FreeCycle score again

See if there's a local group for you at http://www.freesharing.org/. They are very similar to Freecycle but they have different "rules". I guess they were part of Freecycle in the beginning but left them and went out on their own when things changed.

In UK (admittedly a more restrained, and richer because of the socialism keeping the bottom a lot higher than the bottom rung here in US) freecycle was interesting and helpful. "Need empty wine bottles for an art project" etc. Here every day has someone saying "We are" (or someone else who can't even be bothered to freecycle themselves) "down on our luck and need 3 complete bedrooms of furniture, clothing for seven boys age 2-15, a running car and two window AC units" or the equivalent. Gets tiring- maybe I'll keep track of the whinging posters and be sure to never give them anything.

The other day I picked up a bed for my son, the one he had was over 40 years old and falling apart.

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I ask for so little. Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want. Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave. Jareth, Labyrinth

Have been a member of our local freecycling for a number of years and the BEST score was someone giving away a name brand car tow dolly; barely used. Only had to rewire it and grease the bearings; good to go! On the other hand, while we have an abundance of "things" that we'd love to give away......we live a grand total of 8 miles out from the nearest city. And for some unknown reason, those city slickers can't be persuaded to make that trek out to the boonies.......have had a number of people from OTHER freecycles who spotted my ad and wanted the thing and promised they'd be out at such and such time.......never showed; no email; NOTHING......when questioned as to WHY.....if they bothered to write back, it was because they didn't realize that they would have to drive OVER an hour to pick it up......
Oh my......they why are you on my particular freecycle group if it's too far to go??? Anyway, our local group has been going thru a "period" where a lot of us have become fed-up with NO-SHOWS and some of us are keeping a "LIST" .......we don't reward bad behavior a 2nd time. The mods are little help in this matter; will only come on if someone starts naming names on site......a definite NO-NO!!! All-in-all, not a bad place to find something that you may need, but if you don't live in the "right" place; almost impossible to give anything away.

How did you manage to move the piano? I was offered one not long ago but there was no way to move it for less than $500 and I didn't have that to spend so had to pass. All my friends have bad backs so that wasn't helping either.

We also got a piano through freecycle and some light fixtures, tools, and baby toys. Gave away a couple of printers and a bunch of other stuff. Do many of the others have "professional" freecyclers? Ours has at least 3 (that we've found so far) who are friends of the mod who make a living getting anything they can of value off freecycle and selling it through fleamarket stands and eBay. We've called two on it, one was very open in saying that yes, this is how he makes his living. The other has responded three times to items we've offered with three different stories (we know he lives in an apartment with his wife and teenage son because we picked up some things there that apparently had sat in his flea market stall too long, but he also claims to live in the country with two little girls when looking for baby items to sell and has friends who miraculously have house fires every 2-3 weeks so he can look for furniture for them).

BTW I carried one end of the piano and my brother in law and father managed to push the other end along on a mat between the two of them.

That sort of stuff is given away here all the time. Not sure why that's a greedy gus. He gave something away, asked for something he needed, and if someone was willing to give up that item, it works fine. Does it matter what the item is as long as someone is giving it up? Never hurts to ask for something, does it?

ok, lol, who wants to donate a tractor with a bucket and backhoe? i could use a greenhouse and a maple sap evaporator as well. and...

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

Just want to report that I did respond to an offer and got a very nice gas stove to use in my canning 'room' in our barn.

I was thrilled. My husband and I went to pick it up and the lady was so very nice. The daughter had made the offer and I made sure to tell her we were a couple of old fogeys and what kind of vehicle we would be driving.

The stove is so much better than I expected - a nice experience.

Where are you in SD? There was a piano listed in the last couple of days on the Sioux Falls Freecycle.

Carrie in SD

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Life is too short not to enjoy it!
Smile, it makes everyone wonder what you are up too!! :baby04:
Gravity and I tend to see eye to floor

despite the rule on our local freecycle forbiding requesting things more than 75% of the posts are "we want "
My latest score was a pair of rabbits with cage . a Fixed male lopear and a dwarf something , both quite tame and friendly . They are inside rabbits and our cats are scared of them .

I have gotten a few smaller things off Freecycle and have gotten rid of quite a few as well. One of the best scores I got was just last week! We got a whirlpool bath tub, you know the kind with the jets in them! The couple bought a house and didn't like that kind of tub so took it out! We got the surrond and everything!!! We had to patch our current tub last spring as it cracked in the bottom and have been living with the patch as tubs are not in the budget!

Now just have to find the time to get it installed!

Carrie in SD

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Life is too short not to enjoy it!
Smile, it makes everyone wonder what you are up too!! :baby04:
Gravity and I tend to see eye to floor

I got over 300 canning jars a couple of weeks ago.

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I can't believe I deleted it!

Jenn - oh yes, I know the type. That's a lot different than requesting one thing that might be a long shot! Of course I think the press Freecycle gets promotes this attitude - all the stories say gee, look what you could have had if you'd only been here to receive it! Anywho... for some reason I don't seem as bothered by those that don't specify what they need - just say "need kitchen stuff" or whatever, but those don't seem to get as big a response either...

MELOC - I run some groups that are like these sharing groups and the reasons I reject members are bad/bouncing email accounts or failure to respond to the welcome message that clearly states they must read the rules before they can read & post.

We've disposed of some really interesting items - things that were left on our property by the prior owners that seemed like junk to us, or things leftover from construction (literally countertop SCRAPS, etc.). We are amazed at the responses we've received for such things.

i don't think either applies to my sob story. i think i just caught an "uppity" leader on a bad day and somehow got mixed in with some other strange "animal selling" drama by mistake. i just took it bad. it was a bit of a slap in my face. i had nothing but good intentions. some other folks could have benefitted from my stuff as i could have from theirs. i just think leaders of such groups should act in a more responsible way. they speak for freecycle nationwide as well as just locally IMHO.

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

MELOC - I know what you mean. We have a few groups around here that are like that - total control freaks about every little thing. It's one thing to send a gentle reminder but it's quite another to pick favorites and let them make & break rules while others get booted off for less. I saw one gal get booted for what seemed like a simple personality clash - she was often helping others and giving many things away but the first time she posted for a friend in need, the whole group turned on her (led by the mods) and she was booted. Terrible!

There are also some really stupid rules on some of the local groups, mostly dealing with non-profits. Apparently they are not allowed to post wants for stuff stating they are a non-profit (not a sob story, just the inclusion of the phrase "non-profit") as it would "make people feel weird about posting and offering things". Huh? Ok then. Those are the groups that have hardly any traffic now because the rules are so silly. Even the overall Freecycle does not have this rule and they state that you can give preference to non-profits! As a result of some of these rules, I was asked to start my groups as an alternative. We're slow to get started but we will grow as people get fed up with the rule nazis. Goodness, people still say I have too many rules (even though they don't object to any of them - just the amount of them!). LOL

someone posted Offer used metal roofing after talking to them , they wanted a small 24 x 30 (did not measure) barn removed. I start taking it apart Thursday. I will now have a barn for cows and goats and rabbits. It also has a small addition that is 10ft x 16 ft that I am going to use seperately for pigs or chickens not sure yet. They were just going to take metal off and burn it. spent about 2 1/2 hours talking to the guy and got a few ideas. Mike

I've given away a push mower, washer and dryer, three roosters and lots of coupons. I have received coupons, a large trailer load of old hay, my duck and, most recently, five room size rugs in excellent condition (and the lady gave me a nice shirt for my husband).

Freecycle is GREAT!

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I'm running so far behind I thought I was first!

http://hickahala.blogspot.com/

Nothing but leeches on our local freecycle...

Thank goodness our local radio station has "swap shop" weekday mornings...

since January we've found some silkie chickens, some free breeding rabbits, and a very nice free freezer... yep, a 19cu' upright... lady thought it'd died, bought another one, and her grandson hit the reset switch, and it started working again... lucky us...we we're needing another freezer, but couldn't justify 400 or more for the new one...

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming