To feel like giving up on Freecycle.

[Robotlady]

I love the idea of Freecycle and have been on and off it over the years. I always end up thinking I've had enough and leave though.

Recently I've offered three items and picked up one. The offers have all been met with contact from people who say they want it and then NEVER GET BACK IN TOUCH.

The area where I live is identified in the original post, I reply with my address and contact number and then...nothing!

If they change their mind, it's absolutely no problem, why don't they just message me to say?

Why do this?

I hang on because people have stuff going on in their lives and I'm trying to be fair to someone I've agreed to give something to, but I shouldn't have to chase them.

I was quite specific about collection on the last one and yet it happened again.

The item I collected, when I first contacted the person, said there were a couple of people before me and after a few days they contacted me and said they were no shows and I could have it.

Maybe it's just our local group. Such a shame though, puts me off offering items.

What annoyed me about freecycle was yhe people who said yes, they'd turn up, and when I handed over the item they looked completely surprised as to what they were getting. It was almost like they take anything, possibly to sell on at car boots etc.

I've usually had multiple replies to things I'm offering so i work on a firm process: I'll offer in order of first replies. If they're so quick to reply to my ad they should be quick to reply to my follow up email. If not then i move to the next email after a couple of hours. Once i have an agreement to collect i tell them if they don't collect at the agreed time then it will be offered to the next person. Have never had an issue doing it this way, stops piss takers

I gave up and I use Gumtree now.
I advertise things for a minimum of £5, even if I wanted to give it away because I find it sorts out the people who are more committed to wanting it.
Then I might leave it outside with a note to say put £5 through letterbox.
If its free I think people just say yes, then when partner gets home they say no, or they change their minds.
I hate giving out my address details for a no show, then you have to chase them or give item to next person then worry original person will turn up. Very frustrating.

It's a really strange phenomenon but apparently it often works better to charge people a really low price for things rather than giving them away - people are much more likely to turn up when they think they've got a bargain vs. when they think they are getting a freebie.

Maybe low prices on Gumtree would get better results than Freecycle?

Oops - cross post with WhatShe5aid!

Find a fb page that is postcode local and more about recycle reuse etc. I find people turn up to those whereas gumtree / free cycle is a nightmare. Fb more accountable too.

I use a local Facebook page and as people
Are nearby it’s way easier

I made the comment because I have tried free cycle on 3 occasions and have had extremely filthy items handed to me. I can afford new but try to minimise my impact on the environment but not at the expense of receiving items that should be condemned.

However I do freecycle my own stuff and I give it a thorough clean before handing it over. People are always extremely grateful to me for putting in that effort for them.