Freecycle is it corrupt??

pulliptears

whitesnake29 wrote: »

I have found that some people using freecycle can be very rude, I was asked to paint some doors then she would have them, I was called a "!!!!!" for not allowing one man to take everything I listed, (I wanted it split amongst people), one lady asked for cooker, when I told her I had one she could have in two weeks, when my new one was delivered, she said "Oh no, I want a brand new one, not a used one".
I wanted to get rid of a load of Star Wars stuff, but had so many emails off obvious traders, some downright rude, that I don't know what to do with them now, charity shop refused them even though most are boxed and some are Japanese and American.

I had a lovely experience with Star Wars stuff on mine. My 11 year old DD is a big fan and collects the toys to play with, so we posted a wanted for her for beaten up figures etc. One lovely lady who lived quite a distance from us posted a couple of figures and a cup to DD. She was so thrilled to get them in the post
The problem is now people want lots of money for it, and its something I cant justify spending when the toys are going to be used as they were designed for...playing with

CCP

I get the impression that whether or not you like Freecycle is entirely dependent on which group you join. My mum is always enthusing about her local group and has never had any problems with the other members, while I'm been on the verge of abandoning Freecycle several times as I'm fed up with people requesting an item and then not bothering to turn up to collect it after I've waited in for them. :mad:

On the positive side, though, some people are really nice: one lady was so grateful for some sachets of cat food that I gave her that she emailed me a drawing she'd done to say thank you. Makes it all worthwhile, really!

notsoclevertrevor

Are there any worthwhile alternatives to Freecycle though? I haven't seen any yet.

CCP

notsoclevertrevor wrote: »

Are there any worthwhile alternatives to Freecycle though? I haven't seen any yet.

No, I haven't either. My employer has an e-noticeboard which people occasionally use to offer things for free, but it can only be accessed by staff members. I think Freecycle's cornered the market here!

brightonman123

could try gumtree (put zero as the price!), or freeads..

all three do attract spivs and timewasters, i guesss thats life, even more so in today's tight times..

its best to be clear and honest when advertising any item, noting any missing / broken parts, adding photos if possible.

be reasonablewhen arranging collection times- whay may suit you may not ne good for the other party (work commitments, travel time, etc).

i do think there should be a minimum time set after posting, before choosing a 'wanter', to allow all interested parties to get in touch.

rosebyanyothername

i used bristol freecycle and cardiff one and swansea and found they were good but you must be careful not to let people into your house if you are alone and even if not alone you should be careful one family in america were killed by a wierdo who wanted their stereo and tv that they offered. I know it is a raarity but still be careful and there are many more wanteds now in our local one that offered. everyone i have given too has been grateful but one man was obviously a trader and came for a bycicle i offered you just trust your gut and ask a few questions by email first the dodgey ones usually stand out. good idea in general but as rest of life beware the pitfalls. now loads of people are using it it is becoming more corrupt.

PrincessPlaty

I am a big user of freecycle and have been for a good few years now.

I recently moved from Manchester down to Essex but there was a 3 week gap in between getting all my belongings down here.

I put up a wanted ad on my new local freecycle and didnt get much response 2 replies i think was all.

But sitting back and watching the group i have now seen why, there are so many wanted ads going up it is ridiculous and i admit now i dont read them myself unless it is from a name i recognise as giving items away a lot.

Since then a woman that offered me a chest of drawers and a bedside cabinet from my wanted ad has become a very good friend of mine. When she came round to drop the stuff off to me my landlord was actually here and i was having a bit of trouble getting a receipt from him for my deposit money, my kids were being a pain and she came in took my kids in the living room and kept them amused so that i could sort it out, after we had gone we ended up having a cuppa n before we knew it 3 hours had passed :eek:

With her help i managed to get enough things to keep me and the kids going until all of our stuff arrived from Manchester. :j

I have given away things that the previous tenants had left here and have received some wonderful things in return :j

Yes you get the rude emails, yes you get the ones that want it all!! (I was actually listing stuff yesterday as i was unpacking through both my friends account and my account as one laptop was upstairs and one was downstairs we actually had one bloke email us both asking for everything he got ignored :rolleyes:) You just have to learn to use your common sense and ask questions. And where necessary report to a moderator. Luckily the moderator of our local one is very good compared to some of the stories i have read of others in this thread!! :eek:

ellionic

I have just joined my local freecycle to put my old 3+2 seater leather sofas on as i want them to go to a good home.
I thought i would come on here to see if there was any tips about freecycle and all i see is scary storys i am a bit undecided now on what to do.

CCP

ellionic wrote: »

I have just joined my local freecycle to put my old 3+2 seater leather sofas on as i want them to go to a good home.
I thought i would come on here to see if there was any tips about freecycle and all i see is scary storys i am a bit undecided now on what to do.

My advice would be to go for it - I'm sure someone in your area would be very gratenful for them. Just be a litle bit careful when choosing who to offer the sofas to (if the requesting email makes you at all suspicious, choose someone else) and make sure you're not alone in the house when the person comes to collect - common sense, really! I'd like to know how you get on, so please come back and tell me!

(With apologies for any typos - the cat keeps treading on the keyboards!)

Alan_Cross

I run my own blacklist of other members, as I'm sure many do. If anyone annoys me for any reason - and the usual one is simply a refusal to acknowledge requests politely - I never respond to any approach by them for my offers in future.

Tit for tat. It's hardly a perfect remedy but it goes some way to redressing the balance.

Also, the very first thing I do when I have a first reply to any offer of mine is to google the username - it's amazing how complacent some of these ebay traders are in using the selfsame tag for both ebay and freecycle. Needless to say, they get short shrift and reported to the mods.