Help me with Freecycle?

[MrsPinecone]

Lmnde, that's awful.

Freecycle was formed specifically to keep stuff OUT of landfills and scrap yards. :-(

[Lmnde]

There is really not much I can do about it - we are not on good speaking terms [I bought the house when it was in foreclosure and it used to belong to one of the siblings of the owner in front - and they'll never forgive me that faux pas]. There is a lot of hostility from the entire clan, and they are not above poisoning or shooting at my dogs or cats when I tick them off or complain to them about something. Since I have to drive over their land [courtesy of an easement they gave to the sister who used to own this house], which gags them to no end, they try to harass or annoy me otherwise - among other things is to pile their trash in front of my frontfoor. While it does most certainly annoy me, I will save complaining for something worthwhile putting my dogs and cats at risk over. HOWEVER - whenever we get around finishing the new place and I'll rent this one out = = = I'LL MAKE SURE TO FIND THE NOISIEST REDNECKS, COUNTRY WESTERN OR HARD ROCK LOVERS WHO LOVE TO PARTY ALL NIGHT LONG for my tenants, lol!

It's sad though = this is a military town, and there are bunches of young families and single parents here, who could use that fridge, washer or dryer that ends up in the backyard in front of me... All of the kiddie swings and slides, the trampolins etc - very sad.

[cheapkittymom]

I have had so many Freecycle no shows that I now ask in my message for a specific pickup date and time to be listed in the response e-mail. I also state that I do NOT make phone calls. I'm shocked by the number of people who respond with "I'll take it," and a phone number. If anyone responds without a pickup time or with a phone number their message gets deleted. I've found that people who actually read my entire e-mail and respond appropriately tend to also follow through and actually show up to pick the items up.

Sometime I give to the first responder, other times I let 24 hours go by before responding. It really depends on the item.

[pnault17]

Thank you all for the input. I posted a few different offers today, and 2 of the "i'll take it"s never got back to me.

I would prefer that someone get some use out of the items, but I'm not going to lose sleep over "who needs it most". Anyone can tell a convincing story, and that's just that.

I actually posted my used breastpump (there was a whole other thread about that), and asked for a pick-up date in the post. I got a response from someone who asked very plainly if I could hold it for a specific time and date.

:shrug:

I dunno.

I try to give things to people I know who can use it, but sometimes there's just too much, you know? (I have twin boys, and getting rid of their baby clothes has taken me YEARS.)

I'm not comfortable leaving things on the step, either. There's a better than 50% chance that the stuff will walk away.

[elizabethm]

People are funny. Some give you a big story on why the item would benefit them, some just say they'd like it. Some are just weens. I offered a nice phone system - the person who had it upgraded to one with more handsets. I posted the color and model #. The first responder started asking me questions about the phones and acted like she was doing me a favor by taking them off my hands. Needless to say, she wasn't getting a thing.

Most of my stuff is first come, first serve. No shows are common looking at the postings. Just take a list for backups and give the first person on the list a time limit. I always give #2 a head's up in case #1 is a no show. And I always leave it on my porch.