Freecycle. They said please so they got the item.

Ken68

caro33 wrote: »

i tried to join freecycle (Hertford group) but they declined me, I have no idea why. Shame as I had loads of useful stuff (furniture,freezer,tools etc) that i wanted to getrid of. They went to the dump instead which is a real shame. I used to belong to a group in Devon when I lived there but up here seems to be more exclusive

Does seem a bit odd, Caro...only 408 members since June 05, maybe they split up.

HugoSP

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

I'd say the only fault you are demonstrating in this thread is reading too much into other people's posts. I have at no time suggested that the poster of that wanted ad was selfish, nor drawn any conclusions regarding the character and personal integrity of that poster. In fact, I posted that wanted ad to demonstrate what I considered to be a polite and genuine request for a laptop (unlike the chancers out there). I was backing you up, Hugo. Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. Another thing; just because I did not directly address your reply to me, doesn't mean I didn't read it. I merely chose to respond to a reply that followed yours in order to cover things said mainly in that post, as well as the comments you made. I didn't say the poster of that wanted ad had decided to follow any particular path - that was you.

Try reading my posts again, Hugo. Follow the advice given in your own post above and don't be so quick to judge.

My post was merely a response to this:

......The only thing that does bother me is that the poster has not offered the dead laptop up on freecycle.........

....and this, after I put the point across that there could be several reasons as to why someone my not offer said old laptop.

"Many people don not appreciate"? Obviously, there are some people who don't appreciate how easy it is to simply remove the HDD before giving away or disposing off computing equipment. If the poster offers up her laptop, I would expect it to be without the HDD. If she included the HDD, I would advise her to remove the drive before handing over the machine. If there's info on the drive she needs to transfer/recover, the easiest way to do it is via an external enclosure (stick drive in, plug in two cables, do up case, plug into USB port and bob's your mother's brother). That's assuming the drive isn't dead. Either way, it's not a hard thing to do. You can so easily protect yourself by taking the drive out. It's easier to do on a laptop, too.

...which is why I was unsure as to whether you had read my post.

Now. I may be wrong but it seems that the only point that you could be making by writing these posts is that you consider that someone should do something, and they have not - hence we are in danger of drawing inaccurate conclusions.

My only message to you is that inaccurate conclusions can be drawn if you don't have all the facts in front of you.

I'm not critisizing you or anyone else - it's just that many of the opinions here seem to be as a result of people either thinking that expnsive things are being asked for whereas some versions of those things are worthless - understandable but a shame.

Or, some people could be critisized for not taking a particular path when they don't know that they can or simply don't feel comfortable with it. Again, understandable but a shame.

EmRayMarRhys

I've had some fantastic things off freecycle, outdoor toys for the kids, duvet covers, toys and books. I've also been able to get rid of a fair few bits I no longer need this way too.

A few things have annoyed me though - the lady demanding I deliver a pair of maternity jeans to an out of area address over seven miles away, the wanted posts for the pink (must be pink) ipod nano and widescreen lcd tv....

Cardew

EmRayMarRhys wrote: »

the wanted posts for the pink (must be pink) ipod nano and widescreen lcd tv....

Well keeping an open mind, lest we jump to 'inaccurate conclusions', it may be that their ipod and LCD TV have gone faulty and they require new ones for spare parts to repair them;)

trundlecat

I use freecycle for all baby items & it looks to be working really well in our area as I often see things I've used & passed on once up for offer again (my DS1's baby walker is now on it's 4th owner). It's really great to see it in action when it works well, real money saving & reduced consumerism at it's best :-)

TC

carolbee

I posted ad for an item, had an email in reply saying 'I'll have it'!

Oh no you won't I thought, and offered to the extremely polite young man who came when he said he would and emailed me to thank me.

I think some people on our Freecycle think you have to pay by the word in email, they could be described as succient maybe?

amazamum

I just wish people would take a bit of time to decide who will get their item.
I often find that when replying to an ad that has just appeared it has already gone.
I replyed to a lady asking if anybody had some clothes that their daughter could have,as I had just cleared out my DD's wardrobe I though why not,she said that she was coming to collect them and over a week later still no sign.
I will be readvertising them,hopefully the next person will turn up.

grey_lady

First come, first served with me - i post on freecycle to get rid of stuff i no longer need, not to judge who is the worthiest cause, or the best letter writer. I dont feel thats my place or what its for.

HugoSP

amazamum wrote: »

I just wish people would take a bit of time to decide who will get their item.
I often find that when replying to an ad that has just appeared it has already gone.

My take is that it's down to the individual to decide how they wish. If it's on a first come first served basis then that's fine.

I've got a few things by being quick off the mark, and have been offered stuff on the basis that they preferred to give it to me.

I try not to get too disappointed if I don't get the item as it really is down to the person who owns it.

If you remember this then you can't go wrong.

What does annoy me though is when someone posts a message offering it to you, then you reply in reasonable time and they've offered it to someone else, or they've sent out 'it's yours' emails to 2 or 3 people and then choose the one that replies first.

If you say someone can have the item then I feel it's fair to allow them reasonable time to respond, even if they say 'Let me know by 8pm or I'll have to offer it to the next person'.

angelatgraceland

I run a freecycle group. My dd is at uni and has a laptop. She spilt water on it the other day and has a pile of assignments to be compleed by next week. OK while she is home she can borrow my pc but when back at uni has nothing. I asked on the group for a pc-anything capable of connecting to the internet and doing assignments on. I said very briefly why we were looking for one-to leave at campus.
We did receive one-about 8 years old but perfectly adequate and working, and very thankful for it!
Now-why are we not offering the laptop on freecycle???
Well, we intend getting it fixed when either we have the money, or someone offers to rebuild it for us/has the parts we need or whatever. We had trouble getting the info copied from it as the keyboard is not working and there is a problem with the motherboard. Anyway-we want to fix it at a later date.
When/if it gets fixed-the computer we were given will have a fresh install of windows on it and will be given away on freecycle. (along with the license before anyone starts)It may be a year-who knows? There are so many reasons-this was ours.

Hugo-I agree with you in what you say-at long last there is somone on here who actually understands the principles of Freecycle along with the complexities!