Freecycle?

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

I just read someone mention it in a thread and have never heard of it, Can anyone fill me in?
Thanks a bunch

 

[mesnowwhite]

Yes its legit. I use it to give away things I don't need. The only problem is that it will fill up your e-mailbox quickly as you will get messages everyday about people who have stuff to give away (offering) and people who are looking for a particular item (wanted). In hindsight I probably should have set up a separate email account for it! If you have something to give away you post it and then you will get response emails thru the site from people who want that item. You choose if you want to respond to the individual people or not. Then I usually send them an email confirming that they want it, or describing it or whatever, and then I leave it on my driveway and they come to pick it up. I've never had a problem, the items are always picked up by the end of the day when someone has arranged to come get something. I think its a great resource to give away stuff that you might have otherwise thrown away (such as random puzzles, or cellphone chargers to a phone you no longer have, etc). I even gave away peach tree branches once b/c someone posted they wanted some for their rabbits and I had some old cut ones waiting to be cleaned up in the backyard!

 

[ncbyrne]

freecycle can be a wonderful way to give things away, AND to get free items.
My DD was able to get a free sofa bed for her family room. My only problem is, like the previous poster mentioned, is that there are a LOT of email posts, and you have to weed through them every day. I set up a separate yahoo email account just for this purpose, but it will fill up quickly if not tended to regularly.

 

[rflorek]

Funny, I never receive emails except when I'm listing something - and I'm a member of 3 different local freecycle groups. Maybe when you registered, you checked a box or something to receive email notification of all new postings??? Like I said, I don't receive any emails unless I have listed an item, and I just go through the sites a few times a week for new listings.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

You can choose your email options. You can either get a new message each time someone posts, daily digest (which saves up all the messages for the day and condenses them into one message), only notifications from the moderator, or no email (you can read them on the group page.

When I was on freecycle, if you actually wanted to get something, you needed to have the first option where you get a message as soon as it is posted because things were usually spoken for within minutes. I think some people have their cell phones set up to give them the posts right away and they jump on lots of things that are offered. I always wait a while after posting to decide who gets it (usually the person who asks the nicest) instead of giving it to whoever was first.

 

[aTasteOfHeaven]

Freecycle . org ~ I think it's great! Find your state and then local cities. Then when you join, you can go to yahoo . com and click "groups" on the left side of the screen.

Some mods want to approve you before joining, probably to make sure you won't spam (?) You can set up to receive emails daily or weekly. You respond to an offer and wait to hear back from the poster to see if you "won." In my area, the baby stuff goes quick!

 

[aTasteOfHeaven]

I also prefer to gift anything to someone that is polite. I really hate when people demand my address!

 

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!
Does anyone ever ship stuff to people, I would pay for it for small items but I just hate giving my address to people on the internet, I have to small kids and I guess you could say I am a bit neurotic, so giving out my addy to strangers, kind of scares me.
I mean I leave stuff on the curb now with free signs for any of the neighbors to take but who know who is lurking on the internet!
that just might be my crazies talking though lol

 

[Ephany]

I freecycle and so far it's been an ok experience. Our group rules says that you can't give something away for 24 hours from initial posting and charities get first dibs. I've had quite a few no-shows, which I don't get since the stuff is free. If the first respondent hasn't shown up/emailed in a day or two, I just go on to the next person on my list. Rude, demanding and people who expect to come by the afternoon I post are all automatically crossed off my list of potential receipents; if you can't read/follow the rules you're out also.

Our group doesn't like curb alerts, so I use craigslist for that. That's worked out well for us; I don't give out our address until I'm emailing with the final person and I try to have them stop by when DH or the neighbors are home and about. Some people will only meet in public places like grocery store parking lots to keep from posting their home address.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

I love Freecycle.... Yes there are tons of emails in my group but I can delete what I don't want/need. You have to reply almost immediately to receive something worthy. I have given so much away and it helps me clean the house, get items to others who may need them and I have even picked up a few good items here and there...

 

[pyrxtc]

I don't ship but unless it's huge !!, then I meet them somewhere. There are some crazies out there (had an experience recently) so i don't give out my home address. But it is a great way to give away or find something.

"Our group rules says that you can't give something away for 24 hours from initial posting and charities get first dibs."

I don't get this rule. It wouldn't sit well wiht me that the mods decide when and who you are giving your stuff to. If I am giving stuff away, then I want them to be able to pick it up ASAP and I don't care if they are a charity or not. Some people who need the stuff are too proud to go througha charity but will get soemthing thru freecycle. I know mnay new mom's who don't have what they need but aren't poor enough to go thru a charity.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

I love Freecycle!

A few tips I've learned over the years:
- Join the largest group in your area. The one right in your town may only have a few members but if you go over one or two towns you may find a REALLY large, very active group and so long as you're within a reasonable distance you'll have no problem finding people to take your things off your hands.
- Set up a yahoo email account just for Freecycle and set your freecycle options to send you an email of every post.
- Go into your yahoo email every day or so and before doing anything, sort the inbox view by sender. That way, you can see if any tempting "Offers" are followed by that item being "Pending" or "Taken". This is a huge timesaver!
- Use a public place or your work to meet people to pick things up if you're not comfortable having them come to your house or vice versa. Personally, I don't mind giving out my address and like to do "porch pickups" where I can leave an item on our front porch and I only give my address to the person I'm donating it to. They pick it up during the day at their convenience and I ask them to drop me a note once they've got it. We live in a relatively safe area and I have a house full of big, loud dogs so I'm not really worried about too much.

Overall, I've gotten a few useful things which I was very happy with and I've given away a whole bunch of items and have gotten some very appreciative thank you emails and notes. My experiences so far have been very positive!

 

[kckmom]

I love freecycle! We have gotten and given so many things that it has been amazing.

I think there is a way to filter out so you don't receive emails of all postings, I don't receive any emails from both groups I belong to, unless it is contact from someone I emailed or for my posts. Check with your group moderators to find out.

I belong to a group for the county I live in and one for a town close by. As for giving away coupons and things, I ask people to send me a SASE for small items, or big items, I ask for a money order and I will ship if the person wants it.

We don't have as many restrictions as some of the groups, thankfully!

 

[PinkRhombus]

There is also a sister list to this called Cheapcycle.