to wonder if people on Freecycle are selling the goods on?

[tornadoalley]

I bought some Cloud 9 straighteners, so decided to put my Babyliss Ceramic straighteners (perfect condition) on the village freecycle page. I live in quite a well off village and our Freecycle has some lovely things. I was messaged within 5 minutes and the person was so pleased the straighteners were free. 5 minutes she messaged again asking if i had the original box and instructions. They're straighteners. the side switch has 3 settings and you plug it in. why would you need instructions?

She's collecting them tomorrow and I just wondered if I'm a miserable suspicious bitch? AIBU and she just wants the box to store them in?

-freecycle, not freebay!

I think this happens, I sometimes mind sometimes dont. One way round it is to give it to someone who hasn't responded immediately. In our Freecycle people who offer say something like they'll wait for a few days and pick whoever responds out of a hat- that's usually enough to put the people who sell on off.

What are you going to do - means test all applicants to make sure it goes to the neediest?? You don’t want the item, choose not to sell it yourself so you get someone to come and take it off you for free. What they do with it is none of your business

Oh well, your post inspired me to reregister (had been that long since I'd used it!) and offer some stuff.

It’s quite common on Facebook groups. Occasionally someone has found a sale post for something they’d previously given that person for free and called them out on it. Drama drama.

I put stuff on freecycle because I don’t need the money and I want rid. I don’t care what the person does with it - if they can make some money that’s fine by me - they’ve done me a favour collecting it.

A lot of people, sadly, do use Freecycle as a source of items to sell. My local site expels any members it finds selling on. It’s a risk ,.. you could always try selling them yourself instead!

The homely retired old gent who tinkered with watches in his shed was a be in his 40s raking in over £200 a month from all the watches and parts given to him on our local free cycle.

When I posted my evidence of this so people could decide for themselves whether to gift to this man I was banned from the group. I did rejoin under a new name and I don't think he was given much after my post though.

God damn ipad.

"Was a man in his 40's"
"raking in over £200 a month on eBay"

Top tip though. Never use the same avatar of your very distinctive dog between accounts 😃

I just thought this same thing, this evening, when I gave away 3 items on freecycle. They collected them so quickly.

However I would have sold them if they didn't need painting and small repair but I've got lots to list on ebay and I could not be bothered.

If they repair the items and paint them to sell then good on them. If they use them then also good on them. Either way my house is less cluttered today and nothing got binned.

Maybe hair straighteners are not the essential, but the characters that are obviously stalking freecycle and other similar sites are possibly stopping people with genuine need.
If I was giving a household appliance away, (fridge, tv , furniture etc) I want it to go to someone that might actually need it, Maybe a woman setting up home from after leaving an Abusive relationship, or a kid just starting out. Not some chancer that fancies a bit of extra cash.
I know that you obviously can’t vet these cf, but the moderators should be able to monitor the activity of its users and boot them off.

Yes of course some do

But if they want to put in the effort to sell online then fair play to them

I’m quite sure the cot and other bits I had picked up by a couple they were selling on I have no issue with that

A few years ago there was someone on several of the local ones asking for a Christmas dinner, wanting to be invited to spend the day with someone. It was left up.

Then they started asking for TVs, and luxury items. When it got to a holiday abroad I gave in and reported it. Seems that the mods don't bother checking although all the good stuff seems to go immediately.

I often look at the wanteds, and got rid of a box of jam jars not long ago.

Of course they do, all the time. If you want to sell it, you sell it. If you're happy to give it away, it's none of your business what the recipient does with it. Or you could give things to charity shops to sell for you (and themselves), though yes, probably not electrical goods.

Though, if you want to bypass the obvious 'takers', you could make a habit of giving your item to the third person to respond, for example. Never the first one or two (the speedy types who have alerts set up for new posts and always jump on them).

I gave one of my son's old bikes away of Freecycle some years ago.The couple we gave it to said it was for their grandson whose parents couldn't afford a bike for him, how thrilled he was going to be etc etc. Two weeks later I saw it on a local selling site. It was quite a common bike but I knew that it was definitely the same one as we'd made a couple of modifications. I was pretty cross, not so much that they were selling it but about the lies, as there were other interested parties and we'd gone for the ones who sounded most in need. But then when I thought about it, I realised tgat I didn't know if it was the grandparents selling it. Maybe they were genuine and it was the boy's parents who decided to sell. Maybe they really needed the money. Nor did I know if the other people who asked for it would have done the same. Anyway I just wanted to be rid of it so it didn't really matter. Plus I quite possibly had the last laugh anyway. I had already had several attempts to sell the bike in a variety of places and had no takers at a fraction of the price they were now asking. That's why I'd offered it for free. So if they'd deliberately tried to trick me, they may well have ended up lumbered with a bike they couldn't sell.
I just give stuff to the first person who replies nowadays and don't give it a second thought. As long as I'm rid of whatever it is, there's no point worrying about what happens next.

@lottiegarbanzo

Of course they do, all the time. If you want to sell it, you sell it. If you're happy to give it away, it's none of your business what the recipient does with it. Or you could give things to charity shops to sell for you (and themselves), though yes, probably not electrical goods.

Electrical goods are accepted by charity shops, they have people to check them. I have given plenty to them but I do ask in advance just in case.

Stuff that would need a new cable I put on Freecycle and lots of people ask for it, things that work but are just old go to charity and if I get the chance I ask first if they want them or not. Really bad stuff to the dump or leave it on the front garden and someone will steal it whether you want to get rid or not.

I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with someone else making money from your unwanted stuff.

The watch man for example. So what if he's 'in his 40s'? What has that got to do with it? What if the £200 per month that he makes tinkering with watches is his only income? You have no idea of other people's circumstances.

*what if he's 'in his 40s'? What has that got to do with it? What if the £200 per month that he makes tinkering with watches is his only income? You have no idea of other people's circumstances•

You really can’t see the deception in someone pretending to be a retired old man to obtain goods?

Why lie? Regardless of whether that’s his only income or not if he felt he wasn’t doing something dishonest why not advertise for ‘watches wanted’ rather than ‘retired elderly gent seeks watches to tinker with as a hobby’.

I use Freecycle a lot, I’ve got plenty of baby stuff from there and once I’m done with it I’ll have no qualms in trying to sell it first. If it doesn’t sell and I’m sick of it taking it up space, then I’ll Freecycle and if it doesn’t go on there it’ll go to a charity shop. I’ve often done carboots and just given the remaining stock as a job lot on Freecycle so somebody else can have a go. My understanding was that it prevents stuff going to landfill. Anybody asking for stuff on our page is also encouraged to offer something to balance it out.

I wouldn't have a problem with this. Often I just need things out of my house but I don't want to bin them. If I can be bothered to sell them, I will. If it's not worth the hassle then I'm happy to see it go for free. I just want it not to be taking up space in my house. If they can sell it for a profit then good for them; they still did me a favour by taking it away.

[quote tornadoalley]@TheTrollFairy
I would be annoyed with this though. I give things because other people might need them but can't afford things. It feels like giving to charity only for the chugger to pocket your fiver and buy themselves a pizza![/quote]
But that isn’t the point of free cycle. It is too keep stuff out of landfill. If you want to feel good you donate to a charity

No one 'needs' hair straighteners anyway.

OP - why not just say you can't find the box?

This is a helpful post. I'll know to only post things on Freecycle that I can't be bothered to take to the tip, things that I want to give away because I think someone else could make good use of will go to a shelter or charity.

I’ve put a few things on free cycle and I don’t worry about what the person uses them for. If they can be bothered to sell them, which I can’t, good luck to them. Tough times people need to do what they can.