anyone ever used freecycle?

signed up for some of my local freecycle groups last night as heard a lot about it, and its a game collectors dream! was wondering if anyone else on here have used it?

the basic idea of it is, is to avoid sending unwanted items to the landfill, and offering them to other people in your local area for free.

i only signed up yesterday and ive already got rid of a old bbq, some floorstanding speakers and a old 21inch tv, that if it wasnt for freecycle, they would have gone to the tip!

also the major advantage is freestuff! games, consoles, computers etc, i only posted last night and im already going to collect a n64 with 15 games, a dreamcast with 20odd games, a new bed for my son and someones even offered me 10x p3 computers (which i had to decline due to limited transport)

was looking through what other people had given away in the past few weeks, a athon 2700 p.c. becasue it had a virus on it, a 1.6celeron laptop etc..

was wondeing if anyone else had expeiences in using freecycle? any great deals etc. ?

if anything you should check it out just to help with the environment, just remember, 1 mans junk is another mans treasure!

 

Yeah, I suspect I alerted you to this one lol

I too have been a regular contributor to Freeshare / Freecycle. I've got mixed experience, but mainly because throughout the last year or two I've been mostly giving things away. I used to get LOADS of emails even when I had nothing to offer, asking whether I still had any consoles to hand out. On the whole they were from local charity groups and I kept a list and donated what I could. A few however were from the same bloody individuals who just pissed me off. One in particular actually queried almost every item I put up and I eventually just ignored the twat. He would have a different reason / story of plight every time.

My wife and I first heard about it when we lived in our old house and were doing some renovation work. We were trying to get rid of some items we no longer needed / had the space for and a neighbour mentioned the site. Immediately we became converts! In our area you get fined for fly tipping (which is a good thing), but at the same time you are charged for large item collections by the council. I hate to see things go to waste, so we offered a pile of stuff.

We could have literally helped someone furnish their flat as it was a real "out with the old, in with the new" type situation. We off loaded TV's, a fridge freezer, a sofa, 2 beds, wardrobes, chest of drawers, speakers, a couple of old PC's and on and on it went. Let's get one thing clear, this isn't eBay - you give the stuff away for free! An alien concept in this day & age perhaps, but you feel really good about yourself!

Since then I have collected and repaired, then given away roughly 20-30 games consoles annually. At Christmas I gave away a whole pile of PS2 and Xbox units, fully working and complete to various charities and homeless networks. Why? Because I got the parts free from a second-hand store and I had the time on my hands, plus it really genuinely felt good. Most of the people I handed the units over to are now friends. Several had just fallen on hard times and wanted something constructive to do with their time and have since found work - two or three handed the consoles back into Freecycle and kept it going.

I've now stopped as it took up a LOT of time, but found someone on the site who now does the repair stuff. It was good fun and a great learning curve and I totally recommend it.

Where it does become a bit of an issue is when people obtain items for free, clean them up, do a few repairs and then sell them on eBay or whatever. I'm not a big fan of that, but enterprise is enterprise and I realise some will and do abuse the whole ethos of Freecycle. That's their call, not mine!

On the otherhand, I also accepted a Fender acoustic guitar (not a thing wrong with it once I had scraped all the Emo teenage angst stickers off it), an excellent push bike, a few console / computer related items and my firm favourite was a very expensive, beautifully finished Japanese futon / chair which now sits in the conservatory. It is a solid piece of wood, hand built and is SO comfortable. Easily a few £££ worth and given for FREE!

Oh, I told you I obtained an iMac and I've had Playstation software handed over. So, all in all it's been a pretty two way street.

The only BAD experience I have had was when I posted an offer for a Nintendo GC I was giving away. It was at Christmas time and some mad woman emailed me for days complaining that I had added on my list "...I would prefer this item to go to a charity before any individual..." and for some reason she was lacking in festive spirit. She banged on through several emails about how she felt I was "...being unfair to single mothers and the like". I eventually gave that unit away, without a moments loss of sleep to the homeless shelter.

When I delivered it, there was a young woman (obviously a resident in the shelter) interested in what the donation was and she said (and I quote) "Oh for fu*k sake, not a games thingy, those guys will never let me watch East Enders now..."

I think I ruined her Christmas - you just can't win!

 

thanks for that parris, it was a good insight into how it all works, way better than i could have put it!

i agree with you that some people can abuse the system and basically just get stuff for free and sell for profit, and i cant say that at some point i may sell some of the items ive had off there, but saying that ill probably be getting shot or more items than i actually collect as im trying to have a clearout in the house so i can finally get round to building the conservatory and extension

as i said ive already had some people collect, and have not got someone coming to pickup a climbingframe, slide and playhouse this afternoon,, which for 1 would have been hell trying to load into my wifes daewoo to take to the tip, and for 2 its at least going to be re-used by another family

1 thing i do think though is that it can become addictive in the same sence as ebay was a few years ago when there was a huge boom and people were buying for buying's sake, so i think ill try and limit myself to it otherwise ill end up with more junk than i have now!

 

i have been using freecycle for a while now too..

I make it a rule that anything i get through freecycle i will not sell or take any money for and pass on the items if i dont need them any longer etc..

Havent really had any bad experiences to be honest.

I have actually met a like minded friend through Freecycle and after passing on a few items he wanted free he came back and BOUGHT a load more off me that i was going to put on ebay etc... Top bloke!!

 

Diddydonn: Yw! I know of several people (one in particular) who appear to be addicted to Freeshare / Freecycle & Gumtree (look that one up) as much as they used to be with eBay. This one guy actually has a room full of stuff that he has collected. Every time I speak with him he has another item he isn't sure what to do with "I got this excellent VCR the other day, but it's Betamax and I'm not sure whether I will need it. The wife is going daft, do you want it?"

The times I've had to decline things from him because he's gone for the thrill of being the "winner". Apart from that he is a genuinely nice guy and he gives load & loads of stuff away. If you need anything, he will have it and he'll just hand it over.

Festerfly: I am the same. I can't sell things I obtain for free. It just isn't in me! That said, I am like you in that I've met a pile of people from giving things away and you can actually get quite a good group together. Our local one is so-so, but certain individuals are really genuine and nice. One old lady (I picked up a MS keyboard from) even dropped me off home in her cool hybrid car after walking to her house with my 2yr old son.

Nope, I recommend it to anyone on this or any other site. If you have Freeshare / Freecycle or Gumtree (Free section) near you, then be part of it as you'll feel a whole lot better about being a consumer! A recent survey revealed that upwards of 30% of gadgets bought in the UK never get taken out of their boxes in what's dumbed "technology fear". Those little gadgets, gizmos and odd bits and pieces lurk in nooks, crannies and garages for years. You'd be amazed at what turns up of these sites, plus it gives you the opportunity to off load items you know are cluttering up your life.

Go on, the wife will love you for it! ;-)

 

I just think i might get into this free share thing, i think i'd rather see someone take any stuff i don't need free than it going to the tip

 

Thats exactly the way of thinking that the sites promote to be honest.

Sometimes when i have say got a job lot of videos (as per recently) i have chosen the ones i want to keep and then reoffered the remains or if no joy with that taken them to a charity shop...

that way everyone is a winner!

 

Hey, wait you are in Edinburgh so any console related stuff we both should find ourselves not needing, we should offer it to one another first lol. ;-)

Speaking of which, Festerfly I got your PM. You're welcome to that white controller right now if you want it. PM your details and I'll send it as frankly it sitting doing nothing in the attic right now. You seem to have your heart set on that VCD PSx, so will probably obtain one before I ever do!

 

lol cheers Parris..

Will PM you now..

 

I take it that freecycle is UK based?

 

I am with you on this :thumbsup:

 

why dont we operate a freecycle style section on this forum also for those things that we cant be bothered to sell but know can go to a better home???

 

seems like a good idea, ive got load of console stuff that people could have that i either cant be bothered to sell, is in need of repair etc, thats id rather not throw away

and to answer taucias freecycle is a worldwide thing, it actually started in the u.s. a few years ago,and it starting to take off well in the uk now

 

wonder if it should be suggested to Assembler and get a sub-thread added to the market place?

 

Parris i live just outside Edinburgh but i am basicly there everyday for college so if i should get any console related stuff i may not want i'll let you know first.

 

So I signed up to Freecycle last night, and already there's a few things that are kind of "hmm, that's almost worth it". A free Mini-hifi, VGA card (minus cooler, the one thing I need!), that sort of thing. Nice little service.

Is freeshare Scot-only, then?

 

Freecycle is an American group on Yahoo, that spread like wildfire throughout Europe. It has really taken off. Freeshare is a spin off in my local area, which might grow, caused by legal issues with Freecycle.

The Gumtree thing seems to be UK based, but I've never looked into them much. A lot of their stuff is actually scams and the like as badly moderated and guarded.

I.e. I saw a posting for "Free iMac" which when you clicked on the link to it opened up the Gumtree text box, but was one of those " just buy my book and we'll tell you how to get free stuff " scam.

 

Well, I don't see why not mate? Why not have a free thread. You send for postage of item, it's yours kind of thing. I've done that on here via PM with Barc0de and he was legit. I sent him one of the last PS2 units I had worked on and as far as I know it's still working fine.

Not all of the console material has a high value. You see that at the huge array of car boot sales. People are generally willing to off load things for a few quid. Sooner or later that dips to "here, take it!"

I'd hate to see people scammed though, so it would have to be a pretty well watched area.

 

Excellent! Like wise, if I spot anything of interest I'll let you know. At the moment I am avoiding car boot sales and the like as I know I'd waste all my time buying DC, Spec, Amstrad, PS and all the rest of it. I just got rid of most of this stuff!

Dev kits.... now that would be a delight to see on Freecycle lol

 

you never know! someone might be having a office clear out

i rescued a load of dev stuff a few years ago from a skip when they were refurbing a office block near me that used to house a games company (anyone remember elite games?, thundercats etc..)