freecycle ettiquette

[bednobs]

1) do you have to wait till the item is picked up for a "taken" messabge to be put on?
2) do you have to reply to the people you are not giving it to?
3) is it acceptable to pick the person you want to give it t rather than the 1st one who's replied?

[thelewisgang]

I typed out an answer & its completely disappeared so here goes again.
In answer to your question 1). I often put a "taken subject to collection" listing on but it depends on whether you want to wait to make sure it is collected.
2) I don't reply individually to other people - sometimes it would be a long job if you give something away which is popular but I always keep a couple of messages so I have someone else to fall back on if the first person fails to appear. 3) yes, its completely up to you who you decide to give your item to. Recently I had three requests for an item I listed & read them all & chose the person who appeared to be the most needy. hope these answers help. its a fantastic site and has helped me an awful lot before we moved to our present home - if we can all help others by not tipping stuff in landfill then that has to be good. Happy New Year!

[missspeedy23]

I usually put a "taken subject to collection" post on - then pick someone else if they don't show. I don't bother replying to everyone - I just put in the post just mentioned "sorry to all those who replied" and I generally pick the one who sounds the most needy and polite as you get some real idiots emailing you! I've seen it before where people advertise tv's etc so they'll put that they'll wait til after a certain time and pick a name out of a hat!

HTH
Jo

[dot.hawkes]

I have picked up an amazing lamp from freecycle today, i rersponded immediatly the email offering it was posted ans the lady replied straight away and said i was first to respond so it was mine, absolutely over the moon with it!!!

When i offered my 2 year old dishwasher I ended up with over 30 requests, i chose the nicest sounding email but then after they had picked it up a day later i found it on ebay with the same location and almost the same user name as on freecycle, but u can't prove it, still, it bugged me, they got �80 for it.

I always take a small thank you when i colect anything, i gave the lady today a small baileys chocolate in an individual pack,

[annie0000]

1. Unless you are still getting messages, I don't bother with a taken message.

2. It depends on how many responses you get. If t is one or two then I would reply individually, if it is a lot, then I would put a taken message on, thanking everyone for their response and informing them the item is taken.

3. Absolutely your own priviledge who you give it to, but as far as I am concerned, it really hacks me off when I see a post with someone saying that they are giving it to the most needy. It is like they are some bountiful benefactor running a contest to see who can spin the best story. The object of the site is to keep stuff out of landfill if it can be of use to someone, not to act as some charity so that people can feel good by helping out the poor. As far as I am concerned, whoever responds first and comes along and colects when they say they would gets the item. That's unless they sound like a complete nutter that you wouldn't want to give your address to!!!

[bednobs]

thanks for your replies