FreecycleReviews of freecycle.org

Response from FreecycleJun 19, 2018

Thanks for your review. Yes, when I post an item, I tend to ignore those replying with "I'll have/take it." I reply to those who bother to express why they might want the item, i.e. "My daughter is getting her own flat.. " etc. Another tip: instead of giving your mobile number or address directly to a replier, ask them for their phone number. They'll feel more committed and will know if they don't show, you might call and ask what happened. Makes it a bit more personal and real that way. Works well for me. Sincerely, Deron Beal, Exec. Dir. PS: Look for a site re-launch latest this fall. Good stuff awaits... :-)

Response from FreecycleMay 27, 2018

Our site doesn't have pop-up ads. Generally this means your browser has been infected. Sorry to bear the bad news. It's annoying but you'll get it fixed. It doesn't related to our site. You'll find it doing other sites eventually too.

Response from FreecycleMay 21, 2018

Singra, Thanks for your review. Yes, Freecycle.org enables people to give items away rather than to throw them away, as a nonprofit, run by local volunteers on a globally local basis. Individual members posting items to be gifted locally will get numerous responses and most are unable to respond to all people expressing interest. Main thing is that they are finding a new home for a used item which may no longer have monetary value as quickly and as easily as possible. If this has happened, it's a good thing. Typically it is quite quick and easy so we try not to make it more complicated by requiring replies to all those respondents. Thanks for caring enough to provide your input. :-) PS: look for a new site roll-out by autumn. Deron Beal Executive Director The Freecycle Network

Response from FreecycleMar 15, 2018

Thanks for the input. Yes, we are a different animal. Craigslist is wide open in every way, both good and bad. What we do is ask that you sign up and join a local group and we have local volunteers who keep out spammers and scammers as a result, and keep it family friendly. If you are looking for unfiltered, Craigslist is the way to go. After sign up with Freecycle.org, though, you'll find everything is free and clear and without icky stuff to weed through. We're more of a community recycling effort in each local community with folks who care enough to gift items which still have some useful life in them to others in the local community. We are about keeping good stuff out of landfills more than just getting more stuff. It's all good. Sincerely, Deron Beal, Executive Director.

Response from FreecycleFeb 13, 2018

We're sorry to hear that you haven't had much luck getting items on Freecycle. We do encourage posters to give responders a day or so to reply, and I personally never pick the first reply that says "Still got this?" and always look for the reply that says, "My son/daughter is heading off for school and really could make use of that item, here's my phone number." In other words, replying in a sharing, personable way often yields the best results rather than trying to reply immediately to an OFFER. Know that Freecycle fills a valuable gap between still has usable value but no longer has monetary value. The Goodwills and Salvation Armies of the world have to throw away about 70% of everything that is donated to them as they are unable to sell the items. Long story short, if you don't think it can be re-sold, it probably can't. You can still give someone a shot at giving an item a longer life though on Freecycle.org. Pretty soon, you'll discover that the real gift received are the effusive thanks when you give someone an item, an item that just turned from trash to treasure.... Good luck down the road!

Response from FreecycleJan 12, 2018

We ask that you post WANTED and OFFER posts to one group *at a time*. OFFERs are easily fulfilled in one group so that is not an issue. People tend to think though that if they post the same WANTED post to several groups that they increase their odds of getting the desired item. This natural human impetus leads to people posting WANTEDs to as many groups as possible. The boards then fill up with WANTED posts even though there are, in theory, the exact same number of items wanted and offered out there. As a result, we ask that members post *one* WANTED post only and to their nearest/home group which you yourself determine. If you have no success in one group you can wait a week or two and try in another group. This keeps things balanced. Thanks for your understanding and for taking the effort to provide us with this input.

Response from FreecycleAug 18, 2017

Sorry to hear it didn't go well for you. Each local group is run by a local volunteer in your community. It can occasionally go awry. If you'd like us to look into it, I'd need to ask that you get me some post/group info: your ID, item posted and post ID if you have it, group name, city, region, country. Although most posts are unmoderated, we do have hotwords that kick posts into moderation that volunteers sometimes miss. We do this to keep out spammers and scammers and to keep the groups family friendly and free of yuck. I look forward to hearing from you. :-) Deron Beal, Exec. Dir.