Over the past year I have used
Craiglist and our local
Freecycle group often. I love the concept of them both. If you haven't used them before, here is a brief explanation: Craigslist is an online classified ad that is free to use (to list items or to view the currently listed ads). I have bought & sold baby & kids items here, sold patio furniture, and used to look for houses to rent recently. Freecycle is a local group that brings people to give away your old items for free. You can look at the online listing and if there is anything you see that you need, you can contact the owner to coordinate a time to pick up. I used Freecycle a lot during my last move - that is where I gathered most of my boxes for moving and also got rid of stuff around the house that I probably would have otherwise just trashed. Once I unpacked in our new house, I then relisted the boxes on freecycle for someone else to use.
If you noticed, I stated above that I love the
concept of these sites. In theory, they sound great! The more I use craigslist and freecycle though, the more I wonder if these are really that good anyway. My husband absolutely refuses to use them. He would much rather just donate whatever items we no longer need to a reputable charity. For the most part I agree, but there are sometimes where that just doesn't work (i.e.: moving boxes). Here are a few of the reasons why my husband can no longer be bothered with either Freecycle or Craigslist:
1) People don't show up - OFTEN!!!!! Here is just one example: We had an old gps system for our car that we no longer used. At the time, it was the only thing I wanted to get rid of and didn't want to drive all the way to goodwill or recycling to drop off. I listed on freecycle and got over 100 emails of people interested. The first person never showed (after 2 scheduled chances to pick up), the second person never showed, and the third person never showed. I then got in my car and drove it to recycling (they were offering an incentive to drop off electronic that week so received a free stainless steel water bottler - yay!)
2) Crazy people show up! I listed a toddler car booster seat on Craigslist. I received an email from someone stating that they were in desperate need of a booster seat for their child and wanted to buy it. The woman called a few times during the day and kept pushing back the time to stop by and to pay and pick up (she was waiting for her husband to get out of work). When they finally showed up, they pulled up with the woman in the passenger seat and a child on her lap. There were 2 additional children in the backseat - and no one was wearing seatbelts! When the back door opened a dog came barreling out (and I am not exactly the most comfortable person around strange dogs I do not know) and it took them at least 10 minutes of chasing the dog around to finally get it back in the car. I was so happy that they now had a car seat for their little one, but I was just shocked by the whole scene.
3) Picky? Anal? Annoying? You pick the word to describe this person: I listed some books on freecycle - someone responded and was wondering if I could send pictures. Huh???? I'm giving them to you for free - I stated they were hardcover and in great condition (only read once). You really need pics?
4) There are always those who feel an exception should be made for them: I listed some baby toys on freecycle and noted in my listing that they needed to be picked up by the end of the weekend or would be donated. So wouldn't you know, someone responds saying that they really want them, but can't pick up until next week. Could I hold them for them? Um, let me think about it.....no. Did they not read my listing?
5) Is there a real person behind that username? Someone listed some new bamboo placemats from Pier One on freecycle that they weren't going to use. I told them I could pick up that day. Well, for the next 3 days, they came up with an excuse as to why they wouldn't be around for me to pick up. But them conveniently, when I listed 3 different items on freecycle, she emailed me for all 3 items wondering if she could have them. And each request was a standard email that was just copied & pasted. Did she not recognize my email address as the one who was still waiting to pick up the placemats? I caught onto her quickly - she was just looking to get as much stuff for free and probably just reselling them afterwards.
So after all that has happened, I have taken a 3-4 month break from using either Craigslist or Freecycle. Well, today I decided to try once again. My husband thought I was crazy, but I thought it was worth a shot. Why, oh why, didn't I listen to my husband (I think I've mentioned before that he is usually my
voice of reason)? So here is the email I received this evening regarding our patio set that I listed today:
"Hi
I like this set, but I am in downtown City X, NE 15th st. and I do not have a car. Are you travelling to City X by a chance and can deliver it to me?
Please let me know. "
Yes, that is correct - they just asked if I could deliver the patio set to them. And just to let you know, City X is about an hour and a half away from where we live.
Is this person for real? Would you ever drive a piece of furniture an hour & a half away to sell it pretty cheap? The whole point of selling it cheap is to get someone to come over here and take it away so my husband and I don't have to worry about hauling it away ourselves. Ugh! I'm officially taking a break again. Not sure if I will ever go back...
Do you have an crazy stories like these? Or am I the only one that is just beyond annoyed at the other people using craigslist & freecycle?
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