Freecycle is it corrupt??

spookylukey

I've given lots of things away on freecycle and I think as long as you leave it a day or so to see who responds you will always find a genuine person who needs your item. Ignore the ridiculous wanted ads and only give to people who are polite and genuine and you can't go wrong. Saves me the hassle of taking it to the tip or listing it on ebay and the other person gets something they want for free.

I had some brand new padded reclining garden chairs to give away once and one of the first replies I got was 'Yes, I'll take them - where do you live'. I replied, 'Thanks for your interest but these have now been taken'. They hadn't but there was no way this person was having them, she then replied 'I'm coming to get them at 4pm, where do you live' :mad: In the end a lovely couple came to collect them, they couldn't afford a holiday that year so they said it would be lovely to sit in their garden and have their own mini holiday.

Another time I gave away a sofa bed, the couple I gave it to came to collect it and said how thrilled their son would be. They'd been looking to get him one but couldn't afford to buy him one. It almost broke my heart when they told me how a friend of theirs told them they'd seen one at the local tip. They raced down to the tip only to find it had parts missing that meant it was unusable. These are the type of people that I actually enjoy giving thimgs to

Zazen999

i used to freecycle alot - we cleared most of the old house of stuff when we moved here. The rudeness of some people tho was appalling. So i devised a little way of knowing who was genuine or not.

The last line of every one of my offers said 'when you reply, put in the reply what times you can collect. Not including this will mean i automatcally delete your email.' Those that are genuine will usually read more than the first line [and thus include a time in the reply]. Then, i did't get annoyed, as i would just skim for the time and if there was none, just delete.

I left after a while, too many charltans [lots of genuine but they get let down by the 'grab everything' brigade].

I usually just join for a short period of time when i have a few items to go, and then leave. Much easier that way.

gunslinger13401

Some groups are fully moderated, although this is discouraged. And often the yahoo delays problem hits some groups and not others. I have no idea why but have seen a neighbouring group go silent for 36 hous when other groups around them were working fine.

I have been checking other groups in my area and it seems that they are all moderated.I make this judgement because all posts are timed and appear for group consumption a considerable time later. I do not believe this to be a Yahoo problem as in A number of cases the posts appear at the same time daily despite being posted at various times.

Almost all groups put new members on moderation until they get the hang of things, It also helps with spam avoidance.

I dont believe all these posts are from new members.

We also spend A LOT of time correcting subject lines. The advice in the etiquette file members are sent when they join and then every month after that is to put "Offer/Wanted - Item - location" but for some reason, people don't do that. Not getting the subject line right is the quickest way to pi$$ off your moderators.

Totally agree it would make life easier for everyone.

Yup, it can happen. But there is a log of moderator activities that makes all of our actions visible to other mods on the group and, I think, to our bosses if they want to look. So if members were to complain to Freecycle UK about a group, any wrong-doing would soon be spotted and that mod would be in deep trouble and could even have the group taken away from them.

I think a lot of the groups in my area are run by one person or one or two close friends.So no safeguards there.

Members are encouraged to delete their own offers and wanted messages when they have given away or received something, it's good housekeeping. Check your emails/daily digests for any messages you cannot find on the group list, if you have the email then the message went out to everyone and was deleted at a later date.

Obviously I am checking both the posts on Freecycle and email.Only today there was a thankyou for the caravan. But the caravan has not been listed in last couple of weeks.

It is easy to suspect someone is re-selling, proving it beyond doubt is a bit more difficult. If anyone has any suggestions about how that can be done, without it becoming a full time job or everyone being subjected to lie detector tests before bieng given a Freecycle gift, I'd be glad to hear it.

No real solutions when greed is such a powerful motivator.

As for us living in a world in which greed corrupts all? No, sorry, I don't agree. Every day I'm in contact with honest, caring, people who chose to take part in Freecycle.

I agree and these are exactly the people who would go the extra mile to help someone in need. This is a good reason for these good people to use Freecycle.
In fact I have noticed a number of people who would need a warehouse to keep all the stuff they are offering.So they are obviously obtaining things elsewhere to help others out.

I apologise for my rash generalization.

if you think your mods are abusing the trust placed in them. report them.

To who? If the are as they claim owners of the groups there is nowhere to report them to.

Please dont say Freecycle main site because they are totally disinterested.
And state the mantra " all groups are different and can be run as their mods and owners see fit"

Thanks for your last reply.I look forward to your comments
Mike

gunslinger13401

spookylukey wrote: »

I've given lots of things away on freecycle and I think as long as you leave it a day or so to see who responds you will always find a genuine person who needs your item. Ignore the ridiculous wanted ads and only give to people who are polite and genuine and you can't go wrong. Saves me the hassle of taking it to the tip or listing it on ebay and the other person gets something they want for free.

I had some brand new padded reclining garden chairs to give away once and one of the first replies I got was 'Yes, I'll take them - where do you live'. I replied, 'Thanks for your interest but these have now been taken'. They hadn't but there was no way this person was having them, she then replied 'I'm coming to get them at 4pm, where do you live' :mad: In the end a lovely couple came to collect them, they couldn't afford a holiday that year so they said it would be lovely to sit in their garden and have their own mini holiday.

Another time I gave away a sofa bed, the couple I gave it to came to collect it and said how thrilled their son would be. They'd been looking to get him one but couldn't afford to buy him one. It almost broke my heart when they told me how a friend of theirs told them they'd seen one at the local tip. They raced down to the tip only to find it had parts missing that meant it was unusable. These are the type of people that I actually enjoy giving thimgs to

And this is exactly the kind of people we would all like to think we are giving our things to. Not greedy traders who are depriving these very people of the opportunity to recieve your items.
Kind of chills that warm glow somewhat.
Mike

borosteve_2

I've given away the odd bit of furniture - it sort of gives you a warm feeling inside but after reading some of these posts about grabbers it does start to make you wonder, so I'm going to post my Christmas WANTED list tomorrow. I would like:
1) A PS3 - must be under warranty
2) A WW2 flamethrower - preferably converted to unleaded petrol
3) An aardvark - would like a male but would consider female if no other offers.
4) A holiday in Oz with Kylie - must be last week in March, all my holidays have been used up til then.

Like someone else said if you don't ask, you don't get;)

meester

I thought this was a funny post on my local one:

wanted very urgently 7 seater car i know a big ask but will make a huge differen

if you know anyone who is getting rid of a 7 seater then please let me
know.
i really need it for the school runs
any 7 seater will do
thank you so much

meester

and another, who not only wants the car, but also the insurance:

This is a big ask i know but not impossible i hope! im looking for a
small run around in reasonable cond to take my daughter to school etc,
and as a single mum i cant afford the insurance and the cost of buying
a car. any help would be very greatly appreciated. thanks sara

Cardew

Surely Mike(the gunslinger) above speaks for the majority of ‘Freecycle’ members.

We do not want goods, that are surplus to our requirement, going to dealers who use deception to obtain those goods – and not declaring that they intend sell those goods is deception pure and simple.

meester

'I am seeking a good spec computer to use for internet access and as a
work aid. I am a student engineer and require a fast enough computer to
run computer aided design software'

anewman

I doubt anyone is going to give a car to a "wanted" unless there's millionaire's reading who like to give things away. Any car's put up, even if they're not all that great, will also disappear very quickly.

If you look around though lots, seriously, you can get a car for a tenner. They have managed it on top gear.

I'd reply telling them to walk and stop being lazy, lol.

I tried posting a jokey wanted ad but it was cancelled Don't see why they can't stop all those beggars making unreasonable requests.