Freecycling

[Babalu]

Is anybody freecycling - giving and/or getting? I was doing a lot of it but taking a break from it now. The people were getting kind of annoying (no-shows,etc.) and the only way to recover is to take a break. They were better at showing up than the Craig's List people though.

I gave away some large things, such as a credenza, and I even had a woman come to cart away wood from a tree (this saved me hundreds in carting fees ) I got some good things such as a paper shredder, food and even a frozen turkey.

What are your experiences?

[SouthShoreGirl]

I haven't tried it. Honestly, the site for my area was just too much email to sift through and keep up with.

[amandajane]

I use it, and I get each email as they are sent. I've given away a lot of stuff, an upright vacuum cleaner, treadmill, books, craft stuff, kitchen stuff. I've also gained a two year old sewing machine which works perfectly after being stored in the ladies house for a year.

I can imagine it would get difficult if there were a larger group though.

[Philip Brewer]

Is there some mechanism within Freecycle to shrink what's considered a local area? Because that seems like what would definitely reduce the "too much mail" problem and might help some with the no-shows as well--the more members perceive the group as being neighbors, the less likely they are to act like jerks.

Does anybody know? Could the Frecycle local area be divided in half or in quarters, if it covers a large city?

[Babalu]

Freecycling tends to be divided up into counties, like NYC boroughs. Oftentimes you can choose to be on a list out of your county, but have to do business in the county you signed up for. You can an option to receive archive emails, meaning you won't have to deal with a boatload of single mails each day.

[Philip Brewer]

Originally Posted by Babalu

Freecycling tends to be divided up into counties, like NYC boroughs.

That works great in places like Champaign-Urbana (where I live). In, let's say, Los Angeles, it might work better to break the area up into pieces. And, looking at the Freecycle site, I see that they do just that. Here's the list for Orange County:

• OC - Anaheim
• OC - Fullerton
• OC - Garden Grove
• OC - Huntington Beach
• OC - Irvine
• OC - Laguna Niguel
• OC - Mission Viejo
• OC - Rancho Santa Margarita
• OC - Santa Ana

(LA County doesn't seem to have the convenient naming convention, but it looks like they do the same thing.)

I just don't know if there's any easy way to take an existing area and split it up.

[FitandFrugal]

I haven't done it lately because I think I'm down to the basics, but I've done it in the past and I've had nothing but good experiences. All but one person showed up when they said they would, they didn't hassle me, they sent a thank you email afterward. I haven't used it to collect anything, though, because like I said, I'm pretty much have what I need.

[lucille]

I use it all the time and help mod a local Freecycle group. Ours keeps a 50-100 mile radius rule. If you live up to 50 miles from the center of town you can join. Our metro has a ton of sprawl and outlying burbs. We sometimes let people outside the 50 mile zone join if they commute to town for work or school on a regular basis so they can do things while in town.

Every group has their share of bad apples. Some groups are tougher on no shows than others. Ours finally made a penalty system for no shows because so many members were complaining about them. I personally have kept a blacklist of people who have no showed or done something else really flakey and I don't respond to their emails.

As far as receiving things, we have lucked onto some really great finds. We got a king sized oak waterbed, these were the top of the line when they were new. We still use a waterbed due to both of us having arthritis. The person who go rid of it was grateful to get it the heck out of her attic that she was remodeling. We received one of those Fisher and Paykel dish drawer dishwashers. The guy that had it, got it from a remodeling job and decided he didn't have time to mess with it. It took a bit of time but I got it working just fine. Someone gave me enough tumbled marble tile to finish our bathroom floor, I already had a few boxes at home.

We have been power cleaning our house for the last two years. We accumulated a ton of stuff through four moves plus our kids are always outgrowing toys and clothes. We have given out more computers than I can count. We had piles of them that my hubby had brought home from work when they tossed them. We have had some good feedback for things I had not thought twice about. The person that gave me the tile said we gave her a computer when they were in a financial pinch and she had to finish her college classes. The person who gave use the waterbed later needed a computer for her kids, we happened to have one gathering dust that was fairly new. She appreciated greatly something that was just taking up space to us.

It can be a great way to move things around it just takes a bit of effort sometimes to sidestep the people who can be less than reliable or who don't understand the concept.

[RickLee]

..away my inventory that became scratched, dented, or otherwise too difficult to sell.

So far, I gave away a Tobi Steam Iron to a religious organization for their choir robes.

RICKLEE

[mzScarlett]

I use freecyce & another local one rogue recycling in my area; I have given much away; & gotten a pair of canaries; a guinea pig complete with cage, etc, which the lady actually brought to me cuz it was snowing & I don't know how to drive in it! I also have delivered items to nearby neighbor towns, when I was in area to help save gas for other person! I have gotten keyboards, mice, & computer monitors & towers so my grandkids have computers! usually not as a unit tho; have given curtains, wooden headboard, teapots, egg cartons, shoes, etc; absolutely love it!