to think that some folk on freecycle are utter preneurs de pisse? [Freecycle thread # 9218379238172931]

[SheikYerbouti]

On today's "wanted" list:

A Nintento DS Lite.

I have also seen requests for:
A Car (no more then 7 years old)
A Wii
A Wii Fit
A Bugapoo
Laptops

Surely that's not the point of Freecycle?

(Before the pedants Français get me, I had to delve into the depths of my tired brain to get the word for Takers. I may well be wrong.)

I think the expression is 'nice work if you can get it'!

Oh lordy! I thought some of the ones in my area were bad!

Doesn't help when the weekend broadsheeets are full of stories of how 'credit crunched' middle class families are using Freecycle to furnish rooms, clothe their children etc...

Why shouldn't middle class people use freecycle??

I have no problems with anyone using freecycle to clothe their kids/furnish their homes. (eve middle class nobs )

but asking for a Nintendo DS is taking the utter piss.

IME, FC is very middle class.

I couldn't give a toss who uses it tbh. But I don't like folk who take the piss

Sounds like my wee sister's annual christmas list when we were kids - ie a total fantasy!

Nobody is going to give anybody a nintendo or a wii fit on freecycle, surely? Must be a joke.

Nothing wrong with midle class people using freecycle - it is just that the articles forget to mention that freecycle isn't some kind of wishing well ...

Someone on ours was looking for a particular model of Nokia mobile phone ...

I dunno Morris.

It's always

"WANTED: Nintendo DS Lite
Hi, just wondered if anyone had a DS Lite going spare. Thanks stingyfucker"

I dropped out of my local one because of the stupid wanted ads.

I think it's utterly ridiculous that they allow such ads to be honest. I wonder how many others have dropped out because of this very issue?

A friend of mine found this too. Some people will always be at it

There are some set rules that each freecycle group has - I know that ours will only allow 1 Wanted ad per month - and I think it is up to the users to monitor and report unfair practises (sp??)...

I suppose it is really up to how good the moderator of the group is...

Sorry, I don't get this.

Why is asking for something like a wii unfair?

Nobody is under pressure or obligation to provide such items, and presumably the requests get ignored.

Is it offensive even to ask?

I think it just gets annoying, zapp, when the same people type up their wanted list all the time, and get very specific, and don't offer anything. And they always want fabby stuff. It just seems unfair.

That's what irritated my friend

It clutters up the page and is absurd

I gave away an xbox on freecycle but it was an older model and had failed to sell on ebay - nobody is realistically going to give away something they could sell for £££

Fair enough.

I should really get involved myself as I always end up giving heaps to charity and sometimes (shamefully) we do end up throwing good, useable stuff out because we don't know how else to dispose of it.

Also, I'd quite like a wii fit

I use freecyle mostly to give away things but have posted a few wanted ads. I did reply to a wanted ad and gave that freecyler something on loan. To her credit she returned it when she said she would and even gave my DC money to spend. There are decent people on it.

i have seen people give away cars laptops toys bedrooms fitted out for under 5 from ikea
..we are a throwaway ephemeral society!

someone on ours asked for .....a range rover

How very cheeky. This said, I would be chuffed to bits if some silly sod actually gave me something really expensive that I had the sheer balls to ask for. Must work on the odd occasion? Non?

very funny

?

The freecycle in my area is simalar. You do get people offering very good things on there occasionally, and I find that when someone sees a good offer, you get loads of 'WANTED' post for that for a while after. Someone once offered a car, obviously very old and nothing great, but it was a working car, they offered it because they were moving abroad at short notice. For about a month after there were loads of wanted posts for a car

I moderate a Freecycle group. Ours has its fair share of excessive wanted advertisements.

I suggest you just shrug or smile . I would have no time for mumsnet if I dealt with the fallout of telling people they are too greedy! The main thing is to enforce the few rules we do have and leave those wanting a car to continue to fail to get one.

We had a bloke on our local site who was sick of laptop etc requests try his luck for a bungalow !!!