Freecycle (Merged Thread)

I'm an ex mod/co-owner of my local Freecycle(R) group (don't forget the copyright laws!!!) I went back to being a member when i had my last baby, as it was taking up a lot of time which i didn't really have going spare!.

The point of RECEIVED posts is so that if you have previously placed a WANTED ad, Other members know that you have now found the item, and are no longer looking for it. I agree it can be rather confusing/irritating especially as people tend to post RECEIVED if they have been given something which has been previously OFFERED on the board, and cannot be approved, as per freecycle rules, creating more work for the moderators. I don't think there should be any RECEIVED's at all to be honest! Who really cares if you finally found a dog bed???

I'm still an active member on Freecycle and mainly give stuff away (theres 5 of us in a tiny house so i give loads!!), but recent events have made me wonder why i even bother! I offered a cot bed which i got off there myself, but never got round to assembling, and now we don't need it. A lady emailed to ask if i had any bedding, she has a cot bed but desperatly needs bedding!! :mad: BEGGING for something i haven't even offered!!! and then last night, I logged in on Yahoo messenger *a rare occurance, but was chatting to an old friend* I got an instant message from another Freecycle member saying 'hi do you have any boys or girls clothes age 1-4' (again asking for items i've not offered!!)

Today- the people who collected the cot bed randomly knocked on my door asking was there any more bits to it! (an email in advance would have been nice- and i did state i'd got it off FC in the first place but never assembled it as been bought a new one) I find that sooo rude, I would never dream of begging for items from other members unless they had offered them, and as i've been clearing out recently in preparation for my new baby who is due in July. The amount of 'ill av it mate give ur addy' or 'yeah ring 07999 999999 asap' :mad:

Why should i go ringing people's mobiles running up my phone bill to give something away? i always state in my ads that i'll only arrange collection by email, and the amount of phone numbers i get given is unreal!!

I had someone once who wanted a wardrobe i was giving away, they seemed like the most needy, so I offered it. When arranging a collection, I then realised she was paying for a man & van to collect, so I offered to deliver it for petrol & beer money, to which she gave me £20 for a 5 mile round trip! All be it there was a lot of sweat in getting a wardrobe into the car! This was a person who needed but wasnt able to collect (genuinely) and so had made arrangements for this, but was more than generous in response to my generosity of time