Freecycle no-shows

I posted alot of stuff on freecycle last night and had about 20 responses of interest.
However if they want me to call them-forget it.
I contacted the first three on the replies early this am and haven't heard from anyone yet.
So I just emailed person #4. This is so annoying-they respond so fast but no one contacts me back.

Does anyone have any "rules" they follow when posting stuff on freecycle ??

I hate when that happens. Several months back I was getting rid of a big fish tank. When I sent the email out I told everyone it had to be gone by 4pm that day. Yes it was short notice but if someone really wanted it they would have come and got it. When I had 4 people email me back. The first one I said come get it to never did. They said they would be here within an hour never came. The next person said she would be there within 20 mins and she did.

Now when I send out emails like that I tell them I keep a list of people who say they will pick up and fall off the face of the earth. And those people won't get dibs on what I am offering.

Well the 1st responder who wanted the paint just called and he did have a valid reason for not contacting me and was nice enough to call. I'll give the others until early tomorrow then go down my list-so annoying though. When I see something on freecycle I want I respond and pick up asap!!

I don't know about "Freecycle", but I have advertised to sell things. I know what you mean about people contacting you and not following through.

What I do is use the motto, first come, first served. I do not "hold" anything for anyone who wants to come look at it in a few days. I tell them to call me the day they want to come to make sure the item is still available. If someone comes along in the meantime and wants to view it and buy it, then I'll sell it to that person.

I learned long ago through experience that all holding things for someone without a deposit means is that you end up turning away potential buyers and not selling the item.

Freecycle is a nationwide website where you can get rid of just about anything -its all free.
Its to reduce the amount of stuff going to landfills.

I dont know about freecycle, but that happens a lot of Craigslist. I've been trying to sell my desktop on there for AGES and we finally had a family come through and check it out in person, then they decided to buy a new one instead. Its really frusterating to get my hopes up and then people never respond. I've probably had 15 emails from people, and this was the first person to actually come through.

I respond to the people in the order they contact me and tell the 2nd one on that there is someone in front of them and if they don't pick it up by 'x' time then I will contact them. I don't give them my phone number and unless I don't want them to know where I live, I will never meet them anywhere. The stuff is free and its up to them to be responsible for it. They need to respond quickly or it is gone. I will take a picture and e-mail it to them if they request it.

I had a no show when I gave away a dishwasher and simply contacted the next responder who made the appointment to pick it up (at my convenience, not theirs).

I've actually had very good luck but usually give away good stuff (a stove, a large bird cage, the dishwasher, etc). I really love freecycle.

I've had pretty good luck with it. However, before we moved I gave away a Swiffer Wetjet and it's refills. The first person didn't respond! I think I emailed them 3 times, finally gave them a deadline. When I *still* got no response I moved on to the next person. Who picked it up the next morning. I get annoyed with the ones who send their phone number. I don't like calling strangers and having my cell number in their phone memory.

Mostly I've had good luck with Freecycle. My rules are "first come, first served" on responses. Then move onto the next responder if they don't respond within a reasonable amount of time.

We just moved and want to clean out on some more stuff, so I get to try out a new Freecycle group. My only peeve is the one for the area I moved to allows giving away pets. I think the weirdest posting I've seen so far was "Wanted: Snowblower and Kitten."

I'm making a list...of Freecycle no-shows. I had another one yesterday. Grrrr!

I had one two weeks ago that was a no-show, never responded to mutiple emails. My last email to her said that if she didn't reply within 24 hours that I was going to repost the item. No response, so I reposted.

Guess who was one of the first to respond to the posting saying she was interested? I BLASTED her in the response I sent, she made me SO angry.

In general, I love Freecycle - I joined 4 local groups in my area. But yeah, it seems like more and more are starting to be no-shows, so I'm making a list and checking it twice...before replying!

Do people not take stuff from your treelawn or near your dumpster? I've never meddled with freecycle, because anything I set out is gone in minutes. Although I can see the purpose of it if you live in a rural area. That stinks that you are trying to give something away and people don't come get it!

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Do people not take stuff from your treelawn or near your dumpster? I've never meddled with freecycle, because anything I set out is gone in minutes. Although I can see the purpose of it if you live in a rural area. That stinks that you are trying to give something away and people don't come get it!

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in some areas that is ILLEGAL

we have a recycleing shed at our landfill, I give clothing to the thrift store, anything else that is usable, i put in the recycleing shed

People take ANYTHING!! on the two freecycle groups I belong to. I also put stuff out my the mailbox that I don't want; sometimes it goes sometimes it doesn't. I have two people coming to get about 95% of the stuff-goodwill will get the rest!!
The freecycle group do have lots of dogs and cats to give away and also wanted and some posts are pretty specific in their requests. The animal posts usually go quite quickly to new homes.
Many people do not like one of the local shelters thats why they do freecycle or craigslist

Originally Posted by sharky

in some areas that is ILLEGAL

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What's illegal, the treelawn or the dumpster diving? Here you can take anything you want from the garbage, you just can't put anything in unless it is your own garbage (illegal dumping).

Hi i have a rule that if someone gives me a day/time to collect an item that i have listed and they dont turn up i block their email address so that they cant reply to anything else i have listed.

dontwantit said:

Hi i have a rule that if someone gives me a day/time to collect an item that i have listed and they dont turn up i block their email address so that they cant reply to anything else i have listed.

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Hi and welcome to The Cat Site! Just a note that this thread is from 2007 so the original poster probably won't see your response.

I am burned out on free cycle. Way too many sob stories plaguing my e-mail inbox every day!!!!