Mumsnet Talk

l gave away most of the dt baby things on freecycle I gave a huge amount to one lady who said her sister was having twins and gave a sob story about how the 'dad' had run off and left her with nothing.

i gave everything i could find cots/bouncy chairs clothes she wouldn't of had to get anything for 6 months +

I found the furniture and bigger items on ebay and she had a table at the local carboot sale piled high with the rest of my stuff. I was gutted if she hadnt of lied to me i would have donated to the local womans shelter where the stuff would have been given to people who actually needed it

Here's my one from our local Freecycle as promised. I don't think the person got what they were after (but who knows?) In fact I know that s/he was banned from the site for abusive behaviour towards other members!

"I am looking for an old fashioned style winged armchair in reasonable condition, small queen anne legs, preferably a plain colour, for an old fashioned style classic interior"

and another wanted ad from the same person:

I am looking for a square dining table, classic queen anne leg style, dark wood and possibly 4 matching chairs"

Specific much?!?

I agree with the poster above who said that Freecyclers are just a reflection of the wider society; some of us are nice, some are not so nice. Personally I have had almost all very nice experiences. We've given away some stuff which was really useful to others and we've been given some lovely stuff ourselves which has helped us out in a pinch (eg a lovely big solid wardrobe for our son's room). Also met a few weirdos. But a few weeks ago I went to pick something up which was very, very useful for a friend of mine who's on a fixed income. I got chatting to the woman giving it away and we ended up having tea and cake and talking for nearly 2 hours! It was a lovely experience and I sent her a thank-you card afterwards. My friend was rapt with the item and so everybody was happy!

After reading this I think I will pit the hamster cage on gumtree, rather than somebody else do it.

We had a lovely couple with 3 small kids who collected DS2 old drum kit and a storage unit. After they collected they sent me pictures of them, kids and granny having a go on drum kit and my storage unit revitalised with storage boxes named cars, dinarsours, art etc.. So lovely to see it goes to a good home.

The rest of my experiences are fine and do 't actually mind if they sell items at car boot sales etc.. Can't imagine they make a fortune and admire anyone who gets off their back side and shows some entrepreneurial spirit.

I had a bloke that turned up to collect the item, and once I had handed it over he looked around my hall and said "what else you got"! Cheeky fecker

I got a best friend on freecycle
I'd moved to a new area and she had posted a wanted for the very item I was on freecycle to offer.
Offered it to her she actually lived round the corner.
When she arrived with her dc she stayed for a cup of tea. We continued meeting at the school gate and a couple of years later I was her bridesmaid.

One time I saw a sofa I wanted on freecycle so I said that I was interested and the lady said I could have it. I said thanks but there was no further response, no time for collection etc. After 3-4 days, I contacted her again and still no response. A further 3 days or so went by and I got an abusive email from HER saying how rude I was for not picking up the sofa Honestly, was I supposed to knock on every door in the city in the hope that it was her house!!

I've stopped listing ds's old clothes on freecycle because the same woman always asks. She lives around the corner from me and I have give her loads of stuff in the past, but when I see her out and about she blanks me - she didn't always though.

I've given away a few bits on freecycle, and it's worked the way it should - people receiving things they need and preventing unwanted but perfectly serviceable items from going to landfill. I also got a really lovely thankyou email from a young couple who were setting up home for the first time and received something from us.

However, there always seems to be a large number of really cheeky requests on the local pages - "looking for a 3 seater sofa and 2 chairs, must be brown leather and in excellent as new condition" or someone asking for fishing gear and flat screen TV's (MUST be 42" or above) to give as Christmas gifts!

The ones that get on my tits are the responders (sic) who just put 'Hi I can collect this item?', in response to a post where you ask people to advise in their emails when they can pick up, contact details etc. Well good for you, but I'm not going to enter into a protracted email exchange, just to find out that you will only pick up on Monday nights after 9pm, so these automatically get ignored.

The vast majority of my Freecycle exchanges have been positive. I've had a homemade loaf of bread, a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to say thank you, from people who have collected things I've given away.

The best thing I got from free cycle was a lady offering a groupon voucher for hair cut and colour! She couldn't get an appointment that fitted her before it ran out. I could have kissed her when she gave it to me, hasn't been able to afford a cut for ages!
Mostly people are nice but I don't respond to idiots, and some are rude.

Lovely just had a thank you email with an attached photo of someones gorgeous baby in the bouncy chair we gave away yesterday. So lovely to know DS's outgrown things are being well used

I got a wonderful brass bucket type preserving pan on freecycle. I think it must be Victorian. The older chap who gave it me was a bit taciturn and shy and said it had been in his family but he had no one to pass it on to. I cherish it and hope to keep it in my family for a long time to come.

When I offered stuff I did get some cheeky people. I just went with the first polite response to be honest. This was about 7 years ago though now, I don't think the car booters had heard about Freecycle then. Greedy so and sos.

On the last Freecycle I was a member of you weren't allowed to give any reason why you wanted something, to prevent sob stories etc. This meant replies were often extremely terse!

I've given plenty of things away on freecycle, and sometimes it is difficult to choose who to give it to. Mine tend to go to those who are polite, give a reason and can pick up the soonest.

I gave away two freezers to a woman, who I'm sure went on and sold them. She very cheekily asked me if I wanted to give the mirror on the wall away too!

Recently I've noticed some people reply with a couple's name ... So two names in the sig, strange. I've been deliberately ignoring those, as it sounds like you are trying too hard ...

Once picked up some baby items from a lady. They stank and were in terrible condition I am so reluctant now to pick up anything on freecycle.