Freecycle is it corrupt??

Joly_Roger

I use freecycle loads, I must have given away well over 100 - 150 lots over the last year (we had moved home & had inherited lots of things we didn't want) and probably received about 40 as well.
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IF someone wants to sell items on which I don't want that's fine by me. I just want the items gone and out of landfill. But I've nearly always given items to a different person each time so it doesn't seem like there's a person replying to everything. Also, if someone wants the items for a school that's even better as I then know it's going to benefit many many children.

I'm polite in my replies and I offer a collection time, so I tend to get lots of positive responses from people offering items. I use the same logic when choosing who to give items to.

The best things I've received off freecycle are:

A leather sofa, armchair and pouf for the conservatory,

A giant Yucca Elephantipes, also for the conservatory which the previous owner thought was dying, but I've nursed back to full health.

A 2m double trunked Cordyline which required a large van and 3 people to move.

A solid oak 6 seater table with 6 upholstered chairs, surface a little worn, but years and years of life left and not worried about my children damaging it. Took me an hour to disassemble it, but it's the centre of our dining room now.

A massive Agave Americana which needed 2 people to carry & just about fitted in my car with seats folded down. Would easily have cost £100 in a garden centre, but the previous owners were so pleased that I managed to get it out of the giant teracotta pot so that they could plant something else.

A swing for the garden

A Little tykes slide and mini climbing frame

A brand new see saw for the garden

A Black and Decker strimmer with instructions (previous owner migrating)

A petrol lawnmower (intend to start work as a gardener in the near future)

A flymo mini lawnmower (just had to replace the blades)

A garden shredder in perfect condition, previous owner just upgraded to a larger model.

A mid sleeper bed which my daughter loves as she can play underneath, hiding behind the curtains. I freecycled her old bed away (she was 2 & had never slept in it), but swapped the mattresses around.

I also saw a wanted ad for wood, so got a couple round to help me cut down my 20 foot eucalyptus tree for free. They got free wood for their log burner & I got help to cut down a massive tree which I could never have done by myself.

So, all in all I can say that i've helped hundreds of people but have received many items back and have kept items out of landfill, so I think it's been a massive success.

prowla

I both give and take on freecycle, and it is great.
There are two irritations: (i) the "Big ask for a desperately needed car" ads, and (ii) the scam ads for a gadget of some sort that you get a reply to go to a freebie points sign-up pyramid scheme.
But otherwise I've no issues, either in giving or taking.
The concept is that people come and take away things to save you dumping them; once you've handed the item over it belongs to them and what they do with it after is up to them - they can keep them or sell them on I don't mind!
For me, it saves me having to take things to the tip, to a "charity" shop, or putting them on ebay to sell for pennies.

RHYSDAD

I'm a member of three local groups and TBH we've had only good experiences (touchwood) so far. We've given away things and asked for things in return. If we have multiple things to offer i always state that i'll only let two items go with any one freecycler. We do this to discourage traders. I don't have a problem per se of people selling things on afterwards(the items do become theirs once they've been collected) but i don't want the local wideboy turning up everytime to take the lot. I think freecycle is open to abuse of course but so far a positve experience for us!!

electronic_cigarette_2

I think freecycle is a great idea as it helps people in need to get basic things like chairs and beds and that can't be wrong.
I am all for it.

twentypenceoff

Sarahsaver wrote: »

Re. Pianos several people have offered them but now I have given up asking for one. Someone even said yes I could have theirs but then let me down after giving me first refusal.

Noticed something else weird too.

Today on our local group email one post offers a kids basketball set (the net on a post)


Several posts down someone posts a 'wanted' for a basketball net.

This kind of thing happens too often for it to be a coincidence...

i have also noticed this with various items and as you say it would be a big coincidence

twentypenceoff

geordie_joe wrote: »

Because it would thier reputation more harm than good. recycling is very popular and business can lose customer simply for not doing it. They would lose even more if they openly campaigned against it.

Years ago the gas board took away your old cooker when you bought a new one from them, they may still do it but haven't bought one from them for a long time. This was not because they were trying to be gren or even recycling the old cooker. The main reason was to stop you selling it to someone else. The less second hand cookers on the market, the more you had to buy new.

Many companies are doing this now, for the same reason. I'm sure Curry's advertise on TV that they will take away your old appliance when they deliver your new one.

They may not be campaigning against recycling appliances, but the are fighting it.

some time ago i worked for a now bankrupt furniture company and from time to time we would run campaigns of so much of in part enchange for old furniture, then we would take it to the opposite end of the country, and sell it as a secondhand sales sweetner at low cost to get people ionto the shop.

twentypenceoff

geordie_joe wrote: »

We have a lot of charity shops in our small town. Don't why, but we seem to have more charity shops, chemists and barbers per head of population that any other town.

The charity shops always seem to have a few customers in them when I go past, but one that used to sell everything has gone over to just books because there is too much competition from the other charity shops.

I go into the one that sells book now and again and have noticed that any new or popular books are not much cheaper that wh smith's sells them for.

I guess they have started pushing their prices up as far as they can. But I've bought a couple of books from amazon that were cheaper, and in better condition that the ones in the charity shop.

and i think people are getting fed up when they read that charities are run like businesses and they pay managers of the shops £25000 a year, thats a heck of a lot of knick knacks that have to be sold just to cover the wages, i find that people are far more likley to want to support nowadays the animal sanctuary charity shop which is only open three days a week, or whenever volonteers can spare time, and is higgledypiggedly not like a boutique but where the prices reflect that they are donations

greenbee

geordie_joe wrote: »

Because it would thier reputation more harm than good. recycling is very popular and business can lose customer simply for not doing it. They would lose even more if they openly campaigned against it.

Years ago the gas board took away your old cooker when you bought a new one from them, they may still do it but haven't bought one from them for a long time. This was not because they were trying to be gren or even recycling the old cooker. The main reason was to stop you selling it to someone else. The less second hand cookers on the market, the more you had to buy new.

Many companies are doing this now, for the same reason. I'm sure Curry's advertise on TV that they will take away your old appliance when they deliver your new one.

They may not be campaigning against recycling appliances, but the are fighting it.

Electrical suppliers have to offer a disposal service as part of their producer responsibility under the WEEE directive. For business-to-consumer this can either be via your local civic amenity site (tip/recycling centre), or an inhouse service, depending on what scheme they are signed up to. The WEEE directive is very dull... I've spent alot of time briefing my colleagues on it...

DCFC79

greenbee wrote: »

Electrical suppliers have to offer a disposal service as part of their producer responsibility under the WEEE directive. For business-to-consumer this can either be via your local civic amenity site (tip/recycling centre), or an inhouse service, depending on what scheme they are signed up to. The WEEE directive is very dull... I've spent alot of time briefing my colleagues on it...

you sure as i saw an ad for i think currys it was and the ad said they were the only retailer who take away the old appliance

ruthiejane

I moderate our local freecycle group, and think its an amazing idea. Yes, its open to abuse, but then what isn't. There are some extravagant wanteds, but I like to think some are just checked there isn't one lying around in a loft/garage/drive before going out to buy one.

If you have a problem with the way your local group is being run have you mentioned the problems to your moderators? yahoo groups all have an -owner email address you can use to contact them, they should be listed on the group homepage. (YOURGROUP-owner [at] yahoogroups.com) If that doesn't work there are other people you can contact, eg (info [at] freecycle.org) don't forget to mention which group! All the info is at http://uk.freecycle.org/