to think that if people apply for one of your offered items on freecycle, they should at least attempt to ask NICELY?????

[gingerkirsty]

For those of you who haven't heard of it Freecycle is a website where you join a local group and post stuff that you have on offer. People then contact you if they want what you have and you can choose who gets it.

Eventually (one hopes) the laws of Karma mean that you will get stuff too!

Anyway, when I have listed in the past, people have normally sent nice emails saying why they want the item, how much they'd like it etc - normally using sentences. So imagine my dismay when this evening I received the following emails:

can i please have these

and

Yes PLease

Not sentences, no attempt at punctuation, both use the word please without managing to convey any potential gratitude for the items - so NO - you CAN'T have my stuff! I shall wait for a more polite email.

Humph

i was just telling you which one I would choose. not saying that is what everyone should chose.

Booyhoo my point is that it is actually more effort to list on freecycle than it is to just take stuff to the charity shop - I make the effort to Freecycle as I know my stuff will go to someone who wants it, not just languish in a shop somewhere until finally getting taken to a big warehouse and left to rot.

You seem to be suggesting that the person offering the item should be grateful for someone kindly coming and taking it off their hands - but when as Jasper says it is common to get 20+ responses, of course I will pick a more pleasant response - apart from anything else, the person will be coming to my home to collect the item and I would prefer it if the experience and the person were pleasant - fair enough I think!

I have never given away furniture but if I did and it was for my own convenience I would state in the listing that I wanted it out the way and it would go to whoever could collect first - then I would care far less re how polite people were.

If you want someone to collect your stuff asap and you're giving it away for free, you're obviously wanting to get rid of stuff. If someone wants to take it off your hands, they're doing YOU a favour, as much as you're doing them a favour by offering something for free.
If you really were doing it purely out of altruism, there should be no need for you to look for more profuse thanks.

Totally agree with OP. Responses like "Yes please" and "can i have this" look like someone has programmed their email to respond to every single freecycle offer in the same way. And it's nothing to do with class or wealth as someone earlier suggested. I don't expect a grovelling essay for every single thing I put on freecycle but do expect something along the lines of:

Dear Tryharder, I would be very interested in having your [name of item posted on freecycle] if it is still available. I could collect on such and such a date.

It's just basic politeness. I have given expensive stuff away on freecycle that I could've sold but I believe in karma and get a lot of stuff from freecycle so you have to give as well. I gave away a steam cleaner recently that i never used so potentially saved someone about £75. So, a nice email and a proper please and thank you doesn't go amiss rather than people who act like they are doing you a massive favour by taking your things.

It was only when someone pointed out on the last freecycle post that the "I'll take your item" were almost certainly auto responses that the penny dropped!

I always give my item to the first person who asks nicely - I don't require anyone to grovel but I do expect good manners. Whoever said we should help people without expectation of thanks might be correct but as far as I am concerned if you want my help then you are more likely to get it if you ask nicely.

and turn up on time.

I disagree with the 'no politeness required as they are doing me a favour taking away my crap' posts on here.

I have just posted an offered ad for a car, old and tatty but runs fine, so definitely a good thing for the taker, as we needed to get rid of it, it's not worth much and it's too good to scrap. It is a favour to them, not to me as I could easily get the scrap man to come and take it away and give me cash as well.

The very first response received today was 'I'll take it off your hands, I could do with another car' - strangely, this one won't be the one that gets it, and I will definitely be waiting for a day or two then picking the most 'worthy' (not begging, but polite and explaining why they need it) email.

it's just basic manners when you want something you word the email politely. It's not difficult and I find it hard to understand people that just demand stuff rather than asking politely.

I've just offered some stuff that I would have prob skipped.

All I wanted was a please/thankyou so the 2nd person to reply got it cos she said thankyou rather than just

Yep! (1st response) I mean god! Manners dont cost nothing!

Oh, I am ruthless on freecycle. TXT speak requests get ignored, anything without a please gets ignored and epic grovelling life stories get ignored.I have been known to cut off my nose to spite my face and relist a week or two later if I only get really rude "yes, I want this" type e-mails.

I don't mind bad spelling, just as long as its polite and to the point.