Several people have recommended participating in freecycle. Today I finally signed up for an account. Over a dozen people jumped posthaste at my first listing, a musical instrument. And suddenly I become suspicious.
I have to arrange to contact somebody. I need to give somebody my address and arrange for a time that they can pick up the item. How do I know the person isn't just trying to find out when a house will be empty?
And how do I know whether these people are telling the truth? People say, "My husband is a musician, and our child wants to play music like her daddy," or "My sister --a music teacher-- would be thrilled to use with her classes." These people may be telling the truth. Or they may be spinning an attractive tale so that they can get something for free and then try to sell it. At this point, though, I've tried to sell it at garage sales, on ebay, and at sales for used homeschooling materials. I'm ready to start making space in my garage whether I make money off the items or not.
It's sad that I'm not sure how to tell the difference between being cynical and being wary.
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After you are a member for a while, you'll discover that there is a "community" of local people passing things around. A level of trust will evolve.
ReplyDeletewell, i can attest to that fact that I invited a lot of strangers over to my apartment to buy my furniture via Craigslist and survived and never got kidnapped or robbed or anything. They were all decent people. You get an idea from someone's email or phone calls, whether or not they're legit. :)
ReplyDeleteI worried about these things, too. Then I thought about MY motives. Wasn't I just trying to get rid of stuff? Wasn't I getting rid of it? Why worry about the other guy? If he makes a buck, well, more power to him. I wasn't willing to do the work, and he was. My loss, yes, but my gain, too; the stuff is GONE!
ReplyDeleteWhy not arrange to meet them somewhere neutral--like a grocery store parking lot? As long as the item is small, that would work.
ReplyDeleteOr, you can leave the item out on your porch for pick-up, too. I did that often when I was on Freecyle.
ReplyDeleteI find the "Free" section of Craigslist to be more useful; our local Freecycle group is moderated by a control freak. : )
I'm not real keen on arranging to meet people in a neutral location. Then, when they don't show up, I have to sit there for an hour waiting for them. The person this weekend turned out to be a no-show twice. When we used Craigslist to give away something shortly after we moved, the guy repeatedly failed to show up when he said he'd arrive.
ReplyDeleteThe porch idea might work if I knew the weather was going to be dry.
We frequently use both Craigslist and Freecycle. Yes, people will pick things up and resell them. I see nothing wrong with that, if the person giving it away is trying to make more space or to keep things out of landfills (which is the point of Freecycle), that's been accomplished. Neither list is a charity.
ReplyDeleteBecause we live so far out, when we give things away my dh drops them off to the person on his way to and from work. It saves me trying to give directions and saves them from getting lost.
I meet folks at the WalMart near our home. What /egs said is true. Just like you've come to know Loopers, you will come to recognize (at least) other Freecyclers in your community. And you do not have to read the "story" You can just give it to the first person or the third or whatever.
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