Freecycle

ibcnya · #1 12/09/04, 11:19 PM

Ya have to check it out. Do a search for "freecycle" and get some of the greatest deals ever depending on your area through Yahoo groups.

RobinAnn · #2 12/10/04, 02:34 AM

Might be easier to go to www.freecycle.org to see if there is a location in your area.

flutemandolin · #3 12/10/04, 08:48 AM

I just joined the group in my county yesterday. It just started up in September so there aren't too many members yet, but I think it will grow once the word gets out. It might help me get my storage shed cleaned out a lot faster!

sylvar · #4 12/10/04, 09:01 AM

I have been watching the freecycle ads in my area and surrounding areas for about 3 months now. I have yet get anythig from there, but I have made a few observations.

1) It is a great place to get things that have a limited use to the original buyer. Things like Baby clothes and cribs, maternity clothes, crutches, wheel chairs, appliances. Anything thats useful life is longer than the average person needs the item.

2) No tools. Thats what I have been watching for. and occationaly posting a want ad for. Nada. These are items that, unless you are moving from a farm house to a town house and need to free up space, folks tend to hold on to a long time.

3) Be prepared to wade through a lot of postings for junk.

I think its a great idea, but I don't want anyone to think its without problems.

Shane

mammabooh · #5 12/10/04, 12:37 PM

I signed up, but hubby wont' let me participate...he's afraid of the freaks that it might bring to our house. I suppose we could just meet people somewhere. What do you all do?

boren · #6 12/10/04, 02:26 PM

I don't mean to be rude/troll, and perhaps not being American I don't get it, but why are Americans so terrified of others?

Ray_Scheel · #7 12/10/04, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammabooh

I signed up, but hubby wont' let me participate...he's afraid of the freaks that it might bring to our house. I suppose we could just meet people somewhere. What do you all do?

For any Internet-arranged trade I meet up or use the PO box for mail trades, with exceptions for situations where we've met in person enough times to feel the individual out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boren

I don't mean to be rude/troll, and perhaps not being American I don't get it, but why are Americans so terrified of others?

It is simply not a good idea to invite anonymous strangers to your home, especially to come pick something up for free (where you would be the "have" and they are the "have not". I've heard of a great number of sitations where a home burglary was carried out by people who had briefly visited the home a week or two previously for legitimate reasons but also used it as a chance to case the place out and pump the owner for more info to help carry out the crime and to know what to look for.

Example: An acquaintance had a family Christmas gathering and the n'er-do-well grown stepkids of one of the cousins tagged along. Just 2 weeks later their house got emptied of the more pawnable items of value, but after the law exercised a search warrant their property was recovered, but an already significant family rift got a lot nastier.

vonettrich · #8 12/10/04, 03:06 PM

I've been offering items on freecycle. It's nice to have someone who wants stuff I'm planning to get rid of. I often have perfectly functional items that I simply don't need or want and rather than just throwing them away, I will offer them on freecycle. It saves me the trouble of hauling stuff to the Goodwill and the items go to people who want them. Works for me.

flutemandolin · #9 12/10/04, 03:08 PM

I think caution is perfectly reasonable in situations like this. In my case, all of the items I want to get rid of are in a rental storage shed, so I would meet any parties there.

HippyChick · #10 12/10/04, 03:34 PM

I usually move things to the detached garage before I put it up on Freecycle. Everyone who has been by has been absolutely lovely. Its doubtful that anyone would case my garage for things to steal. In fact, they can have anything in it since its all junk. The one time I picked up something from someone else this was what they did as well. I got some nice pots to plant things in this winter indoors.

Meg Z · #11 12/10/04, 05:53 PM

I was on Freecycle for several months. I gave away several things, got a few free plants from a lady. I enjoyed it.

Then they put Freecycle in the paper. Nice article. Over 200 people signed up in 24 hours. More the next day. Most of them wanted stuff. Hundreds of e-mails each day from people wanting big-screen TV's and king sized beds just isn't how I want my mailbox filled. I dropped out. From now on, I'll take my give-a-ways to Good Will or something...and get a tax receipt at the same time.

punkrockpilot · #12 12/10/04, 06:36 PM

I made sure to give something away first, before I went looking for stuff... It paid off big time - I got a topper for my pickup - a nice one - it even came with the hold down clamps.

Greg

fordy · #13 12/10/04, 08:01 PM

....................I just signed up here in Texas and it looks like my local chapter is just getting started. I'm just going to sit back and watch to get the Flavor of the situation before I start trying to give stuff away . The problem with the basic concept is that they have organized it in such a way so as to Avoid any exchange of money between trading parties . This automatically gets into the type of Transaction the IRS calls "Bartering" . Bartering as the IRS defines it forces both parties to charge each other at whatever their "going rate" is for services that they perform during their normal workday . In other words , all exchanges of services must be denominated at Fair Market value and each party must REPORT their respective income and expense on their tax return which then becomes subject , Potentially , to both Income tax and self employment tax . Or , atleast that is my initial impression from viewing the website in my local area so far . fordy...

Rhayven · #14 12/11/04, 01:14 AM

I joined freecycle but have since dropped it. The whole idea was for people to get rid of their unwanted items. It states in the rules of the group to use "wanted" sparingly. The town I live in started a another group similiar to Freecycle but it seems to actually be doing better that Freecycle. If you would like to check it out and see if there is a group near you, here is where it is:

Yahoo groups
TulsaFreeBay

Rhayven

buellkat · #15 12/11/04, 12:23 PM

I agree with an earlier post about too many wants, and they are items that are not something most folks would just "give-away". In our rural area, most the posts are "wants" and the moderators don't post a good majority of them for the exact reason it is set-up for "to give" more than "to receive". Good idea unfortunately it does not work in some communities.