Tips to help when using Freecycle

jackie1969uk

Have used freecycle to give away many things, I advertised a mobile phone and was inundated with far too many emails to be able to respond to them all. I gave it to a genuine person for her father and she was local and was travelling by bus so I dropped it at her home. She was delighted.

Worst I had was 2 full Brownie uniforms someoen posted as a wanted so it saved me going through the Ebay route which would have earned me quite a bit of money. The women didnt turn up 3 times and I eventually posted an offer and I gave them to a lady with twins who was very genuine.

I do suggest you wait till the daily digest is received by people as many genuine people wont be checking every listing as they are posted. I tend to steer clear of anyone that messages within an hour of posting as they seem to b the ones that grab at everything and must be selling it on as they couldnt possibly have use for the stuff they have replied for.

Aril

I am also a big freecycle fan [as are my whole family] and have been able to pass on loads and also be lucky to receive some really useful items. I find it particularly good for getting bits that I think I might quite like but would never buy like garage shelving [so I can store all my Lidl bargains:D]
On our local group you can if you wish subscribe to a pledge that you will not offer any item until it's been on for 24 hours [it appears at the bottom of the messages where people have signed up] I personally don't but do wait a day before replying and certainly don't just give it to the first person that asks. From there once I've sent out my phone number [I never give address details at this stage] I wait 3 days because I do understand that other people can't always ring back immediately. If I hear nothing within that time I simply offer it to another person who has emailed. 9 times out of 10 I leave the goods in the porch in a bag [unless of value or likely to get damaged in the rain] and then that way it is not clear to the freecycler whether I am in or out. I basically give people reasonable time but will not run around after them nor post goods out.
Aril

kezzajane

I love Freecycle & have been using it for over 2 years now, I've got rid of loads of old/unwanted stuff & picked up some of the bizarre & random items I often need for my voluntary work with a youth group. I have found that I can 'eliminate' at least 50% of responses by not offering to anyone who can't even use 'please' or 'thank you' in their request & another 20% who only use txt spk & not english!
I now put in my offer postings that I won't respond to anyone in the above categories - but it doesn't seem to stop them trying!:rolleyes:

Margaret54

Hi I have never used freecycle before, as yet, but interested to read all the posts on here. I think it is a very good thing to recycle, and hopefully more and more people will take it up. I have noted the good safety tips here too. I will see if there is one in my area.

hayley11

I'm a bit disappointed with my experience so far I must say

I listed a lot of things, 31 in total and I got a lot of responses. So I sorted it all out and then we picked names from a hat and I emailed everybody back to say what they had got. Only half of them got back to me to say they wanted the stuff and gave me a time they would collect today. A couple emailed to say thanks but no thanks which is fair enough.

So I asked everybody to give me an hour in which they would come round, roughly and I said that if they didn't come during that hour or ring to let me know then I would let somebody else have their stuff.

On Thursday a lady came to collect something and she was two hours late. Today somebody said she would be here at 11 and she still hasn't turned up. It's so annoying because I want rid of all this stuff so I feel if I say right you're not having it now, i'll be cutting off my nose to spite my face but I feel like they're taking the mick I bit.

It has kind of put me off a little bit. It has taken up so much of my time, sorting the stuff out, emailing people etc. I see it that I am doing people a favour by giving them things for nothing and the least they could do is show some manners. Well we'll see how the rest of the day goes anyway.

Nick1969

Im like one of the previous posters, when I email them to say the item is there,I also say if I nip out Ill leave it in a bag on the door.

I too cringe at the greedy people...I like good manners when Im offering items too.

I had one lady who offered to collect everything Id had listed but I said no, I wanted to give everyone a chance.

Another lady asked for two of my items with different user names but she cut and paste the message so I knew it was her...duh!

I have been sorting out my house and shed over half term, everywhere feels tidier and I feel more cleansed. There is something great about giving and recieving items on Freecycle, I usually choose someone who has given me something should they respond to one of my offers.

I have had a couple of people who havent turned up.

I try and sell my items on Ebay first and should they not sell then I give them away, at least then if they do try to flog on ebay then Im not so bothered.

My favourite item that I got was when I put a WANTED: Drumsticks, in my line of work I wanted the drumsticks for a group I was running with a group of children with complex needs.
One man who was in a band gave me 16 brand new drumsticks, he said they get sponsored so had loads. WOW! the children loved them :-)

I love FREECYCLE!

JulieM

In the spring, I always offer surplus garden plants and even cuttings on freecycle and get a huge response. Better in someone elses garden than rotting down on the compost heap.

Reverbe

I just had my first Freecycle experience. After a few people let me down after I responded to their offers within seconds and they never even bothered to reply, I managed to get hold of some wool for charity projects.I am not sure if I will be inclined to repeat. I as a woman dont feel comfy going to peoples houses and would prefer to meet in daytime in a public place to exchange. However I went to pick up the wool and despite it being quite late in the day ie lunchtime the folks there actually answered the door naked under dressing gowns and I felt extremely uncomfortable. As they knew full well when I was coming I didnt really feel it was the thing to do on their part.

Reverbe

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

i've listed quite a few things on ebay but the strange thing is i've only replied to two offers and haven't not even heard a sorry it's gone elsewhere. And i've not seen a note to say it's been taken. I wonder if my emails are actually getting though sometimes.

Same here Lemon. Emails take no time at all and manners cost nothing.:rolleyes:

Bronnie

With the greatest respect to previous posters (please don't view my comments as personal criticism), I think one has to view Freecycle quite objectively. My board mods are quite good about helping users do this.

The aim of Freecycle is to keep usable goods out of landfill. It is this aim that members need to have in mind from the outset. Freecycle does not exist to give the donor a warm glow when they give something nor to help provide for charities or needy families, or to do people favours, although using Freecycle can result in all these things.

Now of course we do feel happy when we offer something and an exceptionally nice person comes to collect it and we feel satisfied the unwanted item has found a good home; likewise we can feel a tad disappointed if we don't particularly warm to the person who collects from the doorstep, doesn't bother to send a Thanks message and we suspect is going to flog the goods on ebay asap.

However, Freecycle is about keeping goods out of landfill, so I try to be less personal and more objective. Of course, I use my own criteria for selecting recipients ( courtesy, spelling, posting history etc) that's part of the fun. After that, how it goes is how it goes. Some days, I just want rid of the stuff straight away, so the first to email can have it.

My board encourages us to report unreliable people. I never expect an email when replying to a post unless I'm successful, a lot of people just don't have the time to reply individually, so just keep an eye on the in box.
I leave a lot of stuff tucked away on the driveway for people to collect and wouldn't usually expect to go into someone's house, when collecting small items. If don't get a thank you email, it's no big deal, but they won't be first choice next time they request something from me!

There is always the charity shop option, if you feel Freecycle is not for you, I'm sure Freecycle is affecting the quality and quantity of their donations.

Personally I find Freecycle very useful for disposing of stuff and as I don't always have muscle around for heavy jobs (I do mention the 'muscle 'part in the post) , it has been very handy. I had an old damaged Belfast sink taken, that was too heavy for me to take to the tip, a huge lounge carpet lifted and removed and loads of gravel scraped off my front garden, bagged and removed ready for a new lawn all by willing and happy Freecyclers!

PS Please understand that some of us still in dressing gowns at midday:o , have been working nights, although you're right, they should be throwing some clothes on when expecting callers!