...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!

Okay so 5 people at £200. Each of them pass it on after their 'crisis' has passed.

That's at least £1k stolen from charity if the freezer goes into the business sector.

I use Freecycle a lot (both ways) and I hate the thought that people just take things to sell on. Someone is even asking for carboot items on our local site today! I notice that the same person is someone who I offered two lovely old mirrors to last week. She didn't collect so I offered to someone else who has given them a good home. so glad the first person didn't get them as no doubt she would have just sold them!

It is one freezer, so it is only worth the price of one freezer.

If the person-who-gets-it-on-Freecycle passes it on, then at that point they do have to buy another freezer. If they pass it on then they have not saved the money, they have just delayed the time when they spend it. So the freezer is only worth one freezer at any point. It is not worth 5 freezers, it is worth one freezer that moves.

And it is still not stolen. It was given to her.

It would be nice to Freecycle it.

It would be a kind and charitable thing to do.

It might give you a warm fuzzy glow.

But it wouldn't give you £80.

And you have no obligation to do so.

I think you should freecycle it and then you have a clean conscience. It must be awful for people to put things on freecycle and then for someone to sell them on. dishonest IMO.

Someone?s generosity got you out of difficulty.

Now you want to know if you should keep that spirit of generosity going, or end it, so you profit from them twice, and no one else does.

Up to you what kind of world you want to live in.

You're a troll aren't you ?:o

I don't see why you are asking-put it back on freecycle and do someone else a favour.

YABVU. No question. Of course some people abuse Freecycle, but these people are wankers. Up to you whether or not you want to be one too.

i would give it to freecycle as seems the right thing to do. but to be honest, if you look at it with an open mind, even if someone lies (which isn't right, i know) and takes them and then sells them, the items are still being reccled and the seller might do this for a living instead of sitting on his arse sponging benefits, then again, that sort of person would probably still be claiming benefits.....

I think that generally it's up to you what you do with something given to you, and i'm not normally picky about who I give to on Freecycle. But not long ago I gave away my much loved still with some life in it ancient car, and said I was doing it specifically because I wanted it kept on the road. Since it went DH has emailed the family we gave it to to ask how they are getting on and they haven't replied. I fear they have scrapped it and that makes me very sad. We had other people who wanted it and we said to them if they got fed up with it to let us know so we could give it to someone else. So AIBU to try to attach conditions to something I have given freely? ponders on philosophy of Freecycle

OP, I think it's up to you, but in your position I think i'd give it away. What does your mum think?

It's not the freezer that will be stolen, it is the £80 from freecyclers which 'could' represent the cost of 5 freezers or so. You can't say that people will need to buy a freezer to replace the one they freecyled, there is more than one way of coming by a freezer and buying one is just one.

i've never heard of freecycle, what a great idea but i have to be honest, being a dealer myself and spending alot of time at carboot sales (i am not a carboot dealer, more a vintage/antiques dealer) i wouldn't be at all surprised if a huge proportion of what goes on freecycle ends up at carboot sales. i enjoy giving stuff i cannot sell to charity although i always take directly into charity shops. if you leave the stuff in bags outside it gets pinched (i used to live opposite a charity shop and used to what the bastards stealing the bags/going through them), if you give to the 'charitys' that put flyers through your door you are taking a chance, personally i wouldn't trust any of those flyers. to be honest, sometimes i do leave things outside with a note attached to 'take it away' ie cooker, sink, that sort of thing. the way i see it these people are doing me a favour, good luck to them whowever they are if it makes someone happy although i would prefer it goes to either a nice person who needs it or a legitimate scrap collector, the one who goes around ringing a bell as opposed to some thieving git which recently caught in our front garden, he pretended he couldn't speak any english, which he may well not have been able to, but he could have at least rung the bell and asked if it was there to be taken.

Dont make a profit from someone elses charity.

If the fridge is too good to give away then sell it, but either give the money to the original donator or to a worthy cause.

(Note - paying down your post-xmas overdraft is not a worthy cause )

Give it to a charity for disadvantaged people setting up home.

I'm with Trillian here. When I give something away, I don't care what they do with it. Personally, I think freecycling it on would be the nicer thing to do but do what you want.

Though it does seem strange that you would consider doing this when you were 'livid' at someone doing the same to you...

So, you were livid at someone selling something you had freecycled but want to do the same thing??

Soupy - the other people had lied and spun a sob story in order to get the stuff.

I think the OP has decided that since people lie to get Freecycled stuff she may as well do what is best for her with the fridge, because there's no guarantee that the person she gives it to will actually be in need.

YABVVU - The person who gave it to you, had he not come across your mum, was going to freecycle it, give it to someone who would benefit from it
To sell it is pretty greedy, freecycle it back, in the way in way given to you

But would it have been OK if the genuinely "young unemployed couple" had been selling the stuff?

I don't really mnd what happenes to the stuff I freecycle. I do think it wrong to sell on stuff you've been given but, since I won't know, there's nothing I can do about it. It is why I just pick someone at random when giving something rather than going on the basis of supposed need. I woldnt sell something I"d gained from Freecycle (but then again, I want to get rid of stuff, not gain more stuff!)

It's all to do with your conscience and whether you are happy with your actions.