Disillusioned with Freecycle.

mlz1413

I often offer on freecycle I always put that I want the item to be collected after xx time in the evenings or at the weekend so that anyone anyone who cannot make those times knows not to request.

I also will put things like I will not offer this item until tomorrow evening - as I hate people contacting me 2 or 3 times within a hour or so. I do sometimes need stuff to go quickly and will say so in the ad.

I also never contact anyone who is not polite and things like 'I want it' just get deleted.

My most recent experience was offering a room sized piece of carpet, I offered it to a lady as she said she was a pensioner, she agreed to wed evening and didn't show up. so after no contact the next morning I offered to someone else who collected same day. Then the original lady's daughter turned up on Saturday at midday to collect The Carpet - DURR!

Luckily my faith had been restored by the 2nd person as they were so pleased and happy, I even got an email from them the next day saying the carpet was down and looked a treat.

Jo4

Sorry for the long winded thread but I hope others will learn from my mistake!

The one and only time I ever used Free cycle was when I seen a relatively new cooker advertised and I thought since only two of the four rings on my cooker were working that it would be a good idea to contact the person who was advertising it. They responded and said that it needed a new catch on the oven door but they were getting a new one because they had young children. I thought it would have been more cost effective for them to replace it than purchase a new one. However, we got the lend of a trailer, drove approximately 90 miles, collected the cooker which was filthy and she complained to us that some people never thanked her although we already had. She apologised that it was so dirty and said that it was scandalous how much some companies cost to remove a cooker. We did offer her money but she refused and said to give it to charity. We drove the 90 miles home again stopping off with a CORGI registered person and they changed the pipe fitting on it and said that now it was only a matter of connecting it into the gas. We ordered the new catch and other parts that it required which cost £50. Both hubby and I spent a few days cleaning it; it even had blue plastic stuck on the inside of it. We then connected the gas into the cooker and off went the carbon monoxide detector. We thought that maybe the alarm was faulty although it was new so we switched off the cooker and opened the windows and doors. The next day we turned on the cooker again and off went the alarm again so we took the cooker to the skip.

It makes sense now why she didn't replace the catch herself and purchased a new one. I am thankful we had the detector because I dread to think if someone else had got the cooker and didn’t have a detector what the outcome may have been. :eek: :mad:

sharloid

I've put lots of things on Freecycle recently, including a slow cooker, Easiyo yogurt maker, cool box, iron, lamp, sewing machine, tupperware etc.

They've all had lots of interest and I've agreed for the first person who asks about them to come and collect. However... no one has actually turned up to come and get them! It's really riled me up and I'm about to put them all in the bin!

I can't believe how rude and ungrateful people can be - does it really take much just to send an email/text to let me know they no longer want the item in question? How long would you leave it before you offer the item to someone else.

Has anyone else had any bad experiences with Freecycle?

:mad:

Shazaaym

The people who e-mail straight away tend to be the ones who e-mail everyone, regardless of whether they want the item or not. IME anyway.

I always wait 24 hours then sift through the replies to see who seems the most genuine. Never had anyone not turn up when they said they would.

she_who_can_not_cook

so how does that work is it like a free ebay?

thriftwizard

Agreeing with Shazaaym; I suspect the people who fire off instant replies to everything are often dealers or car booters, who won't show up if they get a "better" offer, i.e. something they think will be more saleable. It's a total pain... but most Freecyclers/Freeglers are very genuine & grateful. I keep a list of people on our local groups who have let me down with no explanation - and one who's come up with the same story 3 times in one week - and just don't offer stuff to them again. Don't be put off, just choose your recipients with a bit of care next time!

Pink.

Hi sharloid,

We have an existing thread on this subject so I'll add your thread to it:

Disillusioned with Freecycle.

These threads may interest you too:

Freecycle and related sites comments

Tips to help when using Freecycle

Freecycle Etiquette

Pink

Gigervamp

As the others have said, see what other replies you get. If not, don't bin them! Give them to a charity shop.

sophlowe45

I've only used Freecycle a few times for small items as i don't have a car, but i always turn up up on time, allow extra time for my journey etc. and am very polite and thank them for giving me the item. I have not used Freecycle for a long time but when i did, i emailed ASAP as things seem to go so fast.

When the people i've collected from have seen i was on foot, they put extra bubblewrap and tape around the items so i would find it easier to carry. I was really grateful for that extra effort.

Angelic if you are not good with strangers and would not feel safe, then perhaps not. Do you have any charities in your local area that do free pickups and then sell the items at low cost to people on benefits etc?

pigpen

Lol... I am barred.. I refused to give them personal details to store on their unsecure home PC's..

And it is full off people who take everything and car boot it or time wasters. Try the facebook groups for local selling pages.. they are far more open and honest than the thieves on freecycle.