Freecycle is it corrupt??

Ken68

If you want to get rid of an unsellable car, in this area, it would cost you £50.
And in the case of bulky furniture, and no transport of your own would be £60 Van hire or a skip at minimum £100.

Sarahsaver

Our local rag said that thieves are stealing cars for scrap, they sell for up to £100, so someone is wrong.!?!?!?

I am bracing myself to put some stuff on freecycle, I cant really sell it on ebay but it is not rubbish, just the grabby people leave you with a bad feeling. Still, got to declutter! With kids' clothing I tend to give it to friends first anyway.

BillScarab

borosteve wrote: »

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;)

Can't help with 2,3 or 4 but someone just gave away a brand new unused PS3 on Dudley freecycle. They'd won it in a raffle and already had one.

anewman

Ken68 wrote: »

If you want to get rid of an unsellable car, in this area, it would cost you £50.

Scrap metal is worth £110 a tonne AFAIK so not sure why you'd *have* to pay.

rosieben

I had to pay to get an old car taken away, normal practice in these parts

anewman

I suspect you're being ripped off. In Leeds there's adverts everywhere offering money for cars. No doubt they are one man bands removing the parts, then selling the parts and getting the scrap money value out of the metal. So they can pay people for their cars and make a profit.

Read here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6214181.stm

MORPH3US

Have given and received quite a few things from Freecycle.

I can see all sides of the argument, I wouldn't like someone to be making money selling stuff when someone else might have wanted to actually use it but couldn't afford to buy, but on the other hand, if I couldn't sell it myself, least its saved from going into the tip.

I suppose that at the end of the day, the success of the group depends on the people running it. In a way, thats why "dontdumpthat" is better because its a forum format so you can keep an eye on people who take everything and give nothing - much better than the freecycle format but its never really taken off.

angelavdavis

Hi,

Ref scrap cars, Trading Standards in my area has been cracking down on these guys that advertise cash for scrap cars - apparently some of them strip the cars for parts and then dump the cars - leaving the original owners once traced, with the council bill for disposal in many cases.

I have had good and bad Freecycle experiences. I ended up posting on here due to my frustration with one individual who complained about their free item and quit the site. I haven't really bothered since then.

Steel_2

....for the first time ever, I've resorted to checking out the people who reply to me when I put something on Freecycle. Not in a serious way, but just looking on the sites in my area to see what they've been offering and what they've picked up etc.

I've just put a chest freezer on Freecycle and made it clear I would wait for 24 hours to allow everyone a chance to send me an email and that traders were not to bother.

Of the people who replied, there were some who had never bothered offering anything so had no posts and some people who seemed to be after everything that moved. Others just emailed me and said they wanted it because it 'might come in handy one day'. And of course there were the ones who say: "I'll have it. When can I pick up?" to wit the answer is "Never. Sod off you rude !!!!!! and learn some manners"

In the end I chose someone who had moved from a homeless hostel to a house and had a family. His long record of posts on freecycle revealed him to be genuine and in need. He'd moved from an exisiting place to the hostel in the previous months and seemed to have put much of what he owned onto Freecycle. Now his family had a place to stay they had to start again with nothing.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so anal about who I want my stuff to go to - after all, it's keeping it out of the landfill isn't it? It's just the idea of someone taking my stuff and selling it irritates me. I could do that, but I don't because I believe there are some people with genuine problems that need the odd favour every now and then. If this freezer helps that family buy food bargains in bulk when they have the money and freeze them I'm pleased they've got it.

unsure

I've been a freecycler for several years and have given away far more than I've received (inc patio heater, garden furniture, green house, bikes, kids garden toys, computer and phone bits). I also have a friend who has given away a car, some decent garden machinery and a portable church organ on the same Freecycle group. It seems a pretty well run group although it has got more bureaucratic as time goes on. I think the mods do a good job and they have certainly banned known delaers who were trawling, trying to grab everything of value and selling on.

I would say the ethos has changed and become less friendly over time but that doesn't negate the basic vlaue of the system. Personally, I would rather give items to someone who needs them than someone who want to make a profit (otherwise I might as well sell the object myself). I think the way to make it work for you is to have your own set of rules and to make your initial offer clear about your views and preferences.

In the past I've said that I'd rather some of the computer gear went to a group (ended up with a nursery which was fine by me). I also ask people to state when they can collect items, and for higher value things, why they want them. Because I got so many rude " I'll take it. Where are you?" replies I now also state that polite requests will be preferred. Anybody who can't manage a "please" or "thank you" gets nothing from me...nor do those who wish to subject me to their religious views. The net result I hope is that people think a bit first before replying. I have met several nice people and have not had any problems (apart form the inevitable non-collection-- so I now state that in case of non collection the item will go to the next person on my list... which it does ). I always allow 24-48 hours before offering to someone to allow everyone who might be interested a chance and I always post a Taken notice as soon as the item's gone. I don't call people's mobiles and tend to do the transactions by email.

I agree there are some greedy people asking for everything under the sun but we are all free to ignore them, and anyone who asks for a high-value item without managing basic courtesy isn't going to be too successful are they? I've just given a computer printer away to a family friend some time after I got no replies that appealed to me when the item was offered on Freecycle.

All in all it's a good thing and helps many people. It would be a shame if the poor behaviour of a few undermined that. I'm happy to keep Freecycling while doing my best to avoid the sharks and graspers who frankly get everywhere and probably always have done.