Freecycle Question

Buttercup.x

Sorry if this has been posted in the wrong place.

I was wondering if you use free cycle are you concerned about where your items are ending up? by this i mean on car boots or e bay as such.

Also how do you choose the person who gets what you have offered? is it a first come first served basis / name out of a hat or do you choose who you think is more worthy?



I personally would prefer my stuff not to be sold on but you can never tell who really needs this stuff i mean i had someone come collect a sunbed the other week and she had a lorry load of stuff which looked like she had been collecting from other people.. this really got to me and i wish i had the guts to say to her face what she intended on doing with it.

in the original email she sent to me she said it would be for her daughter who was always using hers, but when she came for it she didn't look old enough to have a daughter that should be using a sunbed. :rolleyes:

elle_gee

Hi Buttercup,

There is a FreeCycle thread on the Green and Ethical MoneySaving board
Linky: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=166028

Lots of experienced FreeCycle-rs on there.

I've only ever placed one Offer and got no replies so I can't answer your query

Buttercup.x

elle_gee wrote: »

Hi Buttercup,

There is a FreeCycle thread on the Green and Ethical MoneySaving board
Linky: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=166028

Lol thanks i did search for freecycle and couldnt find it

Steve-o

As long as it is used and not thrown away, I'm not too fussed (although I would prefer it went to a person who would use it themselves).

On my local Freecycle forums you can usually spot people who seem to be claiming a lot of items. I would tend to give items to someone else in that instance, if only to make sure 'gifts' are spread out to many people.

Buttercup.x

Thanks for your input, i try to look for the ebayers and car booter's also but can never be sure.

elsien

If it's stuff that I think might be worth something without too much fuss I'd ebay it myself rather than freecycle. I tend to freecycle things that I'm fairly sure won't sell, or that I couldn't be bothered with the hassle, such as larger items. If you are concerned about things being sold on, you might be better offering them to a charity shop instead.
As far as offering stuff goes, I wait 24 hours because I think it's unfair to people who work or are too busy to sit at the computer all day if you do a first come first served basis.
Sometimes I offer to the "worthy" cause, sometimes to the ones who bother to put in a please and thank you, (I'm always surprised by how many don't) and sometimes just to the people who make me laugh. No hard and fast rules, just whatever I feel like at the time.

Mellika

You can wish or hope all you like, but the truth is, you're getting rid of it and the moment you do, it's no longer yours.

There are rules and things like that, but ultimately people do whatever they want

Hardup_Hester

I offered a load of stuff suitable for a carboot on my local freecycle & had no response until I re-advertised it as 'suitable for a carboot'. Personally I don't care what happens to the things I freecycle, but I know it worries a lot of people.

Ishtar

If I don't want something to be sold on, I usually say so in my post. Generally, though I don't really care what happens to it.

I do get annoyed by the people who just say 'I'll have that', or words to that effect in the emails they send. I often find that people automatically respond saying they'll take something - certainly in my area there are one or two that always say they want something then never come and collect.

It's frustrating, but some group moderators do welcome comments/complaints which can often sort the problem out.

It's interesting to note that the more 'valuable' an item is, the more likely you are to get shot of it!! People don't seem to be particularly interested in a couple of energy saving lightbulbs, or paperback books....

D.

shykins

when i get a lot of people asking for something... i do an advanced search and see if they have offered themselves , it then goes to them rather than the people who just ask all the time

i even put in my post priority given to those who have offered