Freecycling Vs Ebay/Car boot sales

rubix_76

Just a thought, but what do people think about the moral decision of being a good environmentalist and Freecycling your stuff Vs selling it (ebay or Car-boot-sales).

Freecyling it is good for the environment reducing landfill, but the more moneysaving (or maney-making) concept would be to sel it to get a few pennies (or more if possible).

Just verbalising on a Friday afternoon, and wondered what you all thought

Answers on a postcard ...... :rotfl:

Rubix

arkonite_babe

Depends on what I'm wanting to get rid of to be honest. If it's an item which isn't going to cost too much to post (I'm in Northern Ireland and postal charges to Mainland can be horrendous) then I'll try it on Ebay. Failling that I'll car boot it. Bigger items I tend to put on Freecycle. Clothes and the like I will always send to a charity shop. Even if it's old tat as they get money for the rags.

wishingonastar_3

i think its down to what the item is, some things i'll car boot/ebay otherwise i'll freecycle, as for clothes, apart from a couple of designer dresses and suits which i sold through a dress agency, all my stuff goes to the charity shop.

aardvaak

I read on another list that it was alledged that some people collect on Freecycle then take items to a car boot sales - just see how quickly items posted get taken - this is not in the spirit of Freecycle.

pdoff

they had a poll on my freecycle & the outcome was that most people didn't mind their stuff being sold on by whoever collected it as long as they knew that was gonna happen before they gave it away. personally i would rather give my stuff to someone who needs it & couldn't afford to buy it new, & who will freecycle again once they done with it.
i could sell it myself if i could be bothered but tbh i like to offer things so i can reply to more offereds without feeling guilty. i have given a bed, pushchairs etc but have had baby gyms & a chest of drawers in return so am happy. have also made a new friend from a lady who took a pram - bonus!

there have been a few silly posts recently - a tin of sainsburys spaghetti hoops started it all!

Ken68

Being rural, you wouldn't recover the transport costs of collecting Freecycle if you sold it on.

caffeinehit

If like me you don't have a car then it's Freecycle or Freecycle really. Seems a bit cheeky to take someone's money then ask them to collect the item too.

rubix_76

aardvaak wrote:

I read on another list that it was alledged that some people collect on Freecycle then take items to a car boot sales - just see how quickly items posted get taken - this is not in the spirit of Freecycle.

I too feel the same, and would much rather give to the needy, than the greedy !!! at least THEY will benefit from it and not their pocket !!!

This reminds me of seing those items on ebay stating that "they know" where people buy stuff from to then sell on either back on ebay or at car-boots/markets etc. They are normally accompanied by that wierd picture of a child-come-monkey ....

You know the one i mean

Thanks for all your opinions.

Rubix

jockettuk

i'm moving house soon,, my daughter likes doing the odd car boot now and again so ive got boxes made up with car boot written on them, the stuff we getting rid off wont make us a fortune but will make a day out and play shops for real for my daughter., most of her garden toys that she has outgrown and mabey a little rusty ive given away on freecycle.. Anything big and bulky that i know i wont use or she wont use/need im giving away and i would like to thinkg they going to someone who will use it rather than sell it, but hey it gets it out my way and not into the skip and then the tip..

SusanCarter

I suppose the main point of freecycle is that your old stuff gets used by someone else rather than being thrown away so this is still fulfilled if the person sells it on. However you could say it is a bit cheeky to take things to make money when someone else who is short of money could really use the item. I think some people tend to offer the things they know wouldn't be worth their while to sell on ebay. Perhaps it would be good if people could state if they wanted an item to use or to sell. That way it would be up to the offerer's discretion who they gave it to. Unfortunately, there are always unscrupulous people out there so no system is guaranteed to work but it would be a shame if people stopped freecycling just because a few people were making a bit of money out of it.

cmh4135

I'm in agreement with SusanCarter. The point of the exercise is that the items are not going to landfill. The only circumstance that I would be really unhappy with is where a "Freecycler" collects to sell on, fails to sell and then dumps the item. That would make me mad. But if someone has the time and inclination to sell my stuff, that's fine by me.

There are alternatives though. We get rid of "higher value" stuff (eg computer equipment and furniture) through a voluntary organisation coordination outfit. Our local area has an association of voluntary organisations and they are more than happy to send out an email offering the items to charities and other voluntary organisations. When we get a response we know that it is genuine.

Back to the original post though, I guess it is more moneysaving for us as individuals to sell stuff ourselves but not so moneysaving for the recipient. If the desired outcome of Freecycle is "green" either way works IMHO.