Lost faith in freecycle

[ellisonc]

hello

I have just joined freecycle this week and replied to an offered post for some small garden pots. I will keep you posted and see what happens.

WANTED: plastic propergator can you help?

[sez]

not all groups are bad, ours is thriving at 1000 members, and thats in scunthorpe which is hardly an eco/recycling hub. in regards to rules on freecycle groups... i used to run ours and while the rules may seem annoying and pushy they are there for a reason and they DO help the group run more smoothly (I admit i was a bit of a half assed mod, since someone with more energy than me took it over and cracked down the group has run a lot more smoothly). A good example of this is the strictness of what can and cannot be posted ... oftopic stuff while just a 'one off' to you becomes a flood for a group of that size ... excessive wants simply aren't allowed, so people don't get p*ssed off with repeated requests for Wiis, cars and IPods.

I've offered and received plenty of items from there. 2 sets of brand new curtains for our cold house, a hoover (after a desperate 'want' - ours broke down while we were totally skint), packaging materials including polystyrene for pot drainage, books etc. I've given away toys including lego, scales, an envelope of various packs of seeds (boring ones that nobody on here wanted ) etc etc. None of it is big excessive stuff... just little bits and pieces.. which is probably why I do so well on there.

I always specify in my 'offers' when items need to be picked up, and that anyone who buggers about (no shows, rude people, etc) will be promptly reported to the mod. Yes, it sounds arsey, but TBH i put a heck of a lot of work into starting the group so I feel I have the right Blunt emails like 'I'll take it', 'ring me on xxx' 'i'll take it all' get ignored, simple as that.

Despite all this? I still love freecycle. If you can learn how to use it 'properly' (by that I mean ignoring the irritating people ) it can be a total goldmine, especially for useless cr*p which most people would bin but enterprising lottie-rs can reused

[fccadmin]

I am the Administrator of Croydon Freecycle, Whilst surfing about I stumbled across this thread. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but it is much better when the thread is totally truthful. I have copiped and pasted some of the so called issues and responded to them.

i have totally lost faith in freecycle now
i'm in a place that's roughly the border of 3 different freecycle areas
i've given a few bits away on one of them but joined the other two so i could give away more - got tons of stuff to go

There are no issues with a member joining three local groups, providing they are in fact local, the problem is when a member crossposts simulataneously to all groups. If this occurs, the member is advised, if it continues, then after a while they will be removed. We do not have the time to keep on repeating the same thing to individuals.

posted to one of the new groups the other day, asking for bike or pram wheels so kids can build go-karts - message rejected cos need to offer on that group before asking (have given away stuff on other freecycle groups)

This is the downside of multi group signups, we can not spare the time to cross reference other groups to see if you have made offers elsewhere. Each group is individual, it clearly states on the 1st page that an offer has to be made to this group prior to requesting, also thereare rules and guidelines sent to you when you join, had you not agreed with them, you should not have signed up to the group.

so offered stuff on the new group today - messages rejected cos gotta lump different offers into one message (not a problem on other freecycle groups)

This clearly displays your ignorance as everthing so far is detailed within the rules and guidelines, often alongside an explanation as to why the rules exist. Yahoo groups are email based, not the ideal platform for an organsiation such as Freecycle, but unfortunately we have no choice other than to use this. if you have half a dozen items to offer, it is stated that it should be sent as ONE email, Labelled Offer: Various Items (1st Part Post code), this helps keep the sheer quantity of mail down, on a group with many thousand members, the messages quickly mount up. because of your failure to actually read the rules, which were labelled (Read before making a post to group) or something similar at that time, you start to spout off negative reports, which are in fact your own fault. As with any forum, group, org, there are rules, the rules are there for a purpose, if you fail to read them, how does it become our fault? So far you have stumbled on all the main rules, as well as tried to debate them, we will help and guide where we can, but if someone continues to take up lots of admin time, then it becomes an issue.

waited in all day for people to collect stuff i'd offered - no shows - and when someone did come round, he had bluetooth headset on and was asking what else i was giving away and "you've got my email so let me know" - gave me the impression he was just scrounging to sell stuff

No shows I agree are annoying, we can only act when we are advised and we give a one hit and out unless there is a genuine good reason. As for selling, some think it is ok, some dont, personally i beleive that if someone wanted it sold, they would do so themselfs, we put the vote to our members, they agree, so we do not entertain sellers.

offered some more stuff on new group this afternoon, but posted it on neighbouring group as well in case it got rejected by new group - new group rejected message for cross posting on other groups - i replied to admin saying i cross posted cos they keep rejecting my offer posts

Again, all explained in the rules, you failed to read fchelp.co.uk explains fully and why.

offering stuff on freecycle (and it's not "junk", it's good stuff, sellable), is just too much hassle
could make money at car boot sale but that's hassle too and i want the stuff gone
a trip to the dump tomorrow is gonna feel soooo good

If your aim was truely green, you would know thereare plenty of options aside from Freecycle, Gumtree, the great giveaway to name a couple, charity shops, so a trip to the dump will make you feel sooo good.....then why did you join FC in the first place?

======================

woke up this morning to a pile of abuse from croydon recycle admin starting with "what a f***ing retard you are .... " - not the kind of thing i would expect from an administrator of any organiser of something like that
probably only got the balls to send that sort of abuse by email ......

Due to the amount of emails dealt with on a daily basis it is hard to reflect fully on this. We are volunteers, if we receive abusive mail, we will respond accordingly. I can categorically state that the phrase you mention above is not a term I use, maybe you can show some hard evidence? (Doubtful). If I had something to say, believe me, if I say it in Email, I would say it to your face. Your criticism is unjust, are you too shallow to accept that perhaps if you read the rules, you would not have had any issues, can you not be man enough to accept you are the one at fault?

i get 3 sacks of croypost for every trip i make to the dump ..... no fuss, no hassle ....

No idea what your on about there

the no shows and scroungers are annoying - but it's the overall hassle and the abuse from an admin that put me right off

In future just be truthful, you may feel better for it. Our group is heading towards 5000 members, we came second as highly commended in the Croydon Green awards, if our group was as bad as you attempt to make out, this would not have been acheivable, as the results are by way of public voting, we was up against many other orgs as well.

I doubt I will be back to visit this thread, but it is down to the members here to read and come to your own conclusion. The only time we get members who are upset is when they continually flout the rules and they are removed from the group, or they are caught out abusing the system. Overall we strive to make the group fair, safe and as pleasant as can be. When ever in a position of enforcing rules, therewill always be times when you are made out to be the ogre, little hitler etc.

Regards

Admin Croydon fc

[sez]

*cheers*
well said.

[Arachne]

I have to say that (as a freecycle mod myself), I agree with what fccadmin's said, but not in the tone they used at all.

Every freecycle group has slightly different ways of working things - the mods have usually been doing it for a while and know what works for their particular group - so if you join multiple groups, be sure to read the etiquette file for *all* of them, and don't be surprised that while one group might be more lenient, another may stick to their stated guidelines more closely.

[BarleySugar]

I've noticed around our way, one group allows animals to be 'freecycled', whereas most of the others don't. The best way, as you say, is to read the guidelines, and let's face it, even if things don't work out quite as we'd like, let's just be grateful for all the stuff that does find new homes instead of in landfill. (I'm sure the animals wouldn't end up at the tip )

[Mikey]

I have no idea where this came from, whether I read it, or it is an urban myth, but the story goes about a man who put a fridge freezer on his drive with a sign saying free to collector. In two weeks, no one took him up on the offer, so he decided to put a price of £50 on it instead. That night someone stole it from his drive.

I think the point really is that good intentions, can sometimes be perceived as questionable, the theory that you only give away what isn't worth anything anyway.

Freecycle really is a very complex structure, and what little dealings I have had with my local groups I have found them to be thoroughly professional and highly organised. This to be honest, goes against the grain of some bods me included, if I want to give something away, it is because I don't want any hassle, and I want the person receiving it to be at the very least grateful. Freecycle systems make this practise almost a business transaction which knocks some of the gloss off, and good you feel about yourself when you do something which through your own eyes you feel is selfless.

It reminds me a bit of Top Gear, where they gave away cars in New Orleans, and someone tried to sue them for misrepresentation of the free car, they got the wrong year and model in their details. Sometimes our good intentions, make us feel like why did we bother.

[fccadmin]

This to be honest, goes against the grain of some bods me included, if I want to give something away, it is because I don't want any hassle, and I want the person receiving it to be at the very least grateful. Freecycle systems make this practise almost a business transaction which knocks some of the gloss off, and good you feel about yourself when you do something which through your own eyes you feel is selfless.

I dont quite get that, Freecycle is just the platform by which items are offered, etc. Once items are live, Thereafter the transaction is actually between the person offering and the person or people who want to take up the offer, this is done privately by way of the exchange of emails. What happens within them emails is what takes the gloss off or makes it selfless as maybe the case in some transactions, depends on who you are dealing with i guess and how greatful they are, or not in cases. On occassions you will get a very pleasant response and transaction, in other cases is...."you still got it? I want it, I need it! No manners, thanks or appreciation for the person offering, this takes the gloss etc. What is selfless is staffing the groups, having spoken to many mods, owners etc, very seldom are they thanked for giving up their free time to make this service a reality, The unsung I guess. Sadly in this day and age,some are quick to judge and slate, but not too quick to acknowledge the time and effort put in. From experience attitudes change from area to area, small rural groups appear more pleasant, relaxed, less scammers and abusers, less rules required, or a more relaxed approach, whereas city areas such as London suburbs, its a total different game, staff have to be on the ball all the time, a lot not in it for the green efforts, but to make a profit, or harvest email addresses, spam, scam and much more, the stuff often not seen on the groups as we strive so hard to prevent this happening.
Anyway enough said, bed shouting.

[Nicos]

FG- I'd send a copy of that e-mail to the local paper and ask them to look into the Freecycle in your area...it should make interesting reading- and a few heads may roll into the bargain!
You can't be the only one having problems with them.............

[Pootle]

I've had mixed experiences with FreeCycle, but that's more to do with the people who use it rather than the moderators who all seem very reasonable and dedicated on our site.

My main issue has been with people posting wanted ads - to which I reply in an effort to help, only to be mucked about for days on end and end up with items not collected at all. On the positive side, whenever I've offered anything it has been collected promptly and pleasantly. Now I just ignore the wanteds (I can't believe the cheek of some people who post wanteds almost daily or ask for extravagant things like laptops/cars!) and put offers on when I have things available.

Our mods have also suggested not just offering things to the first responder as this disadvantages those who aren't in front of a screen all day and benefits those who just reply to every post regardless. I think once you've been using FreeCycle for a while you get to spot the genuine people and can easily discount the ones out to make a profit.

[sez]

FG- I'd send a copy of that e-mail to the local paper and ask them to look into the Freecycle in your area...it should make interesting reading- and a few heads may roll into the bargain!
You can't be the only one having problems with them.............

And hopefully doing that will make the volunteer mods quit, leaving the town with no freecycle scheme.

The moderators are volunteers and human beings. I gave it up myself because of all the agro (such as people sending me abusive emails because I turned down their entirely inappropriate posts).

[Mikey]

Fccadmin, I may not have explained myself well enough. What I meant by my comments is that if we go back 10 years or so, the only option you had to get rid of something in a rural community was to stick a card up in your local post office window. We are in a technological era and with that comes quite complex rules and regulations, I appreciate that you see hundreds of emails daily and probably get fed up with having to send them back if they are incorrect. However I think the post 'new message' on forums could be improved to help individuals not make basic mistakes.

For example if it was set up in way of a form that you fill in tick box scenario (offered, wanted, etc), brief description, how and when to collect, this way the not so techincally minded (myself included) are assisted to follow your guidelines, while you get messages all looking the same, standard database criteria. If a field was not filled in for example it won't send post and tells you what you have forgotten to fill in. A kind of foolproof, idiots form, this surely would reduce your workload, would it not, and there are similar product out there, don't know how easy it would be to implement though.

I think you guys do a great job, but I am lazy when it comes to getting rid of stuff, and I genuinely want to do the smallest amount possible to get rid of unwanted goods. I still have an aluminium window which I tried to post on our local freecycle, I filled in the details incorrectly it got rejected a couple of days later, I accidently deleted the message, and as a result the window is still at home, and now I am wondering if it would be just easier to take it upto my local tip.

It is very difficult sometimes to balance my desire to be green, and the reality of the extra work involved to get there. I am sure I am not alone in this, my local tip is 5 minutes drive from my house, and I could be back at home within 15 mins all sorted, the only thing that stops me is my conscience.

[cas d'isjased]

There are no issues with a member joining three local groups, providing they are in fact local

Hmmmm. I'm fairly certain my OH was thrown off a freecycle group and was told it was because she was a member of a neighbouring group. It may have even been the Croydon one!

[SueA]

Freecycle is a great idea & I'm sure it works well for lots of people but personally I just give anything I don't need anymore to local charity shops if it's in good condition or to the tip if it's not (the workers at our tip sort through what you leave & pull out anything they think might be recycleable in some way). I've had enough bad experiences in the past trying to sell things through local newspaper ads. with people not showing up, trying to rip you off, making abusive phonecalls whilst drunk (!) that I've decided it's not worth it. I think it does probably depend on what kind of area you live in.

[Farmer_Gyles]

FG- I'd send a copy of that e-mail to the local paper and ask them to look into the Freecycle in your area...it should make interesting reading- and a few heads may roll into the bargain!
You can't be the only one having problems with them.............

it did cross my mind, but i've got a life, i've got better things to do, i really can't be arsed with it - and i don't want to argue the toss with a rude, arrogant idiot - and lets face it, anyone prepared to call me a f*ck*ng retard to my face has got to be a complete idiot ....

i did pass the email on to my friends and we all had a good laugh about it

And hopefully doing that will make the volunteer mods quit, leaving the town with no freecycle scheme.

The moderators are volunteers and human beings. ....

don't forget the HUMAN BEINGS that are GIVING THINGS AWAY FOR FREE are doing so VOLUNTARILY

giving things away for free means writing descriptions, sometimes taking photos and uploading them (as i did), and then IF the message is approved, there's the whole receiving emails / phone calls, waiting for people to show up (or not) etc etc

but when one group applies the rules very strictly, despite neighbouring groups applying the very same rules more leniently, genuine offers get deleted and it becomes too much hassle for the people trying to do some good by giving things away

and when it becomes too much hassle, they do as i do, and dispose of it in other ways - could be ebay, or car boot sales, or the dump - a perfectly good double wardrobe and chest of drawers went up in smoke a couple of weeks ago - set of pine bunkbeds is next on the list ....