Do you Freecycle?

[Peaceful_Warrior]

I've noticed that nobody on here but me seems to mention Freecycle. Is it that none of you know about it, or just don't use it?

I've found it useful for all sorts of free stuff... mostly for our son. Free baby clothes and a stroller for starters, but we see all sorts of things go by.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out Freecycle then do it!

 

[yakers]

There was a discussion about it a while back. I use it sometimes but have found the free part of Craigslist better for passing on my excess items. I had a big sakteboard ramp on freecycle three times and no one came to see it much less piack it up. It didn't last minutes on Craigslist.
Never bought on Carigslist but my son did find an excellent vehicle this way.

 

[Nords]

We do them both. FreeCycle saves a huge hassle on hauling & dumping fees.

When we recarpted our rental last month, we had 1800 sq ft of 15-year-old carpeting and its 28-year-old "padding". The padding was scooped up (with flat shovels & dustpans) into 40-gallon trash bags and then stealthily distributed among seven of our neighbors' trash cans after sundown. It took a lot of work to haul that stuff up & down the street.

The FreeCycled carpet went to (1) a military base house for a couple with a new baby and not much else and (2) a woman starting a gymnastics business who wanted to carpet her waiting area. We got our first call in 30 minutes and it was all over by the end of the day, straight out of our garage, no effort on our part.

Aside from avoiding contractor's removal fees, the carpet guys greatly appreciated being able to get right down to the tack strips & new padding without a messy demolition & cleanup. The job took less than six hours because they could see the finish line from the start.

When I prune our mango trees (with a chainsaw) I FreeCycle the wood. I have a half-dozen UH art students on my e-mail list for the next tree.

Next we're FreeCycling bamboo/reed roller blinds, an old louvered wood closet bifold door, and a box of old 12-volt yard lights. I can't believe what some people will drive by our house to pick up, and I'm not adding to the landfill.

Our kid wanted a weight bench to work on her upper body (who am I to turn down a grrl's request like that?!?). Local retailers were asking between $125-$400, weights extra. Yesterday, after just two days of searching Craigslist, we picked up an almost-new Weider system from a frustrated owner who was getting ready to move and just wanted it outta there. $30.

Next year we're buying a used Prius, a 2001-03 model for around $10K. Even here on Oahu I see a couple a month...

 

[yelnad]

I give stuff away and pick up great stuff on Freecycle. We also have a yahoo group for local sales and today I got a crib, stroller, and carseat for $65.

Craigslist hasn't really caught on here. Our location is finally listed on it, but it's mostly filled with spam.

 

[Mwsinron]

I never heard of Craigslist or freecycle till I visited these boards. I live such a sheltered life

 

[Sheryl]

Our local Freecycle disbanded due to corporate harassement from the Trademarked owners of "Freecycle" who objected to the use of the term, without use of their system.

So we reformed under the name W*** Potlatch via a Yahoo group.

You know your community is falling off the left edge when Freecycle is too corporate for you!

But to answer the question - yes - and I love it. My packrat tendencies (combined with an aversion to filling up landfills) prevent me from throwing away "stuff." So freecycling is the perfect guilt-free solution for me.

I gave away 3 big boxes of stuff last month.

 

[RedHawk]

I got a crib, stroller, and carseat for $65.

I thought that experts recommended not buying used car seats. They could have already been in a wreck in which case they would need to be replaced.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

I've seen Freecycle and Craigslist mentioned a fair bit here.

I helped my aunt sell her car via Craigslist. I don't recall buying/selling/giving/taking anything for myself yet.

Although I missed a killer deal today. I want a highboy and saw a king bedroom set with a headboard, highboy, dresser and mirror. Oh, and it was oak. And $75 for the set. And had posted within the past 15 or 30 minutes.

I lamented that I don't have the storage room (staying with family at the moment) or a truck. Later my sister said I should get it anyway, and I realized it's a great deal even paying for a rental truck. So I called to make sure there were trucks available, then called the seller...she had just sold it. About 1 hr 20 min after it was posted.

I think I had a chance if I had jumped on it when I first saw it. Oh well. And I could've made room for it somewhere, possibly bribing someone with the dresser and mirror since I didn't really want that part.

 

[Sheryl]

I just got a pet guard (divider between dog and human compartments of vehicle) on Craigslist for $35. Same thing new at Petsmart $79.99 + tax.

 

[yelnad]

I thought that experts recommended not buying used car seats. They could have already been in a wreck in which case they would need to be replaced.

Yes, they say that. With cribs you are ok as long as you have all the hardware and you put it together correctly. You just have to make sure a coke can can't fit through the slats. (oh, you didn't ask about cribs).

I'm paying $10 for the toddler carseat and it's purely something to keep at Grandma's (4 hours away) as a backup. We're getting our own $200 beast for everyday use.

 

[Moemg]

I haven't freecycled but I've been selling all my books on Amazon .I love to read and usually go to the library but I also buy a lot of books so this has been a good way to recycle some.

 

[TromboneAl]

Our local Freecycle disbanded due to corporate harassement from the Trademarked owners of "Freecycle" who objected to the use of the term, without use of their system.

Freecycle's system is incredibly antiquated! You have to manually match up any "Takens" with "Offers." That's what computers are for, sheesh! It only displays the several most recent posts.

All they'd have to do to get a big improvement would be to use the same software this forum uses. Each Offer or Wanted could be it's own thread, with the title changed or the thread deleted when it's resolved. You could easily ask questions.

 

[Fireup2020]

I am a craigslist & ebay/half.com person....I checked this site out and maybe I am at the wrong one, because it is just links to other sites...

Never mind - it is freecycle.org

Now I can check it out :O

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

There are tons of local freecycle groups... so you pick one for your city, and then join the mailing list. People post stuff they want or are giving away.

I am a craigslist & ebay/half.com person....I checked this site out and maybe I am at the wrong one, because it is just links to other sites...

 

[laurence]

We've used it extensively, but only to get rid of stuff. We haven't been able to pounce on anything we want fast enough.

 

[5j404]

Used freecycle to clear out some things we no longer needed and it's been great picking up things for our college kids apartments - 2 microwaves, futon, and monitor They asked me to watch for the items and they each came up within a day.

 

[samclem]

Yes, they say that. With cribs you are ok as long as you have all the hardware and you put it together correctly. You just have to make sure a coke can can't fit through the slats. (oh, you didn't ask about cribs).

There are still old cribs out there painted with lead paint--very bad. If it looks old and you really want that particular crib, there are lead paint test kits at HD and Lowes (about 8-10 bucks I think) that would be a very good investment.

 

[laurence]

Ooh, tonight we sold our old T.V. on craigslist. HDTV, but broken, got $100 and he came and picked it up in 60 minutes. He'll probably have it fixed this weekend for another $100 but it beats the heck out of having it in a landfill!

 

[donheff]

There was a piece on the news last night, a lady kicked a deadbeat renter out of her rental house. Then she fixed it up preparing to sell. Next thing she knows "someone" posts a notice on Craig's List saying she wants to clear the joint out - anyone who wants anything just come and take it away. They did. The house was stripped to the bones - they took the windows, the doors, the appliances, the toilets, the tub, the cabinets. Unbelievable.

 

[yelnad]

There are still old cribs out there painted with lead paint--very bad. If it looks old and you really want that particular crib, there are lead paint test kits at HD and Lowes (about 8-10 bucks I think) that would be a very good investment.

Thanks! This one is wooden and not painted. It's actually fairly new and has all of the documentation that came with it when it was new.