Dec 02 2008
freecycle: the good, the bad and the ugly
For the Moment Valkyrie ipod Skinwalkers the movie more than a year ago, my friend jefe von hefenstein sent me a link about freecycling. the story he sent me included the WEIRDEST of freecycling, where people take empty sacks and root through dumpsters for food that “is still good” including vegetables, bread and more. they take the “trash” home, where they wash it up and eat it. i don’t really feel like providing all the links here, but if you want to check it out, try google. i’m sure you’ll find a wealth of information. one of the other stories i remember reading was about a group of people who gathered at the dumpsters near college dorms in new york state. the kids would throw away perfectly good items, including books, cds and iPods before they went home for the summer. a freecycler’s dream!
shortly thereafter, i joined a local freecycle group. before you freak out, let me back up and say that MOST freecyclers are not the kind of people who eat “perfectly good” food out of the dumpster. normal freecyclers give away items they don’t want anymore. we bathe. we don’t all have dreadlocks. we don’t all shop at whole foods (esp. not here, cuz we don’t have one…). we do shave our legs.
the group i joined is on yahoo groups and it’s specifically for the area i live in. people post wanteds and offers and then you reply via email. basically, it’s a way to keep items that are still in good shape out of the landfill. the thing is … you can’t charge for items you want to give away. hence the “free.” funny how that works, right? i’ve given away a ton of stuff, including a stereo, furniture, a microwave and car seats my kids outgrew.
i get a daily digest of freecycle posts in my inbox. it’s usually pretty long after the weekend, and sometimes there are good items. i cannot believe the response i’ve gotten on some of the items i’ve given away. and it’s really hard to choose who i’m going to give the items to. basically, the rules of the group state that you shouldn’t just give the item to the first person to respond, because not everyone is online all day long like us blogging losers seem to be. some people have opted to receive an email for every.single.post. that someone makes on freecycle, but really, do i NEED more email in my inbox?????? i think i might have used too many question marks to enunciate my point, but i’m not going to erase them. deal with it.
so. you post an item. 318 people respond. you pick ONE WINNER. and then hope no one gets really pissed at you. here’s how i choose a recipient: have they posted lots of offers in the past few weeks? did they ask for every single thing i posted? do i believe their “story?” and sometimes, i don’t know how to pick, so i just pick someone.
i have never ONCE received an item i wanted on freecycle. WAIT…i take that back. i asked for old deer horns for my mom (she’s an artist. don’t ask…). but that wasn’t for me. so, i’ve never received ANYTHING i wanted. not yet. i guess maybe i don’t need it?
lately, some of the posts and responses have been a little ridiculous. people are asking for stuff they just shouldn’t be asking for. i’m not going to quote anyone directly except for one, which is so damn funny i have to leave it as is….the rest are total dramatizations completely based on fact.
OFFER: scott toilet paper
I have 7 rolls ( an 8 pack that’s been opened). My husband doesn’t like
it…haha. SO…if anyone wants it, let me know! I live in ______. Fighting move
i laughed so hard at this i had to respond to this woman and thank her for the laughs. yes, this is the real post.
now, onto the fake stuff.
WANTED: love sac
i know this is a total longshot, but my daughter wants a lovesac or a bean bag to “watch movies” on. i know that these are like way expensive, but i figure one of you freecyclers has just got to have one of these lying around, right? call me! i’ll come pick it up right away! Hellraiser: Bloodline download
i’ve seen at least 3-4 requests for love sacs over the past few months. i’m not sure if it’s the same person asking or if it’s different people (because i don’t pay enough attention…). it bugs me when people ask for items that are kind of expensive.
OFFER: microwave
this microwave is circa 1989 and has been in my grandma’s garage since about that same year. it’s totally filthy, but hey, it’s yours if you want it. you have to pick it up today.
freecycle pet peeve: when people freecycle stuff that is obviously filthy. that’s just me. i guess it doesn’t bug some people, but some stuff really IS trash. hey, to each his own, right?
offer: leaves and other piles of shitcrap
free stuff! all you have to do is come pick it up. here’s my address (and some people REALLY LEAVE THEIR ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBERS IN THESE POSTS…mmmmkay!!) 123 dumas drive. you need to pick it up today b/c we’ll be leaving on vacation for the next 2 weeks to europe. i really hope someone can use this stuff.
smooth move, cowboy. first, post something totally lame. second, advertise YOUR HOME ADDRESS. third, tell ALL OF US that you will be going on vacation. i’ll be freecycling YOUR LIVING ROOM while you are gone. i need a 50″ plasma, a food processor and some bad ass cookware. my t-fal really sucks.
wanted: fridge or freezer
hi there! i am really, really, really in need of a fridge and/or a freezer. i’m really poor and money is tight and i just can’t afford to buy one right now!!! thanks SO SO much!!!
first of all, thanks for using all those exclamation points. they tell me you REALLY! ARE! POOR! and that you NEED! A! FRIDGE! or FREEZER! otherwise, i just wouldn’t have gotten it. clarity is always nice. really, it was the extra “reallys” in your message that just really got to me.
wanted: any baby items
HIIIIIIEEEEE!!! we just had a baby and we are young and broke and so we, like, need EVERYTHING! specifically, a high chair, a crib, a bouncer, a swing and a baby tub. we’d also love all your old baby clothes. and we can’t really afford formula or diapers either, so if you’ve got any of that lying around, i would just LOVE to come pick it up!
/le sigh. if you cannot afford to have children, you probably shouldn’t have had one! kids are NOT puppies. baby items really are one of thee best things to hand down, but i get really irritated with people who ask. i highly suspect if you can’t afford these things, you are on WIC, you have state-funded health insurance for your kids and you get food stamps. you are probably better off than i am. i AM sympathetic to people who REALLY need stuff…but again, it’s the request for the items to complete strangers that irritates me. this stuff is offered ALL OF THE TIME… so just respond to their offer. ALSO… people who post an offer of some random item, so they can then post a bunch of wanteds really irk me, too.
as i read over this, i realize i might have come off as a bit crass. that doesn’t mean i’m going to go back and change any of it. i’m not. i LOVE freecycle. i LOVE helping other people. i believe in the power of charity. of empathy. i donate my time to many groups. i participate in food drives and sub for santa.
do you freecycle in your area? are you part of a group? do you have a story to share?
Stumble it!
LmAO!!!! I don’t think I have heard of Freecycling..
Here we have something what I affectionatley call. S.P.I
We put all our crap out on the curb assuming it will be taken to the landfill. But people drive around with there trucks and take the items.. Some people will ask. Some people will just take it.
Items they have taken.. A old old broken vacum, a toddler bed.
2 falling apart couches. An old. old dryer. ( I don’t throw away things that work and look fine.. I don’t. these things were pretty bad.) So I throw it out on the curb waiting for the garbage people to come. but the S.P.I comes and scoops it all. Sometimes the same afternoon.
What is S.P.I? Shit. Pickers. International. Trust me the name is appropriate.
But hey . IF you have use for a broken or old item.. rock on.
Sounds.. interesting. I’ll have to ammuse myself and see if there is a “freecycling”group here.
I was on freecycle in Logan and moved over to a new group when we moved. I don’t notice nearly as many ridiculous requests (tons of stuff, expensive stuff, etc) since I switched groups although the I do occasionally see “anything baby related” wants posted.
I don’t know if they still post it, but someone used to ask monthly for an adult sized tricycle for their disabled child. Now, I could really see why that would be useful to them but it is not that common of an item and expensive, they needed to realize no one had one to give away and probably wouldn’t the next month either. I haven’t lived in Logan for 5 months and I am still annoyed with them!
I followed freecycle for awhile, but got tired of being inundated with the “ridiculous” offers that you speak of here–and there seemed to be more of those than legitimate posts. Expired food, requests to fill a driveway with gravel “by this afternoon,” etc etc. Mucking through the inane wasn’t worth my time.
Ah, the joys of freecycle. I have posted many things that were taken rather promptly. For the most part my experience has been very pleasant and without backlash for my refusals.
Living in the same area I have noticed some of the same lame postings as you have. I usually roll my eyes and think ‘wtf?’ and move on. Some people are built of gall, I am sure of it. Lovesac? Yeah, right.
As for Stacey’s post above, if anyone around here were to put anything useful at their curbs I would jump on it in a heartbeat! I like trash to treasure but that is just me..
The most amusing posts to me are when someone posts something like:
OFFER, Broken flower pot.
(in the body) Hey, it’s about 3 inches tall and a really unattractive baby poo color with a fairly large nick out of the edge. I think it is a piece of junk, but maybe someone out there can use it?
That is the only thing they offer too. Very amusing. I wonder how many responses those kind of posts generate? Couldn’t they have thrown in an old non-stick surface peeling off, handle broken off pan?
I heard about freecyclers a year or so ago when I read an article about people who pledged not to spend any money for an entire years, excepting basic groceries and toiletries. I remember mentally noting that I ought to get in on this freecycle thing, but my mental note lost it’s gum, and is now lying crumpled in some dirty corner of my mind. So thanks for reminding me.
And also, I don’t shave my legs regularly, shower once every 2-3 days, and occasionally shop at Whole Foods. So I’m practically a freecycler already!(!!!!!!)
I like your gripes. All valid to me. My favorite is the lovesac lady whose daughter wants to “watch movies” on one. I take it the quotation marks signify that movie watching is not the real objective.
Please to ignore egregious grammatical errors in my comment. Thank you.
I picked up some good stuff out of dumpsters in Logan. E.g. vacuum cleaner, a grill, a table, and a floor lamp.
Jess, the word you were looking for was “Urban Foraging.”
I just got a game off Freecycle called “Leisure Suit Larry.” The point of the game is to “get him laid.” Don’t worry this isn’t the basic game it comes with the expansion pack, most classily called the “Ultimate Pleasure Pack.”
SUCK IT!
Jeff
p.s. this is ALL TRUE!
Well, we’re’all like really really poor(!!!) in these parts and are always in need of things like baby stuff and all but we don’t have a freecycling group … that’s how poor we are, we can’t afford one.
Actually, it’s kinda just common courtesy in these parts to keep you ‘ears open’ for people who have and people who need and to pass it along. Nearly all of my son’s clothes were from my SIL and my daughter’s were from my chiropracter (which I returned when I was done b/c her sister wants them some day), my sister, and my SIL throughout the last 16 months. We also hit-up yard sales. Alot.
As for college kids, there’s “junk day” in the college town I work in and people can throw out anything. It’s amazing from the little stuff to the big stuff - like perfectly good couches or dressers - that get tossed. It’s almost sickening!
The “freecycle your living room” had me cracking up.
Valley Metals on 10th west can have some of the most interesting shit outside the gates at times. I got a really nice barbeque grill once and damn near snagged an entire truck to take the transfer case out of. Kind of like the DI. Gotta be there at just the right time.
DUUUDE! I totally used to Freecycle when I lived in GB, and for a short while since I’ve been back in the 505. In fact, when I was leaving GB and looking to get rid of a bunch o’ stuff (bookcase, tables, etc) I did it all through Freecycle. It was awesome!
The only thing I got out of it in the 505, besides a shit ton of emails (similar to those you posted above, EXCEPT I’ve seen people asking for laptop computers- really? are you kidding me? I couldn’t even afford a laptop and you want someone to just GIVE you one b/c your kids need it for school? come on now, at least go for a desktop) and a Utah Jazz lunchbox that I gave to my granparents.
Good times.
Ohmyjesusgod…whatthehell.
Jess. Dude. This post made me pee my pants laughing.
Hiiiiiieeeeee!!!! One free pair of soiled jeans to anyone who wants to come pick them up!!!
Um, P.S. I think you owe us a photo of your mom’s deer-horn-art.
Not crass at all. I opted out of it just because of the messages you’ve posted. I gave and never got, and I’ve got enough family for that. Um, sorry for the bitter interlude. I’d rather give to a local AIDS fundraising org and let them sell it at their thrift shop.
Thanks for the giggle. I use freecycle. or i used to try to use it. but what i do now is just log in when i have something to get rid of. I never peruse the emails on offers anymore.
I’m also sick of the “no shows’ not welcome comments, and blah, blah, blah with an I know who you are at the end of it…” True. Rude if you ask, then not pick up, but they way some of these people make it seem like they can never leave the house with so many NO shows supposedly showing up. ha.
Then there are the ones that give you explicit instruction that if you don’t follow? you’re not getting it. ha. I just gave up.
I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in ages. I’ve been using FreeCycle here in the UK for a year or so now and I’ve both given and received some items. I too have been a little annoyed with the absurd requests that come through for laptops or plasma tv’s… although I’ve not come across many that are as commical as the ones you’ve listed above.
I think a lot of people are missing the point that the freecycle network is trying minimise the amount of stuff that ends up in that landfills and the fact that you get the stuff for free is a secondary result of that goal. I think many people just see the freecycle network as a place to receive free handouts, regardless how ridiculous their request is.