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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

WTF is wrong with people - Free Stuff

244 replies

Iamnotagoddess · 29/09/2019 17:54

So I have some furniture that I have offered on Facebook Market Place, for free.

The furniture is in good condition but it has slight (cat) damage so I have offered it for free.

Women messages me asking for more photos which I sent, she then messaged me saying they are “too worn” and she’ll keep looking. They aren’t worn at all, it’s our furniture and has been for some time and there is nothing wrong with it - and it’s free!! Why not just say no thanks and leave it at that.

Other people messaging asking if it’s still free and if they don’t get a immediate reply sending another message “??”.

I reckon I would have been better off asking for a tenner. Wtf is wrong with people?!

OP posts:
cherish123 · 30/09/2019 23:07

Agreed. Some people are tight. I saw someone selling a second hand mop (!!!) for £15 that she had used twice after buying it for £30.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 30/09/2019 23:09

That's horrifying, longwayoff, but not surpising - IMEb anyone who thinks that age makes folk exempt from this kind of thing is deluding themselves

The users at the community centre I once ran suffered endless thefts, until in the end I had to insist that they all opened their cupboards for inspection. This went fine until I asked the senior's group and was met with a whiny "Ooooo no puzzled, not the old people!!"

Once finally unlocked it looked like Aladdins cave in there ...

Mothership4two · 30/09/2019 23:13

Have given a few things away on Freecycle with no problems. But smaller good quality stuff and not furniture. Heard good things about British Heart Foundation, but probably depends on the store/store manager.

My dh's uncle, who lives just outside London, when he was clearing his house to move to a nearby flat, just put stuff outside and it all got taken.

VanGoghsDog · 30/09/2019 23:20

I've got someone coming round tomorrow to collect a DVD player. Last week I collected a maths revision book from someone in the village and bought her a tub of Heroes to thank her.

Someone is coming to prune and take away my fig tree when it goes dormant. She's offered me a piece of her artwork in return.

The village FB page usually works out OK.

All these people saying they just leave it outside don't live on a quiet cul de sac in a village!

gymraes · 30/09/2019 23:22

@Sobeyondthehills - Best laugh of the day
"I told him to wait a moment while I pulled one out of my arse. He left in a bad mood" (was that because you'd shoved it up his...??!!)

TheKarateKitty · 30/09/2019 23:42

Absolutely free things/selling things brings out the worst people.

In the US here, we also just put it on the grassy part on the other side of the sidewalk, someone takes it. Good.
Smaller things we save to send to family in my mother’s home country, whatever isn’t appropriate for there (like winter clothes are too hot for there) gets given away to friends or donated to a local charity shop.

eBay long ago was good about protecting sellers and enforcing rules. Now trying to sell anything is a joke. Lots of people either just playing with the bids, lowballing, trying to scam, or deciding they bid too much and try to put the blame on the seller.

I only sold items here and there to make money when decluttering. So items were one offs. I made sure to take multiple pictures and specified what kind of light they were taken in.

I had a couple of people get shitty because they asked about color, saying it looked such and such (way different to what was the actual color) I explained the color was as described in the description and how it appears varies due to their monitor/device. I was not rude, just stated it in a matter of fact way. I had one get defensive and another snarled at me that I was lying and she/he wasn’t stupid and that all meant my item was a FAKE! Hmm

When I worked cosmetics, the free gift with purchase and samples brought out the worst people. People that would insist on samples to sustain their daily use, want multiples to sell, never ever an intention to buy. Samples are for people to try, one won’t like every sample, I don’t always buy when I’ve tried something. Yet I try the sample because yes, I have intentions to buy if I like it.

Same for the makeovers. People would act like they wanted just the eyes done, then say, how about a cheek color, and so on until they had a whole look.

Wasn’t allowed to say no, yet got told off when the people wouldn’t buy a thing (they never intended to)! Some got the full face asked from the start, but didn’t buy. Like one that needed makeup for pictures. Some bought the things they’d need to touch up for their event, then return the used items.

Same with food samples. I worked that once, and it was amazing how people acted put out when you didn’t give them the pizza slice size they wanted, demanded more yogurt (then gobbling it down then saying I don’t need to buy it, I already knew what it tastes like).

di2004 · 30/09/2019 23:48

Some of them even want it delivered for free as well - how cheeky is that! Like you owe them a favour or something!

Sobeyondthehills · 30/09/2019 23:53

@gymraes

TBH that thought didn't occur to me, because I honestly couldn't figure out what he wanted me to do and if I am going to be honest my language would have been less polite if my son had not been there.

Reallyevilmuffin · 01/10/2019 01:00

R/Choosingbeggars. You need to ask for a nominal amount to avoid these nonces.

LucaFritz · 01/10/2019 02:18

I see alot of CF posts on my local sites that go along the lines of " Looking for baby clothes must be new with tags free or cheap and must deliver as i don't drive" Hmm
Or " is anyone selling a microwave must be brand new in box and deliver as i don't drive"
Always feel like commenting "go to the shops you cunt" no one ever comments on them though wonder why...
They always have the worst grammar and language too Hmm

BlueLines · 01/10/2019 02:32

You would be better to get the charity shop to collect it & sell it on.

Mrsvr6 · 01/10/2019 02:58

Help been with my partner for almost 17 years I was divorced he was widowed when we meet I am so desperate to be married now and this is causing so many fights we have 3 grown up children between us we have the forms from registers office to get married and he has told some people we are getting married this year but everytime i mention the forms he says here we go again I feel so low as if I am begging him to marry me
This pain is so hurtful tonight I am distort why is he with me if he won’t marry me

Butchyrestingface · 01/10/2019 03:40

@Mrsvr6, I think you probably meant to start a new thread rather than post to this one? Smile

Sweetpea55 · 01/10/2019 03:41

58Mrsvr6
Youv posted on the wrong thread love.

joyfullittlehippo · 01/10/2019 03:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Notajogger · 01/10/2019 04:59

Freecycle and freegle seem much better than FB - FB is full of CFs.

Anything that we can take down the charity shop though we do that, saves faffing about.

We had someone tell us we would "need to" deliver an old light fitting to a town 50 miles away :/ erm, nope, we don't need to do anything of the sort!

Iamnotagoddess · 01/10/2019 08:04

I have had crap experiences with Freecycle and Freegle too tbh.

OP posts:
EntropyRising · 01/10/2019 08:12

Freecycle urgently needs profiles with feedback.

Why don't they have this?

I occasionally receive emails asking for volunteer moderators, I think I might just do it.

EntropyRising · 01/10/2019 08:12

I see alot of CF posts on my local sites that go along the lines of " Looking for baby clothes must be new with tags free or cheap and must deliver as i don't drive" hmm
Or " is anyone selling a microwave must be brand new in box and deliver as i don't drive"
Always feel like commenting "go to the shops you cunt" no one ever comments on them though wonder why...

-----

Hilarious.

ThrowThoseCurtainsWide · 01/10/2019 08:24

With furniture, I listed it as free, but took the photos outside. Put on the post that it was in my garden and free to collect for that afternoon only. It was gone within the hour!

SchadenfreudePersonified · 01/10/2019 08:26

Thank you for the Fleegle link Nexa.

I'd never heard of this site. I have a chair and footstool too good to throw away - i was going to contact a charity but they always take ages to collect. I'll try this.

Notajogger · 01/10/2019 10:23

@EntropyRising
You could try Freegle which has feedback/profiles, so you can see how active someone has been, how many things they've posted/received, thumbs up or down etc.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 01/10/2019 11:54

The different attitudes among the charities who collect can also be surprising

I had BHF in when clearing my late DF's home and two guys walked round with curled lip over what was actually very decent furniture. In the end I told them to leave and called YMCA, who were genuinely glad to take almost everyting - the depot manager even called me later to say how pleased they were with it

I still can't quite work out why there was such a difference, but there you go

JackJack199 · 01/10/2019 12:23

Friend of mind was giving a fridge away, left it outside with a 'free to collector' note on it.

It stood there for about 10 days, so friend adds sign For Sale £50 ono.

It was stolen during the night.

Happy Days

LucaFritz · 01/10/2019 13:34

BHF are a rip off anyway i tried getting some furniture from there a few years ago when i was just starting out all alone and some of the stuff they were selling was so expensive about £400-£500 for a beaten up leather sofa Hmm don't know who sets the prices in these charity shops