Giving things away, why is it so hard?

[Tobuyornot99]

Having some building work done, table and chairs will be replaced in due course so thought I'd get rid now to save working around them.

Charities will come in 2 to 3 weeks to see if they want them, no guarantees they'll take them (solid wood table, 4 lovely chairs).

Freebie section on Gumtree generates messages like "wots ur adrs" when I reply asking if they have a big enough van and when can they collect I just get "wots ur adrs" again.

I'm half tempted to chop the thing up and burn it, obviously won't though. Why is it so difficult to give away good quality things!?

Gumtree is bad for that, try freecycle maybe? Or call a local second hand furniture shop?

We used the councils bulky collection service. £30 and they took two sofas, a barbecue and a sideboard. Will do this every time now as it was hassle (and idiot) free.

Odd. Our local charity shops would collect items like that, sorted.

I hadn't heard much about Freecycle but will give it a go now.
I thought charities would be all over it, but I called 3 amd they all have a 2 week wait. I guess they need more volunteer drivers or vans.

I'd just put on the street with a "Free to take" sign, and a post on your local FB group if you have one.

FWIW when the British Heart Foundation came to mine, they refused a few things for reasons that seemed mad, so I wouldn't try them again.

Local facebook buying/selling/for free group? I have had fewer timewasters with that than with freecycle.

Hummus,I may give that a go and risk the wrath of the neighbours

I leave everything outside for the fairies. Chiminea, old (clean) drum bbq, dismantled shed... it all goes including one lonely unused new fence panel. It normally sits there for 24 hours and disappears some time in the middle of the working day

Sometimes if things are free, people don’t attach a value to them. If you put a nominal charge on them, their perceived value goes up.

My Dad couldn’t give away his (perfectly nice but old) piano. I sold it for £100.

Try listing on eBay.

I agree with leaving it out for fairies
Saturday mornings are good IME as more access to friends or relatives with transport I presume
I've left cupboards, tables, painting equipment, birdcages, a punchbag- all gone in a couple of hours

i’ve found facebook marketplace really good for this recently. put it on there, with a nominal fee (maybe £10?!) and you should get lots of interest. obviously there’s the usual few daft messages like can you deliver when you’ve clearly said you can’t. but i’ve sold a double bed, lamp, mirror, and radiator cover all within a couple of days.

I had trouble trying to get rid of a sofa on marketplace. It was all fine I just got a new one, so i didn't want to call the council for it as it still had life left. Eventually it went via marketplace but after gods knows how many messages and lots of being messed about. I agree you are more likely to actually get rid of it if you put a price, even £5. People seem to mess you around more if they are getting it for free. Donate the nominal amount to charity.

Freecycle has always been good for us (never listed but collected a few things).
We usually git things on on a page we have local to us which is dedicated to 'keeping things out of landfills'. Everything is free listed, but it's also ideas for upcycling, recycling, charity etc. Maybe there is something similar? People have lost a lot of manners online.

I was doing a (small) house clearance and charities weren't interested or wanted to charge a fee. Ended up getting rid of everything very quickly via Freecycle.

I agree. I had things to sell and tried so many charities, including a very local one for homeless people. They’re always advertising for stuff, but didn’t want it. I know that furniture has to have the non flammable labels, but ours had everything needed.

We’ve still got a deconstructed tv stand under the spare bed. Absolutely nothing wrong with it and a couple of years old.

We have a skip outside at the moment (ours!) and that has been brilliant for getting rid of random bits of unwanted ‘stuff’. Put the items on the top of the skip and ta-daaa... they go overnight.

We just put stuff on the end of the drive for people to take, or give to the local hospice charity.

I agree with just putting it outside and someone will take it. We have put furniture outside our house twice with the intention of taking it to the tip, one time it just disappeared within a few hours, the second time someone knocked the door and asked if they could take it. We live in a cul-de-sac so not many people passing, not sure how they just stumbled across it but we were glad to get rid of it easily.

I agree with Facebook for a small cost. it's easier to sell for a small cost than it is to give away.

I know its awful but from our experience it's due to the people a free advert attracts. Someone reliant on a friend for a lift to collect who subsequently lets them down, people who are paying are just so much less likely to let you down.

Freecycle, or often you can pay the council to do a "bulky waste collection". They'll usually take up to 10-15 items ie mattress, table etc