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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to sell the item I just got off freecycle?

192 replies

2point4kids · 24/11/2008 13:32

I use freecycle a lot. I offer things I dont need/use any more and I accept things that I would find useful. Probably offer as much as I accept.

Today I collected an item that I asked for as it would be handy for me and I will use it.
I just collected it and its in much better condition than I expected, with extras too.

I am very strapped for cash at the moment (arent we all?) and I am selling off as much of our stuff as will make money on ebay and here to try and make a few extra pennies.

If I dont sell it, I will use it and it will be useful but I dont need it and thats the criteria that I am selling off my own stuff on...so....

AIBU to sell on this freecycle item? Could make me about £30...

OP posts:
VictorianSqualor · 24/11/2008 14:12

I freecycled a rocking horse that I could have made a bit of money on and I'd be pissed to find out someone said they wanted it, then sold it on.

AnarchyAunt · 24/11/2008 14:35

Its not just about the wishes of those getting rid of it - its completely unfair to those who use freecycle as they can't afford to buy new things, or prefer to cut down on consumption of natural resources, if some people use it as a way to make money

pagwatch · 24/11/2008 14:44

I have loads of stuff and have been pondering freecycling rather than ebay . I have used ebay a lot soit is easy and I am probably being a bit lazy tbh about finding out how to freeccycle.

But reading this has made me think perhaps I should just ebay and donate some of the money instead....

LilRedWG · 24/11/2008 14:45

Put it back on freecycle but do not ebay it.

expatinscotland · 24/11/2008 14:45

YANBU.

when i give stuff away on freecyle, i don't give a toss what the recipient does with it. the goal is to keep it out of the landfill.

if they can be bothered with the hassle of selling it, more power to 'em.

TheShipsCat · 24/11/2008 14:48

YABU - sorry...

2point4kids · 24/11/2008 14:49

Are you really supposed to only accept things if you need them rather than want them?

What about a popcorn maker or a painting? You couldnt really need either of those but you might want them enough to send a message asking the freecycler to consider you.Is this not considered right?

What if I got some books off freecycle years ago and then now I wanted to sell off all my books but couldnt remember which ones were the freeccle ones? Would I be able to sell any of them?

What if I had a dinner set and smashed one plate and then got given a replacement in the same design off freecycle. If I wanted to sell the dinner set later should I sell it minus one plate and put that back on freecycel?

I'm not going to sell the item, just trying to work out the rules now

OP posts:
Flightattendant4 · 24/11/2008 14:49

Yanbu, I think.

I had a similar quandary about 2 years ago. I had emailed to ask for some curtains that a lady was giving away. I was lucky enough to be offered them, and when I collected them I found that they didn't fit my windows. I could have passed them on to a charity shop but I sold them on as they were very nice, and I felt really bad about it!

But then I realised that I had freecycled several things myself, because I wanted them gone, and I didnt give a stuff what anyone did with them - in fact I'm pretty sure some would have been sold on. Good luck to them if they want to do that with my old stuff, as long as they can be bothered which I couldn't, and it stays out of landfill! If it can earn someone some cash they badly need then I am fine with that.

The ethos of Freecycle IMO is to keep stuff out of landfill and so what the recipient does with the stuff, as long as it isn't premeditated too much, is fine.

I think the lady I got my curtains from wouldn't have cared at all, and it would have been embarrassing to ask her permission and sounded rude when in fact I thought they would fit my windows and they didn't.

If she had been concerned about the further use of her items she could have specified she didn't want them sold on, and I could have then returned them to her or re-free-cycled them.

I don't think there is a clear cut answer to this though really. Some people care about the things they give away and some don't mind. I personally would be glad for you if you could use the money.

What upsets me more is people who have shops, yet buy from charity shops in order to sell on. I saw a little crib I wanted for ds1 when I was pregnant, and missed it - later that day saw a person with a poncy 'retro shabby chic' shop taking it to their premises, it had been £4 and they had a massive price on it by the next week.

That makes me quite angry.
But you didn't do it as a business opportunity, it just was something that came your way. you can pay it forward when you're more flush

expatinscotland · 24/11/2008 14:50

not against the rules to sell on what you get off Freecycle, though. at least not in our area.

bellabelly · 24/11/2008 14:51

This is a really tricky one! It does seem unfair to other people who will have requested the item if you go ahead and sell it on. BUT as a previous poster has already said, the item now belongs to you so you SHOULD be able to sell it with a clear conscience... The fact you are asking about it shows you don't really feel comfortable with teh idea, tbh.

crokky · 24/11/2008 14:52

OP - I think that you should use the item for a few monnths and then sell it. I think that's OK - you'll use it and still get a bit of cash.

Hulababy · 24/11/2008 14:53

I think it would be morally wrong to sell it on. It isn't what Freecycle is for. It is also the kind of thing that puts people of using Freecycle, which is sad.

Flightattendant4 · 24/11/2008 14:54

Also, I think you can look at it in another way - I once bought something on ebay that was really really cheap for what it was.
The seller was wealthy, didn't want it lying around, I wanted it, and so I boguht it (and felt guilty!)

I used it for a while and sold it on, didn't make more than a few quid but it was a profit all the same.

Was I wrong to do that, or should I have only asked what I paid? I'm not sure tbh. Different people are in different positions financially - while she could afford to give it away, you can't. and it is yours now - so I still think yanbu.

falcon · 24/11/2008 14:55

YABU. That is not the point of Freecycle and it's an abuse of the system and of the goodwill of those who give up their items.

LazyLinePainterJane · 24/11/2008 14:59

Yes, there are rules to freecycle but this is not one of them. There are no rules (unless they have been added group specifically) against selling on, neither is it about "needy" people. It is about keeping stuff out of landfill, end of.

Lio · 24/11/2008 14:59

2point4kids, the rules are in my post of 13:41:39. Which bit are you trying to work out? Is your problem that you are in a grey area, i.e. that acted in good faith but now your position has changed? If so then my suggestion stands: ask the 'Giver' his or her permission to sell, then you are in no danger of nreaking the rules.

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 24/11/2008 15:03

Each local freecycle has its own set of rules I think.

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 24/11/2008 15:04

For example I vaguely remember ours having a discussion about pets and then a vote. But I might have dreamed that.

Different freecycles, different set of rules though.

NCbirdy · 24/11/2008 16:12

2point4, I agree about the timescale thing I was thinking that as I posted earlier. For example, would it BU if you used it until after Christmas and then sold it? (I don't know the answer BTW!) I always try to put stuff I get from Freecycle back on for use by others but I don't think there is any real expectation of that... It is tricky and I don't think you ABU for asking the question at all.

2point4kids · 24/11/2008 16:15

Lio - not trying to work out the rules rules, more the moral rules!

OP posts:
AnarchyAunt · 24/11/2008 16:31

Its about the item, not the cash you can convert it into.

You can accept an item you need, or want. But not something you have no use for, that you just want to sell on. Different if you have had the use you need from it, though I'd still say better to re-freecycle than to sell.

Lio · 24/11/2008 17:10

Oops, sorry

My morals are not to sell, but I was trying to be neutral and work out where you stand in the Freecycle rules.

juicyjolly · 24/11/2008 17:17

YABU...You got it from freecycle because you are strapped for money!

Either use it or return it to freecycle.

I understand you are short of cash...but that is the point of having something like freecycle there! For people who are in financial strife.

It really shouldn't have have been a difficult decision.

morningpaper · 24/11/2008 17:21

YANBU

Freecycle is to keep stuff out of landfill. "END OF" If anyone cares that you SELL it then they should not be such lazy feckers themselves and sell it themself

morningpaper · 24/11/2008 17:21

"themself" looks very wrong

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