Has lack of manners stopped you giving things away free?

[dottypotter]

Was going to tip some things I did not need anymore but thought the nice thing to do would be to advertise if someone wanted for free. We are also encouraged to reduce waste etc.

Somebody contacted and said they were interested. I Gave them the address etc and discussed time as you do. Seemed keen to come.

No show, no apology. Im sure not the only person to experience this. I could not be so rude though. If I could not make it I would message.

I wont bother again. Why are people so rude?
They just spoil it.
Has it stopped you giving things away free?😪

Yes. All the time.

It is rude.

People often put free stuff on their wall /front garden with a sign free to take.

Yup.

I have sent SIL various gifts and she never once said thanks.

So I stopped giving

Larger items I put out the front of my house with a sign saying 'free'. I take them in at night or if it rains. If they aren't gone in a few days I feel I can tip them.

Smaller items to the charity shop.

I go through phases of advertising things for free but I do my best to reduce the workload by putting all relevant info in the add, stating it will be a pick up from the porch (I'm not waiting at home for anyone) and I do it in bundles.

I recently gave away a bundle 10 pairs of an expensive brand of toddler shoes on a Facebook page. People asked if I could split them to share the wealth, but I just gave them all to the first person to reply. I feel a bit bad but I don't have time to sort out who wants which pair and separate them etc.

I loathe the idea of throwing out a perfectly good item. It's so wasteful. But we all just need to do our best and no more.

I've used Freecycle a couple of times - one time I gave shoes away and this woman arranged to come to my flat entrance to pick them up... she was so stuck up and looked quite ungrateful, well I hope she's having a hard time wearing them as they were stiff AF and hurt my feet after walking in them for awhile lol only reason I got rid of them (they had a pretty unique design).

Yes- had a big clear out recently and posted a lot of items online for free. Had several no shows and many people getting very irritable when I said I couldnt drop off (all posts clearly said collection only with postcode). I hate things going to landfill but people can be very rude.

I'm always amazed at how people don't bother to say thank you!

I posted a pram for free and the claminent hadn't even collected it before she posted it for sale on another group.
She even used the same photo , featuring my hallway.
Needless to say, I contacted the next in line.

No it doesn't stop me. I give things away because it is easier tha. Ne going ro the tip/charity shop ect. Not because I want manners or thanks.

I give people gifts because I want to celebrate them. Not because I want thanks from them.

So while yes I agree that both are being rude. It doesn't change what I do because the gratitude isn't the reason I do it.

Selling them for money is a lot more of a pain in the arse.

I took bags to the local charity shop I've donated regularly to for years, but they had a big infux of donations recently and were struggling to cope. So now I just take things to the clothes bank straight away.

I have put stuff online for free before, I got many requests to deliver. A friend put a post up for free toys only to get abuse for not holding something for them, and how their child’s Christmas is ruined. I just throw stuff out now. Not worth the hassle.

Facebook marketplace is a bizarre place, where manners, literacy and numeracy, and normal social interactions go to die.

I find if you give away for free you often get no shows, which is annoying if you wait in.
I now put things down for a small price and then usually just let them have it when they arrive.

Yes. I see this one woman who is always commenting "can I have?" On things on the local Facebook groups.
If I ever sell something on there and she comments that I'll probably reply with "what's the magic word?".

FB marketplace but just local groups is best. I often get people who I vaguely know and the lack of anonymity means they are less likely to let you down.

I tend to agree with @Hillrunning that I am giving them away in part for my convenience, not just that of the receiver. As long as they are not outright rude or entitled, I tend to let the rest slide

Saying that, I arrange a time where I am going to be around anyway so I am not waiting around just for them to collect. If they don’t show up, it’s usually no big loss to me (other then having to arrange a time with the next person).

I tend to offer items for very little rather than giving away for free - ime people are more likely to commit when they’re paying for it

Offered a bag of girls clothing in my village Facebook group for free. Someone got in touch and asked if she could have it and I said yes. She said she didn't drive and asked if I could drop it off. I assumed she was local, said yes and asked for her address. She sent an address miles away which would have taken about 45-60 mins to drive to depending on traffic.

Explained I wasn't spending time and petrol driving all that way to drop them off. I said I was happy to drop off locally or she could send a friend/relative to pick them up.

She got back in touch and said she'd arranged someone to collect them in a taxi. We agreed an acceptable time for the collection, then on the last message she said the taxi driver would prefer being paid in cash when he got here to cover the round trip.

Told her I wasn't paying for a taxi to send them to her. Got a lengthy sob story about how she's a single parent and life is tough etc etc. Totally ignored the fact that I'm also a single parent and I can't afford to spend money on taxis to get rid of things I don't need.

Sent them to a charity shop instead.

I put lots of stuff on a local freebie site a few months back when I moved. Many people were good with collecting but others didn't turn up and gave excuses afterwards - "my dog died", "I had a medical emergency", "I'm still out with my kids". I ended up wasting so much time that I took things to a charity shop instead.

Ive noticed on the freebie site that more and more people are stating that an item must be collected by the same or following day or it will go to the tip.

I don't give any free stuff any more. I'll put a price on them. Even if an item is worth 30 quid I'll sell for a fiver. You still get piss takers but I find that there are less.
If someone wants to sell it on for more then I don't care.

I use Anglo charity collections now. Just bag/box stuff up and pick a date for collection. You can track the van on the day. They don't take furniture or big items though.

Yes but more of a gift. At my old job we would bring smalls gifts like fridge magnets. I brought about 10 back and the first thing someone said to me was "what have you got me". I gave them nothing. No hi or anything

I use Freecycle to give away things that I can’t take to a charity shop e.g. the fire pit that PILs gave us. My policy is to give it to the first person who says please.
I was pleasantly surprised last time-the woman gave me some homemade chutney as a thank you.

I advertised some garden furniture for free. I had someone trying to demand that I dismantle it for them and another try to demand I deliver it. In the end I changed the listing to a low price instead of free and the CFers disappeared.

Op I've done free cycle for about 25 years. During that time I've great fully received some fabulous items and also give n away something good stuff.

During that time 70% people show and are polite. During that time I've also forgotten stuff...

I also appreciate someone's coming to my house to save me... A trip from the tip.

Relax, advertise again... Leave it outside or just tip it.