someone who wasn't drawn could really have done with the item. However I've become a bit sceptical about some of the sob stories so it's not so easy to judge. That's what I like about the local charity - I'm pretty sure the furniture will go to someone who has a need for it. They also take electrical items and PAT test them so this is a great place for old fridges, etc.
I think freecycle is ideal for giving away excesses of things: The part used tin of paint, left over pond liner, end of a roll of roofing felt, stuff like that, and quirky stuff that someone might need that you wouldn't readily be able to sell.
From the very early days I remember a very nice young couple - they could have been teenagers - collected some tiles I had left over. They'd just got their first flat and these were to finish off a splash back.
Another was a box of assorted motor car mechanics magazines - a guy into classic cars collected those.
Another was a very old photocopier. It hadn't done much mileage and worked if you knew where to kick it but it needed someone who knew these old machines to service it. It was unsaleable and most businesses would have put it in the skip. Anyway a guy setting up on his own had it from me. I showed him how to make it work and told him where he could still buy toner and he said it would do for him to get going. It's probably in the skip now but at least it had more life.
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