PSA: Craig’s List

[friar1610]

We’ve been cleaning out our basement and have a lot of “stuff” that’s too good to toss out but not worth the hassle of trying to sell or donate. We’ve found that posting items for free (both for us to advertise and the “customers” to obtain) on Craig’s list has helped us get rid of a lot of stuff easily without paying the company that “makes stuff disappear” to haul it away. We don’t have to shlep it to a donation center - people come to your house and get the items. We’ve taken a few sensible security steps (such as not allowing anyone in the house and telling people that the barking coming from the house is our pit bull (he’s not). We’ve had takers on over 75% the items we’ve listed so far, mostly in less than 24 hours from posting. We even had one lady who’s picked up a few items for the farm house she’s restoring bring us freshly laid eggs from her chickens and invite us to come and pick blueberries. The only disadvantage I can see is that you don’t get the charity receipt for tax purposes but we no longer itemize anyway. I might have made a few bucks selling the items but this is sooo much easier.

 

[Midpack]

We’ve always put items we want to give away at the end of our driveway with FREE in big letters on paper taped to the item. Everything we’ve done that with was gone by noon, usually much sooner. If it’s free, I don’t want to bother posting, or coordinating with an interested party - I’ve seen too many people on FB who ask the giver to hold items for them - no thanks. First come, first serve, zero effort on our part. I don’t know or care who gets the item…another approach that works for us. Just a caution, don’t put items on a table or container you want to keep as it may disappear too. If it needs to be off the ground, use a cardboard box or something you don’t want to keep.

 

[athena53]

I agree, with some caveats. I live alone so I just tell them the item will be at the end of my driveway and I give them the address, and first to arrive gets it. I delete the ad after I notice it's gone. I no longer accept "Pretty please, I really want this item but can't get there till 5 PM, could you hold it aside for me" requests. Too many no-shows and one person who got truly nasty when I put it out early at his request but someone else came by and got it first. (It was a slightly- used cane.) I always communicate through the CL site so they don't have my real e-mail or phone.

I also learned that if you list many items separately but put them out at the same time the first person to arrive generally grabs them all.

And I did notice that it was far harder to get rid of items when the local flea market was closed due to COVID.

 

[friar1610]

: We’ve always put items we want to give away at the end of our driveway with FREE in big letters on paper taped to the item. Everything we’ve done that with was gone by noon, usually much sooner. If it’s free, I don’t want to bother posting, or coordinating with an interested party - I’ve seen too many people on FB who ask the giver to hold items for them - no thanks. First come, first serve, zero effort on our part. I don’t know or care who gets the item…another approach that works for us. Just a caution, don’t put items on a table or container you want to keep as it may disappear too. If it needs to be off the ground, use a cardboard box or something you don’t want to keep.

I live in a condo community and that’s a no-no. Did that extensively in Vermont when I lived there. Understand that some people could be a PITA but I just don’t put up with it. The customer is always right only if he’s a paying customer.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Craigslist has sites for the major Swiss cities, but many have no contributions; it's pretty dead. Here in our own city we have an FB page for listing your free stuff. I've used it a bit and have always had takers. In some cases they are recent immigrants who I believe go on to sell the things in various ways. Good for them! We are happy to get rid of these things and can't be bothered to put prices on them.

-BB

 

[Midpack]

I live in a condo community and that’s a no-no. Did that extensively in Vermont when I lived there. Understand that some people could be a PITA but I just don’t put up with it. The customer is always right only if he’s a paying customer.

That makes sense, my answer wouldn’t work for a condo.

 

[mystang52]

My town and surrounding towns have a "Freecycle" Facebook page; I presume this is nationwide. You post a picture and brief description; first person to message their interest gets it. Via Private Message you let person know where the item is (I leave it at my driveway). This works like a charm to give no longer needed items a second life.

 

[Turbo29]

The city here does a bulk trash pickup 4x/year. You can put a pile out the size of a small SUV.

Anything I have ever put out that has any type of use for someone else has vanished within 24hr.

 

[RobbieB]

Don't even need a "free" sign here. No matter how crappy it is, gone in 2 days.

 

[Katsmeow]

Our trash pickup allows the equivalent of 4 washing machines to be put out each trash pickup (there are some exceptions for hazardous stuff, etc). We had an old recliner that we put out for example and it easily fit within the limit.

I did give away an old couch and loveseat on FB. They had power recline which worked and were very comfortable but they were fabric with a lot of cat scratch damage. I gave them away because they were too heavy for us to take out to trash, we didn't want to pay someone to take them away and someone else could use them. They just had to pick them up.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

It's annoying to have people flake out on the stuff we want to give away and list for free. Now we list stuff for something nominal like $5-10 and we decline the money when they show up to pick up the item. This seems to work better for us.

One of our neighbours occasionally puts the odd item they want to give away (office chairs, toilets, toys, etc) in the alley and personally, I find it somewhat annoying because the item sometimes just sits there for a few weeks, particularly after it rains and the item gets soaked. And occasionally the item migrates over to in front of our garage (or other's people's garages) and we need to push it back over so it doesn't block our car or garbage collection. The funny thing though is that applicances we see that get put out in the alley disappear within a day or two.

 

[Jerry1]

The funny thing though is that applicances we see that get put out in the alley disappear within a day or two.

Appliances contain metal that the scrappers can get money for. Any metal that I have on the curb on trash day gets scooped up before the trash trucks ever see it.

 

[donheff]

It's annoying to have people flake out on the stuff we want to give away and list for free. Now we list stuff for something nominal like $5-10 and we decline the money when they show up to pick up the item. This seems to work better for us.

One of our neighbours occasionally puts the odd item they want to give away (office chairs, toilets, toys, etc) in the alley and personally, I find it somewhat annoying because the item sometimes just sits there for a few weeks, particularly after it rains and the item gets soaked. And occasionally the item migrates over to in front of our garage (or other's people's garages) and we need to push it back over so it doesn't block our car or garbage collection. The funny thing though is that applicances we see that get put out in the alley disappear within a day or two.

+1 on both. Freecycle seemed to bring out the crazies who would ask about something then call back later to say they decided they want it and then scream and yell if the item was gone by the time they finally got around to following up.

Our front sidewalk is good for items pedestrians can carry but people occasionally leave out furniture (front or alley) that gets soaked and disgusting.

 

[Aerides]

I don't do CL or garage sales or any selling of my "not good enough to throw away but..." - nothing is worth dealing with people, even for free stuff people are a PITA.

Either they go to goodwill - I just drive them there for small things, or big things schedule a pickup (easier than lugging it out of the house myself).

The rest I can drive to the recycling station (old PC's, monitors)
or they go to the curb and are gone in hours.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I was in my house I did a variety of things such as sell and give away. Now in a condo I drive to a thrift store. I have given away a few pieces of furniture and tv since in my condo but my son was here so felt safe.

 

[braumeister]

We’ve always put items we want to give away at the end of our driveway with FREE in big letters on paper taped to the item.

Funny story from about 15 years ago. One of my neighbors wanted to get rid of an old washing machine that still worked, so he put it next to his driveway with a "FREE" sign on it. I drove by every day and it never moved. Finally, after about ten days, he changed the sign to "$50" and it was gone by the next morning.

 

[athena53]

One of our neighbours occasionally puts the odd item they want to give away (office chairs, toilets, toys, etc) in the alley and personally, I find it somewhat annoying because the item sometimes just sits there for a few weeks, particularly after it rains and the item gets soaked.

I never leave anything out overnight or in the rain, which is what makes it so annoying when someone is a no-show. I have to put the ad back up, bring it back into the house and "rinse and repeat" the next day. And some things just don't go. I keep trying to get rid of a set of 2 Crate and Barrel martini glasses- a wedding present DH and I never used. They don't even disappear when I put them out with other listed items.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Since it rarely rains in Nevada I didn’t have to bring things in at night.

 

[harllee]

I don't use Craigslist to give away stuff--too many flakes in my area on Craigslist-- but I do use Freecycle, Buy Nothing group on Facebook and Nextdoor. Nextdoor is usually my first choice because it is my neighborhood group and I know many of the people on that group and to join you are vetted. On Nextdoor I usually know that the person getting the free item will actually use it and not just resell it.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

It's annoying to have people flake out on the stuff we want to give away and list for free. Now we list stuff for something nominal like $5-10 and we decline the money when they show up to pick up the item. This seems to work better for us.

+1. I have found the same.

 

[travelover]

It's annoying to have people flake out on the stuff we want to give away and list for free. Now we list stuff for something nominal like $5-10 and we decline the money when they show up to pick up the item. This seems to work better for us..........

I found the same thing. There are two groups of people - one that is just looking for free and another that is looking for a particular item. If I list, say a set of golf clubs, under sporting goods for a buck they will go to a guy that needs clubs and will show up. If I list the same set for free, someone will jump on it immediately to claim it with a 50% chance of following through. I get very tired of the second group.

The Freecycle people are better at showing up but seem to be a hard luck bunch with excuses for delays and don't often have a vehicle capable to moving whatever they claimed. This based on giving away most of a household when we moved cross country.

 

[Cobra9777]

I put stuff on the curb and take a few photos. Then post it on Craigslist free with my address. No email, no phone, no human interaction at all. Stuff usually disappears in 2-3 hours. I remove the ad as soon as everything is gone. If I don't post it on Craigslist, it sometimes takes a couple days to disappear. I don't like to leave junk out at the street that long.

Anything metal goes really quick, so it's a good way to dispose of old/broken washing machines, refrigerators, and the like.

I try to give stuff to charity first. We have a place that will come pick up furniture. But it has to be in good-enough condition to resell in their store. We've had a few items rejected that end up on the curb. Same with other local charities.

For bona-fide junk that won't fit in our trash bin, like old mattresses, our city will pick up 2 "bulky items" per week. You just have to call ahead and schedule the pickup.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I never leave anything out overnight or in the rain, which is what makes it so annoying when someone is a no-show. I have to put the ad back up, bring it back into the house and "rinse and repeat" the next day.

You're a good egg. I wish my neighbours were as thoughtful as you!

Appliances contain metal that the scrappers can get money for. Any metal that I have on the curb on trash day gets scooped up before the trash trucks ever see it.

Thank you for solving that mystery for me!

 

[old medic]

My town and surrounding towns have a "Freecycle" Facebook page; I presume this is nationwide. You post a picture and brief description; first person to message their interest gets it. Via Private Message you let person know where the item is (I leave it at my driveway). This works like a charm to give no longer needed items a second life.

We have 2 FB pages like that, Have both picked up and gotten rid of lots of stuff this way...
We also have 2 different resale stores nearby, one supports a domestic violence shelter, the other for Hospice.

 

[Time2]

Don't even need a "free" sign here. No matter how crappy it is, gone in 2 days.

My wife just can't help herself, she jogs our neighbor hood daily, if she sees something that a neighbor throws out that may have some value, she finished her jog, then takes our truck back and picks up the items(s). Then she gets me involved, "does this work?" "Can you fix it?" Sometimes I can, sometimes I'm unwilling to, those items go back on the street, we live at the corner of a 5 lane road with lots of traffic, generally, items are gone same day. Any working items are stored until her twice a year yard sale, where it usually sells.
Recently a neighbor who knows her habits, ask her if she wanted to take a glass top table and 6 chairs, my son and I loaded it in the truck placed a Marketplace add and 3 days later sold it for $275 plus the lady added $20 for gas to deliver it.



She also picks up metal and saves it until she has enough to take to the scrapyard.


My wife is a 63 year old immigrant from an Asian country and just cannot see a dollar left on the side of the road. I'm not really into it, but that attitude is probably why we over saved for our retirement. So, let her do her thing!