I think I have written before about my local Freecycle group. Freecycle, for those of you who haven’t heard of it, is a way of passing on items that are no longer of use to you rather then sending them to your local landfill or thrift store. There are groups all over the country and you only have to check online for the one nearest to you and join the mass email list.
It is great for items like that old Commodore 64 that has been languishing in the back of your garage. It turns out that it really is true, one man’s junk is another mans treasure.
So that is how it would work in theory. The reality I have found is that people will email and say “OMG I have been wanting that Commodore 64 for my entire life. Please can I be the one to have it!” Then you will set up a time for them to come and pick it up. And they never show up.
Rinse, lather, repeat. Until finally you get so tired of that Commodore 64 sitting on your front porch next to your front door that you haul it off to the dump.
Also, you will get tired of people emailing the list asking for cars, laptops, computers, flat screen televisions, etc.
But I think I have discovered a way around this: the Freecycle tag sale. Like a regular tag sale you set all your unwanted stuff out, except that no money is exchanged for the items. It seems that the people who actually show up for the freecycle tag sale are intent on taking stuff home. And you only have to wait around for one afternoon for you stuff to all go to better homes.
At least I am hoping that it works that way for me. I’ll let you know how it works out.
We had a Commodore 64 growing up. I totally rocked Pitfall and Oregon Trail. Green screen!!
Comment by HayleyStarr — August 5, 2008 @ 7:02 pm
I do love my freecycle! Just yesterday I picked up a copy of What Your Second Grader Needs To Know. I’ve gotten the marble-maze-pieces-toy-thing (now if only I could remember where I put it!), as well as homeschooling supplies, music and videos for my kids.
And the very first thing I gave away was a few little canisters of turtle food! Go figure. I even offered and gave away a Tupperware strainer top! Who woulda thought that someone had the bottom only. haha
Then, the last thing I offered and gave was misc kitchen items and was also able to give her our living room set that I had been wanting to offer but hadn’t yet. Those went to a woman who had left an abusive husband.
Luckily *knock on wood* I have not had any no-shows that I had to report. I’ve had a several pickups were delayed but I have been delayed, a time or few, too.
My biggest problem with my freecycle has been writing acceptable posts. lol I have had numerous rejects and my posts have always had to be approved.
*sigh*
Comment by Anonymous — August 5, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
I am a Freecycle group owner, and (of course) I think it’s great.
No-shows are a perennial pain. There’s no cure, but two things can help:
- let the group moderators know. Some groups keep a list of people who don’t show up.
- In your post, write something like “only serious takers, please. I am sick of no-shows.” A little guilt can work wonders.
And for Anonymous, who keeps having rejected posts — read the group guidelines! The most common reason posts are rejected are because the rules for formatting subject lines weren’t followed.
Comment by LizPf — August 12, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
So uhh, how did the tag-sale go? I am thinking of doing similar this coming Saturday.
Comment by BladeMcCool — October 12, 2008 @ 11:33 am
Am a Freecycle group owner myself and understand completely the ‘no-show’ issue. Would endorse what LizPf says about reporting the no shows ID.
As regarding the subject line… I agree again. And would offer two further suggestions which may help.
In our group we have a ‘correct subject line format’ summarised in the footer of group messages. So each member posting simply has to refer to the last mail they received from the group for guidance. Perhaps your local group might consider doing the same?
Another thing (which looks set to make life easier for all of us – members and Mods alike) is the “Freecycle Member Plugin”. A little bit of free software that you can install on your Internet Explorer or your Firefox browser.
It’s currently being developed by Edwared Hibbert of Edinburgh Freecycle and its going to do all sorts of supper things for members. The main feature though is that it will guide you through getting your subject line right.
http://wiki.memberplugin.org to learn more and get a sense of what it will do for your online Freecycle experience.
Two caveats about it.
Firstly, your group will have to set their site up so members can use the plugin. They have to ‘opt-in’. For Moderators dealing with 1,000s of members this might be a bit too much as the idea of having to deal with members plugin questions as well as the normal day-to-day Freecycle stuff might be too much!
Secondly, it is early days and not everything about it runs perfectly just yet. But by all accounts from Windows and Mac users testing it so far, the subject line function seems pretty robust.
So – assuming you install it on your computer and your group opts in – this might be that magic something to make your Freecycle loveable again!
Best wishes,
Sean.
Comment by SligoFreecycleOwner — October 15, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
(Waves to Sean)
No Shows are an issue on a number of groups. Here some advice we send out on the Edinburgh group from time to time:
We have occasional problems with people not showing up to collect items, or changing their minds. If you’re getting stuff for free,
it’s only fair to be polite and thoughtful about the pickup arrangements – as most of us are. So please make sure you are absolutely going to show up when you say you will.
If you’re not sure if you can or will show, then let someone else take the offer. Remember, people talk… and if you become known as a “no show”, then members will pass you by for someone else. Sure, sometimes last minute emergencies pop up; life happens… but if you can’t turn up, it’s courtesy to let them know. If you were staying
in for someone, you’d want them to let you know if they couldn’t come, right?
When you post an OFFER, you can choose who gets it however you like. There are always going to be no-shows – but you can reduce the chances of it happening to you by choosing people carefully.
First-come-first-served is often not the right choice. Some people pounce on items and send a quick “I’ll take it” just to get dibs, without really thinking about whether they actually want it. If they change their minds, they might just not show up. So if you pick the first response, you’re more likely to have trouble. Plus it doesn’t give people who don’t sit in front of a computer all day a chance, and you might get a later reply which makes you wish you’d not
decided already.
Instead, use the Fair Offer Policy and take some time out and evaluate your responses for at least a few hours, if not for a whole day. If someone takes the time to reply politely and explain why
they want an item, they’re much more likely to show up, or at least let you know if they can’t.
After you have picked someone, let them know, but hold off on sending your address until they respond again. If they take the trouble of
sending you emails back and forth, they are very unlikely to stand you up. Once you’ve told someone they can have an item, please don’t
just change your mind and give it to someone else, unless arrangements fall through; if you do chance your mind, please let them now.
Remember that not all no shows are deliberate. People get lost, have car troubles, run late from meetings, or have one of many other reasons for not showing up on time. Exchange phone numbers, so you can let each other know.
But sometimes after all this, the person can still be a no show. So save the replies you received just in case, so you can move on to the
next person who wanted it.
And because, one day, you might find that you can’t pick up something when you said you could, try not to get too annoyed at people who do
that to you – they may have good reason.
Comment by Edward Hibbert — November 29, 2008 @ 10:03 am