...to eBay something I was given on Freecycle?

[quandry]

My Mum's freezer stopped working and I asked on freecycle if anyone had one we could borrow/have to tide her over until she got a new one.

A man offered us one, saying he was just about to freecycle it when he saw my request.
Said we could have it, and could we freecycle it after we'd finished with it.

Mum now has her new one, so we need to get rid of the temporary one. Thing is, it's actually in really good condition - only about 18 months old, and I reckon I could get at least £80 for it on eBay.

I can't decide if it would be 'wrong' to eBay it. After all, when we picked it up the man said we were 'doing him a favour' by taking it away...

I can't decide... £80 would certainly be useful after Christmas!

[mutznutz]

You can make as many excuses as you like but you took charity and the decent thing to do is to give charity. You appreciated the help when your mum needed it so getting money from this person's generosity would be crass in my opinion.

Plus the idea of freecycle is to keep things out of landfill sites...whoever you sell it to may not feel strongly about that.

[ApocalypseCheeseToastie]

If it's in such good condition why on earth did your mum buy one ??!

[StartingAfresh]

It's polite to say 'thanks for taking it off my hands', it doesn't mean 'and therefore I don't need the £80 you are going to sell if for'.

FGS just because other people lie, doesn't give you any justification for doing the same.

I care very much what happens to items I freecyle. I don't make conditions but I trust and believe that on balance people are honest.

I'm sorry that your mother is 'needy' but that doesn't give you licence to steal.

[Rockbird]

You know you should freecycle it. I don't know why you're asking.

[FudgeGirl]

Freecycle it. As we say in our house - pay it forward.

Can't believe you would consider making money out of someone's kindness - you should pass on that kindness by helping someone else.

We've had stuff off Freecycle that we would NEVER sell on - we've put it back on there. Also stuff that we've offered (cement mixer and scaffold tower) that we passed on and people agreed they would Freecycle it to the next person when they had finished with it - I'd be really saddened to see them selling it having been done a good deed.

[theevildead2]

Sorry they asked you to freecycle it after.. WOuld be pretty crap to sell it tbh.

[FudgeGirl]

We gave away 2 huge boxes of baby toys to someone who said they were a young couple, both unemployed, with a second baby on the way. The bloke who collected them was supposedly a helpful 'uncle'. Bizarrely we then saw him selling the whole lot at a car boot sale a week later. I was livid

Yet you're going to do the same? Unbelievable!

[theevildead2]

Apocoplolyscheesetoastie makes a good point. Especially if your mum hasnt got loads of money

[cocoachannel]

YABU, and hypocritical for being livid at the man who took your toys and sold them, then considering doing something similar. The way you have enhanced your argument is also bad form...if your Mum us so badly off why not keep the perfectly good £80 freezer and not buy a presumably more expensive new one?

[TrillianAstra]

That is a good point - why did you go on to buy one if it's 18 months old and in great condition? Why not just keep this one?

Is your mum in some kind of sheltered housing where they provide furniture and white goods or something? If so then they shouldn't have left her without a freezer.

[beanlet]

I'm sorry, but your breathless hypocrisy stinks. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you were livid seeing someone sell what you'd given them for free, how dare you even contemplate doing that to someone else.

Unbelievable.

[taintedsnow]

YABVU, but it seems you have already made the decision. Your reaction to the baby things says it all really. The man giving you the freezer was just being nice about it, he clearly wants it freecycled and this is what you should do whether or not he even mentioned it.

Do the right thing and stop trying to make excuses. Your OP doesn't sound like your mum would get the money anyway.

[BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree]

of course we'd all like the money. Who wouldn't?

But sometimes you have to put your charitable hat on when you've been given charity and pass on the favour.

[TrillianAstra]

Breathless hypocrisy? Nice phrasing.

The difference is that the man who wanted the baby stuff lied to get it.

The OP has not lied.

This is why, when you give stuff away, you shouldn't spend hours agonising over who needs it more. Just give it to whoever can take it away at the time that is most convenient for you.

[MainlyMaynie]

YABU. Why do you think you have the right to profit from someone else's generosity any more than the man at the car boot sale?

Put it back on freecycle, if no-one wants it then you are free to ebay. I tried to Freecycle a fridge recently and no-one wanted it.

[BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree]

wow - the stuff I could get on freecycle - use for a couple of weeks and then flog on - I could make myself a nice tidy profit by the end of the year - and that would be fine wouldn't it????????

[TrillianAstra]

Everyone is very preachy preachy about Freecycle.

"It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills." is what it says here.

Not "It's all about giving to the most needy and getting that warm fuzzy glow."

If you want that warm fuzzy glow go ahead, but once you have given something away it is not yours anymore.

[TrillianAstra]

Go ahead Baroq - as long as you're not lying and wheedling and crying and claiming "my seven children will have no shoes if you don't give it to me".

[StartingAfresh]

She is stealing from other needy people.
If it is a good working fridge that could be up to 5 needy people that have to spend £400 each that they wouldn't otherwise.

That's like stealing £2k from needy people that may be more or less needy than her mum but still.........

Once something has been put into the freecycle network, there it is supposed to stay.

[BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree]

- I was being sarcastic.

[LadyLapsang]

I definitely think you should Freecycle or give it to a charity. Recently gave something to a neighbour that he said he desparately needed because I thought his need was greater than ours (although it pained me to give it away as I loved it and was going to use it). I now strongly suspect he has ebayed / sold it; left a bitter taste in my mouth.

[TrillianAstra]

WTF are you on about StartingAfresh?

You can buy a freezer for well under £200, not £400.

If the freezer is in a house with 5 people, they only need to buy one freezer, not 5x the cost of a freezer.

The freezer can only be in one place at once.

So your maths makes no sense whatsoever.

She didn't steal it. It was given to her.

There is no rule that items must stay in the Freecycle network.

[TheMonster]

YABU. Freecycle it on to help someone else who needs it.

[TrillianAstra]

I know you were being sarcastic, but yes I am saying that if someone wants to give something away to you (because they don't want to ebay it themselves and don't want it to go to landfill) then you can choose to do as you like with it after that.