[Closed] Is it just me that has suspicions...

Don't understand... ❓

I've no idea what you mean.

Don't understand...

+1

I have my suspicions that someone has had a drink or two...

Yes, I thought that as well.

Really? My bad, I'll try again.

People often give things away for free in the classifieds, in the spirit of generosity/community/whatever.

I've thought on a few occasions, that the same few folk just snaffle it up - which to me, doesn't really say that it's something they need, rather than it's just free so they take it.

Like I say, might be just me!

I have my suspicions that someone has had a drink or two...

You'd make a crap Ironside then. Not sure what was so baffling about the OP?!

Got any free stuff?

FWIW, I understood what you meant on the first post.

It could be that it's the same people who are hard up but still like to ride a lot...?

I hadn't noticed. Certainly none of them did me the favour of picking up the free 26" tyres I was offering up a few weeks ago to make some space in the garage.

I did too, but how would you arrive at this theory?

As someone who has given away free stuff on the forum I share your concerns.

I advertised a heap of tyres for free a while back in the hope of them benefitting some of the forum contributors I've conversed with/received help from/enjoyed reading about.
In reality the first 20 people to mail me were purely classified users only which, as cynical as it might be, made me just think they were going to take them for free then sell them.

They could add a feature whereby new Classifieds are only shown to Premium members for 24 hours and then all and sundry.....

Anyone tried freecycle? Some of the fake-sincerity bollocks I got on there was unbelievable. Only ever punted stuff at people who could spell, didn't respond within the first six hours and kept it sounding real (so apologies to all the quadriplegic nephews out there who needed a toastie maker for their first year at the University of Stavanger)

I gave away a motorbike helmet on Gumtree the other week...

Most stuff just goes to the local Charity shops, of which we have a good selection.

[i]In reality the first 20 people to mail me were purely classified users only which, as cynical as it might be, made me just think they were going to take them for free then sell them.[/i]

Just tell them someone's claimed the freebees already and give em to regulars...

[i]Anyone tried freecycle? ...Some of the fake-sincerity bollocks...[/i]

Er, yes, I've given stuff away on Freecycle.org (not cycle related) and never had any fake bollock type goings-on.

Completely agree Bear.

I haven't sold anything on here for quite some time, but I usually ask the "going rate" since it's likely to be bought by someone I don't know anyway.

It'd be nice to sell stuff cheaper to actual forum users that I have top bantz with.

Saying that, a chap on ebay messaged me about buying a carbon headset top cap I'd advertised as part of a job lot of stuff I just wanted rid of.

Told him I'd just give him it for nowt...So I stuck it in the post...A few days passed...Then, out of the blue I received a message with a pic of his new bike he'd just built up! It was the missing piece of the puzzle; none of the other top caps he'd tried had worked. He sounded dead chuffed, it made my day.

Once on freecycle giving away a quite large baby change table I was quite struck by the total lack of interest shown in the item by the very organised ladies who collected it and had the real feeling I'd see the item on eBay within 24 hours . On the other hand good luck to them I could not be bothered to try and shift it.

Just tell them someone's claimed the freebees already and give em to regulars...

I did.

Nice, David 🙂 That's the warm feeling you want isn't it, just helping someone out.

I just don't see that happening in 'for sale' - the bike forum/wanted forum yes, as reactions to calls for help - it just annoys me that well-meaning folk that stick stuff in the 'for sale' (for free), in my opinion, are not having their philanthropy benefiting the people that actually [i]need[/i] it and just being taken by the usual suspects (who either hoard, or sell - who knows)

I think that you see it in all walks of life though. Several very well paid people where I work are notorious for grabbing free stuff just because they can, giving no consideration to the idea that other people who perhaps don't earn as much or might benefit from it more are losing an opportunity as a result of their behaviour.

I'd rather have my postage covered and see something appreciated and used than have it forever sit in my spares box - or be binned. Haven't ever felt that I've had the mickey taken.

I got some free brakes last week, using on my rat build. Well chuffed, it's not the first free thing I've had, but defo worth the most. I've also sent free stuff out, and paid the postage myself to try and do my bit. I also don't haggle if the price is in the ball park when buying stuff off here.

Nice, David That's the warm feeling you want isn't it, just helping someone out

Exactly!

I'll take some tubeless compatible 26" mud tyres.. specifically a single dirty dan 🙂

I gave a regular user off here some hayes brakes as he (said he) needed them for his girlfriend's bike.

He added a couple of rotors and sold them in the STW classifieds the following week.

Edit. Scrap that.

I'm guessing Sunday night is bearnecessities' drinking night.

Cheers!

I gave a regular user off here some hayes brakes as he (said he) needed them for his girlfriend's bike.
He added a couple of rotors and sold them in the STW classifieds the following week.

[img] [/img]

Bongo bingo, it'll be a long time before I give a squirrel's nut sack what you guess.

What've you spotted now?

Well I decided that it was probably a bit unfounded in the whole 'evidence' stakes - just set off my suspicions of opportunists again. I'll stick by those suspicions though, just not possible to prove, so I'll not mention it again 🙂

🙂

Well, I just sold my seatpost and pedals, so I'm happy.

It's 'peddals'.

I know what you mean about giving stuff away for free and you get the feeling people are taking the mick. I'm doing some training at the moment which requires me to do stuff for free - and I really don't mind as the experience is what I need, not the ££, but I do get the feeling some people think I'm a mug for doing stuff for free, and no-one likes to be taken in by a cynic.

Mind you - you still get rid of stuff you didn't need and didn't want to throw away, so lose nothing, and they're still gits who'll go through life without any real friends and will wonder why no-one likes them that much 🙂

A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing 🙂

It's 'peddals'.

Peddles!

If you are giving stuff away why are you worried who gets it or what they do with yt? If you want to get money for it sell it.*

*I've never had free stuff that I can recall

Free to Premium users only?

Free to regular forum users who aren't Tories or on "the list"?

is somebody giving away peggles ?

I could use a free pedalo

What's the hive minds opinion on this

Work buy in a load of Spesh hotrock 20 inch kids mtbs for
teams to build in a team building exersize. Of the 10 of them, 9 get given direct to charity (I forget which) and the other is auctioned off in the office with the proceeds to charity. Sells for £80 to my housemate (and colleague At the time) with him saying he'll give it to whichever of his 2 kids it fits (hmmm, one is 4, the other a tall 11, ain't no way that bike is fitting either of them now, maybe the 4 year old in 2 or 3 years...) surprisingly the bike doesn't fit so he lists it on eBay, and it sells for £200. None of which goes to charity.

Fair game or morally reprehensible? I fall into the latter camp

Fair game

Free to regular forum users who aren't Tories or on "the list"?

I just lace my bike parts with Arsenic if a Tory is buying them 😉

I've given loads of stuff away over the years but mostly via local groups and sometimes at jumbles I bundle stuff in in deals or give small parts away.

Have given a few bits away on here too, sometimes had postage covered, sometimes not, often just asked the recipient to make a donation to charity or to the forum, but I tend to only do it in response to WTD ads, mostly because it avoids the issue of classifieds-only-forum-hoovers, and also because if someone has gone to the bother of asking then normally means they have a genuine need.

What's the hive minds opinion on this

Work buy in a load of Spesh hotrock 20 inch kids mtbs for
teams to build in a team building exersize. Of the 10 of them, 9 get given direct to charity (I forget which) and the other is auctioned off in the office with the proceeds to charity. Sells for £80 to my housemate (and colleague At the time) with him saying he'll give it to whichever of his 2 kids it fits (hmmm, one is 4, the other a tall 11, ain't no way that bike is fitting either of them now, maybe the 4 year old in 2 or 3 years...) surprisingly the bike doesn't fit so he lists it on eBay, and it sells for £200. None of which goes to charity.

Fair game or morally reprehensible? I fall into the latter camp

Morally dubious depending on the initial thought process. If he only bid so he could sell on ebay at a profit then yes, I'd say a bit morally dodgy. If it was a genuine mistake then I think it would be "right" to pass on the favour and sell it for £80 or put the difference to charity.

But then I frequently get into arguments with people at work who seem to assume that just because something is legal it is therefore right. 😕