[Closed] Anyone use Freecycle? Most absurd 'Wanted' request?

These kinds of things were all over eBay before Christmas. Proper posting photos of begging letters along the lines of (if you had searched for a PS5).

‘Please help. I’ve promised my little boy a PS5 for Christmas however thanks to scalpers I can’t afford one. Please bid what you can and help me raise the money to buy one’ etc

I’m not sure anyone actually bid in such things!

Is the PS4 thing that crazy? Once people upgrade to the next gen old machines sometimes sit around doing nothing.
I used to keep them as 'spares', now I pass them on to other people.

Is the PS4 thing that crazy?

I would say so yes – surely people don't go around giving away high value items like that (they go for £150+ on Ebay) and I am pretty sure the chancers asking for such items are not really wanting them for disabled children - they will just be selling them on but throwing in sob stories to try to get the bite.

This morning someone was asking for a PS4 ‘because their disabled son is upset at theirs breaking’.

As per Easily doesn't seem that absurd. its not an up to date console any more there might be one lying unwanted by someone who can afford to give it away to someone who may get real benefit from it.

The go kart plus trailer is great though

Is the PS4 thing that crazy? Once people upgrade to the next gen old machines sometimes sit around doing nothing.
I used to keep them as ‘spares’, now I pass them on to other people.

I guess this kind of illustrates why Freecycle works and why it's such a good thing. Something many of us might think unthinkable to give away, someone else has some sitting around. Or, more succinctly, one man's trash is another's treasure.

I guess so - if it had been a PS3 or earlier I could understand it but I couldn't ever imagine giving away something of that value to a stranger. Perhaps I am just too suspicious?

Another one I saw this morning was someone asking for an 'average-sized' whiteboard. I have no idea what the average size for a whiteboard is.

I get what you mean though - sometimes I see wanted posts and think "really?". I think it's the really specific ones that get me. "Just moved into a new flat since my partner kicked me out and need a new microwave. Must be silver and 750W. Thanks" 🙄

Just gave away a folding pool table/table tennis table. I use Freecycle all the time. I don't read the wanteds though. Maybe I could get rid of son2's junk while he's at uni 😀

Must be silver and 750W. Thanks

Exactly - or like the one I saw recently 'Wanted - Dyson, must me in good condition and from a pet-free home'.

Ohh, and another - someone asking for a spare *REAL* Christmas tree (this was before Christmas). I could understand asking for an artificial one, but who would just have a spare real Christmas tree hanging around just before Christmas?

We got our current dog from a Freecycle ad. Staffy/Lab whose owner was terminal with cancer (she, the dog, was only 8 months old). We got her as a partner in crime to the late Charlie 🙁

The guy's daughter visited our house with her to make sure we were suitable as she'd had loads of requests from "scallies just wanting a staffie" and was getting a bit down about it.

Daisy is 10 years old now and still as daft!

We use freegle; given away PCs, tents, disk drives - all sorts of stuff. Saves experiencing the full waking horror of Ebay.

Yeah I have gifted loads too (mainly computer gear and furniture). Recently I tried to give away some wind deflectors for an XC60. I posted and reposted several times over about three months without response so binned them when I was at the recycling centre just after Christmas. The next day I got a message 'Hi - are these still available'. FFS

We got our current dog from a Freecycle ad. Staffy/Lab whose owner was terminal with cancer (she, the dog, was only 8 months old). ..
The guy’s daughter visited our house with her to make sure we were suitable as she’d had loads of requests from “scallies just wanting a staffie” and was getting a bit down about it.

I think that's lovely. 😄 Made me smile. With a twinge of sadness for the terminal woman of course.

Ohh, and another – someone asking for a spare *REAL* Christmas tree (this was before Christmas). I could understand asking for an artificial one, but who would just have a spare real Christmas tree hanging around just before Christmas?

Loads given away round my way by pubs and restaurants, presumably ordered long before it was apparent they'd not be opening for the Christmas runup.

I don't use Freecycle but Reddit r/ChoosingBeggars has some gems on it from time to time

not quite on topic, but my favorite was when i sold my van.

I put it up on Facebook for £8k. the guy who bought it paid £8k, then a few days later some one emailed and said they really wanted it.
I politely replied, sorry its gone, to which they came back with

"real shame, i would've given you £10k for it"

as if that would make me change my mind about not owning it anymore.

I used to use Freecycle but stopped because of the quite ridiculous number of infuriating people wasting my time.

Used to use freecycle but got fed up with being told off by the mods for deleting my posts once something was taken, just drop stuff like that off at the charity shop at the tip now 👍 apart from when it's closed due to covid restrictions.

I saw a wanted for 55" or larger TV - OLED preferred but anything from a quality brand considered

Some joker on ours was asking for a 40 inch+ TV and XBOX One 'preferably with some guarantee left' 🤷‍♂️

Not a wanted, but my colleague gave away a massive expensive trampoline, he explained several times to the interested party that they would need a large van and their own tools to disassemble it. Dude then turns up late (so it's dark) in a Corsa with no tools.

andylc
I used to use Freecycle but stopped because of the quite ridiculous number of infuriating people wasting my time.

I gave away our old double glazed windows, but made it clear they needed to be taken by a DIY enthusiast, to fit to a shed of the like. They went to a bloke who was making a shed for his disabled son, but the amount of request from ppl who thought they could just have them fitted to their house was stupid.
I gave up using it, as to get anything you had to be constantly scanning the new ads, or 'chancers' would have jumped on it already

Not a wanted, but my colleague gave away a massive expensive trampoline, he explained several times to the interested party that they would need a large van and their own tools to disassemble it. Dude then turns up late (so it’s dark) in a Corsa with no tools.

Yeah I have had similar several times. A couple of years ago I gave away an old shed which I had taken apart as best I could but said it would need to be collected in a large van / trailer. The person who first requested it turned up in a Corsa (strangely this was also in the dark too) – he said he'd be back but I never saw him again.

I sold a massive leather wingback on Facebook.

Lady turned up "it's a project for my husband"

So I helped her carry it out. Aygo sitting there patiently. "I did wonder if I should bring my husband's van" honestly I think about 40% of the thing was actually within the vehicle when drove off.

Not freecycle but the local Facebook group always gets some good ones. A recent one was somebody after a sofa, must be a certain size and grey so it fits with her decor, must be in very good condition and free. Oh, and she doesn't drive so you must be able to deliver it to her.

I sold a chest of drawers on local facebook  - proper full width but cheap ikea style so not very heavy - to a really lovely friendly young couple.

I told them where I lived, arranged a time, all great and they duly knocked on the door at the right time, came in (pre-Covid), liked it, gave me a tenner or so and then picked it up and walked off. At this point I realise they only have a Smart car and no way will it fit in that. Turns out they only lived about a mile away, and were going to carry it home and then he'd walk back again for the car.

I shoved it in my S-Max and followed them home. Still not sure I didn't lose a low stakes game of call my bluff to get a buyer collects chest of drawers delivered for free.

Still not sure I didn’t lose a low stakes game of call my bluff to get a buyer collects chest of drawers delivered for free.

I had someone come to collect a sofa I was giving away, they turned up in a peugeot 206 saying they thought they'd get it in the back. I ended up putting in my van and following them home, fortunately it wasn't far.

I also had someone message to say they would take a wardrobe, they didn't come one day but assured me they would come the next day. They never showed up or messaged me and just blocked me on fb. Why not just message and say "sorry to mess you about, we can't come and get it now"? Infuriating.

Have also seen plenty of odd wanted requests on Freecycle like specific car parts or just whole cars, worth a shot I guess?

Had similar on FB market place. Giving away something. Arranged a time. Left work to a load of missed called and an upset women asking where I was
Me "I thought we arranged 17:30?"
Her "We did but I thought I would try at 16:00, I've gone home now".
It was just 17:00 and my fault for some reason...

Other people have been great but sometimes you wonder how some people survive.

Yeah had similar to that too - I gave them my address and postcode along with my mobile and some time after the arranged collection time I got a 'I couldn't find you'. I said it wasn't a problem and gave really detailed instructions on how to find my very easy to find house on a small development yet the same thing happened. I lost patience and told her I was gifting it elsewhere.

Forgot about the old fridge freezer we had in our student house a few years ago... it was a decent brand, we'd got it off Freecycle originally and used it for a couple of years and it was still in fairly good condition. Cleaned it out and put it on Freecycle when we moved out. I remember it had a very small rust spot behind the door somewhere. Guy came from about 15 miles away, was fairly polite and friendly as I remember, and stuffed it into a hatchback with barely a second glance at it.
A couple of hours later I got a fairly abusive message accusing me of wasting his time palming off a "****ed" fridge on him 😦 Said he could bring it back if he was that disappointed with his free fridge. It never re-appeared.

Have also seen plenty of odd wanted requests on Freecycle like specific car parts or just whole cars, worth a shot I guess?

Yeah, I've seen "offside CV gaiter for 1994 Peugeot 609 mk4" and similar. Have seen the odd "car wanted" too, to which I've thought "good luck", but my partner recently gave her car away on Freecycle - not as generous as it sounds: it was about to probably fail its MOT and wouldn't be economical to fix, which would just be delaying the inevitable anyway. But on the other hand it might well have just needed a new exhaust so for someone willing to put a bit of time into it, it'd get them by for a bit, and better that than going straight to the crusher. Guy picked it up as a first car for his daughter, seemed well happy of it, later sent a video of daughter gratefully receiving it.

Not Freecycle but an eBay sale of a Elise S1 hardtop. Not massive but not small. Will easily fit in a super mini with the seats down. The buyer turn up in a fiesta with his mum and GF 🤦. Can't remember who was in the back but if they had crashed hard they would have been decapitated.

I got proper annoyed with all those mental ‘wanted’ posts on Freecycle a while back, so I submitted my own... just to see:

Wanted: £500 cash. Can collect promptly.

They banned me.

LOLS!

Well, I laughed.

Should've specified unused bills, no creases.

I gave up using it, as to get anything you had to be constantly scanning the new ads, or ‘chancers’ would have jumped on it already

Yup, never ceased to amaze me how people could jump on anything as quick as they did. Couldn't give stuff away on it either (ironically), most of it just goes to the hospice shops now.