Freecycle is it corrupt??

missyg_3

wilf55 wrote: »

i am sick of rude and blunt replies without a please or a thank you

i got rid of a tv few weeks back got 38 responses and gave it to the only one who said please!!!!

Wilf, I hear you! I look for a please (and/or thank you) amongst my replies before anything else.

I am starting to get turned off by people who send me too much of a sob story as well. A few lines will do to state a case, thank you :rolleyes:

angelavdavis

Hi, sorry if anyone else has posted here, but the following was sent by my local mod on freecycle as a warning to all:

__________________

I received this warning from a fellow freecycle group:

I have just received an email from a Crawley freecycle member saying
that he had left an item outside his house for a fellow freecycler
to collect. Also outside was an item for someone else totally
unconnected to freecycle.
When he returned home he had been burgled. They took everything of
value including his pc with his families photos on it.

PLEASE when offering an item do not tell people when you are going
out, just tell them that it is not convenient until such a day or
time. If they want the item they will wait to collect it.

I would hate to be responsible for running a site where this sort of
thing became commonplace so please take care.
There are many of you lovely people that are doing a kindness for
others, but there will always be someone with a different agenda.

Please, take care of yourselves and your property.

Firefly

Wouldn't it be more helpful if we could have a rating, a little like ebay? Then you could identify people who don't turn up, or who are rude and demand you phone them instantly on their mobile number.

You could also highlight those wonderful people who go out of their way to help and oblige.

blackwidowz

I am a moderator on my local group and we keep a database of no-shows etc.
We also operate a 3 strikes and your out policy, we are here to keep the groups running smoothly not to be abused(which we often are).
We do also have a rule that dealers must declare so, but some people do just see it as a money making site.

HappySad

Freecycle is FREE & cycle but it does not say what you do with it afterwards. if someone makes a living from junk that would go into landfill then there is no problem with that. I have in the past go a freecycle item.. used it for a while..then when I did not want it anymore sold it. it is ok for people to ask for whatever they want cause others may be in the situation when they just want to get rid of things without the hassel of selling. e.g I got rid of expensive stuff for free as I wanted my loft cleared quickly for pending loft conversion... so if someone then sold on my items then that is ok for me.

Cardew

HappySad wrote: »

Freecycle is FREE & cycle but it does not say what you do with it afterwards. if someone makes a living from junk that would go into landfill then there is no problem with that. I quote]

Well if you think your opinion is widely shared, why don't those 'making a living from junk' simply declare that they are dealers? Be upfront! honest!

You know, I know and surely everyone knows that the vast majority do not want their goods going to people for resale, and many groups specifically forbid goods being taken for resale.

It is also not a case of the goods going to landfill, the dealers deprive other people who could use the item.

Personally I think people who resort to subterfuge to obtain goods for resale are beneath contempt and it is an indictment of society that people can condone such behaviour.

BrandNewDay

I think a lot of the greedy grabbers may also be packrats/hoarders - those people who just can't say "no" to junk. I sometimes have the urge to reply to stuff that I know I don't really need, and I'm not even a packrat.

Katyag

Hooo ha just now in my freecycle group over peoples lack of manners. Then someone pipes up about how manners doesnt matter as its about saving the enviroment!

!!!!!!!!!! A please and a thank you is still nice!!

Ken68

Curious comments here, I think. As MoneysavingExperts we should be reprimanding Freecyclers for giving away items.
If someone has the contacts, transport and so on good luck to him.
In a year of Freecycling never have been asked if I am going to sell and if I did, would probably decline to pick up an item.
One in four loads has to be dumped anyway, and the rest has to be inspected cleaned stored whatever. And there is a collection cost to be considered, so it is not Free.
In fact to buy, Auction Halls are cheaper, minimal transport costs and a social occasion into the bargain.
Mind you furniture is a bulky thing to get rid of, means a skip for the offerer or otherwise inconvenient so most freecyclers fit in.

HappySad

Yes I think that traders should not lie but I have no problem with them having my stuff. They do not deprive someone from having the stuff because they are going to sell it to someone. What is deprived is someone having it for free.