Freecycle (Merged Thread)

JimmyTheWig

The freecycle rules (presumably vary from group to group) I was reading at the weekend said that duplicate wanted posts were only allowed monthly.

cairndog

Help please
Does anyone know if you can use a disposable email address to protect yourself from spam/scams/etc ? It seems sensible but so far I can't seem to get it to work?
Has anyone out there done it, and if so how?
According to Yahoo Answers you can use this for groups but maybe not on Freecycle.
Thanks if you can help

grannybiker

The same site, another gem...:mad:

Posted by: "***" ***[EMAIL="***@yahoo.co.uk"]@yahoo.co.uk [/EMAIL]

Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:06 am (PDT)

hi just wondering if any1 got and wii
things ie games they no longer need
or want got my son the concell
but cant afford any games for him

A combination of illiteracy and greed that still, despite the others, shocks and appalls. Actually did a search on the user and to be fair, they have made a couple of offers, but their "Wants" include a Quinny "buggie." I was tempted to offer them a little umbrella-fold lightweight buggy we've used for our Grandson and point out it'd do exactly the same job!

P.S. Cairndog, I wouldn't worry about Spam via Freecycle, but beware of invitations to join "Yahoo Freebies." You'll be inundated! Just make sure that when you join Freecycle you "Edit preferences" and change your mailing options from the default setting which is to receive each and every post, (really fills your inbox up quite scarily!) to "Receive daily Digest." Then you'll just get 1 a day, unless your group's exceptionally busy, then they'll send one roughly every 25 posts. If you're worried about missing items being offered as some folk always seem to give to 1st to respond, you can simply access the messages on the site whenever you have time.

Firefly

I'm trying to de-clutter my spare bedroom and there's a futon in there so when I read a wanted ad on freecycle that went along the lines of 'we'd like a double futon for our spare room' I emailed them and suggested they'd like mine. I pointed out that was only a small double 4' and would take me some time to unearth but they'd be welcome. It was blue and rarely used so in good condition.

Am I wrong to be slightly 'miffed' by the terse email received saying they would like to come on Friday at 7pm to examine the condition and suitability of the futon to see if it meets the requirements they are looking for!!

There's no way I'm showing strangers upstairs in my spare room so they are out of luck!

Is that wrong?

grannybiker

Not "Wrong," we're all different and we have to make judgements about whether (or not!) we can trust total strangers based on... well, nothing tbh!
The problem with emails (and posting here!) is that people can't 'read' the tone of your voice, facial expressions or body language, so misconceptions are all too easy to form. Perhaps they wanted to sound business-like and decisive rather than terse? Who knows, but whatever, it's a shame if you've been made to feel miffed.
I don't however, think it's "Wrong" of them to come and view your futon and, if it's not what they're after, to politely say "Thanks very much for your kind offer and time, but no thanks." Surely that's better than taking it to be polite and either dumping it in the woods on the way home, (as has been known, sadly,) or sending to landfill?

hula-hoops

I have just been added to the 'sin bin' on our Freecyle group! I never realised that there were rights and wrongs about giving things to people for free!

I offered some items last night. Someone e-mailed a few minutes later saying they wanted them but it appeared they had misunderstood what I was offering. The item was suitable for older children or adults but he mentioned a 7-month-old baby that needed this. So I replied and said he could have them and also pointed out that the items are not baby ones but older children/adults and double-checked whether he still wanted them. He replied 'Yeah I'll take them what's your address and I'll come round tomorrow' except it was all in text speak.

It was then that I realised that the e-mail had come from someone who has a reputation on our group for being a scrounger. Him and his girlfriend send a list of wants on a regular basis and hardly ever offer anything. When they do offer something it is usually something they picked up the previous week from another Freecycler and I have come to the conclusion they pick up things purely to list offers so that they can still bombard us with their wanteds. Each of their 'wanted' posts is accompanied by a sib story of 5 children under the age of 6, being on benefits, etc. In the last month they have posted wanteds for (and I kid you not):

- 2 pushchairs
- bikes of various sizes
- PC
- hard drive (due to PC mentioned above not having a big enough hard drive when they collected it)
- speakers (for above PC as a Freecycler had the cheek to give them a PC without speakers)
- clothes in various sizes
- cot
- bedding for above-mentioned cot
- PSP games
- Nintendo controllers
- climbing frame and swings
- axe, wheelbarrow and rake
- vacuum cleaner
- dressing-up clothes
- router
- desk
- dolls
- mobile charger
- handsfree kit for mobile

That's just their wanted posts. Who knows how many offereds they replied to and got? He sent me an e-mail saying that they had no money for food until next Tuesday (but somehow had petrol in the car as he was planning to drive over to me the next day to collect something) and had to come round asap. I didn't like his tone so I apologised and told him that I had got confused and someone else had already got the items. He replied saying that he had the whole chain of e-mails between us where I promised him the items and he wanted my address 'right now' so that he would come round and went on about how could I do this to a family with no money. I replied back to him that I did not wish to communicate with him anymore.

The 'no food till Tuesday' really annoyed me because last Tuesday he posted a wanted for PSP games saying he had bought a PSP that day but it only came with one game and he wanted some more. I was livid that last Tuesday he spent his giro on a PSP and now 5 children are going without food. I didn't know whether to scream or call the social services!

Anyway, he has complained about me now and I am on moderation. But he is still posting his material wants.

judderman62

he should be kicked out on his @rse :mad::mad:

greenbee

hula-hoops - have you told the moderators what you've told us?

hula-hoops

I can't find an address for the mods - in fact, I don't even know who they are.

cheekyweegit

hula-hoops wrote: »

I can't find an address for the mods - in fact, I don't even know who they are.

If your on moderation, your posts get read by a mod before being posted on the main board and forwarded to the other members.

I'm still on moderation after being a member of freecycle for well over a year now and no idea why to be honest. Woops I digress.

Can you not just submit a post with "test post" in the subject line and then in the main body ask the moderator to contact you as you have a problem and hopefully he or she will email you back to find out what's up.

Fingers crossed, and I really hate greedy folks. There was someone on ours who kitted out I'm sure their whole house including paint, paper and doors amongst other things which really got to me as I felt they were totally abusing the system.

Anyway rant over and good luck.