It is hard to stop wanting stuff when your paycheck runs out, so why not join your local Freecycle Network and see what other people in your community are giving away? Freecyclers trade stuff, keeping items out of landfills.
There are 4,670 groups with 6,327,042 members across the globe, according to Freecycle’s Web site. Each network is a Yahoo! group based on geography so you need a Yahoo! account. I joined my local group and have gotten these three offers in the first 24 hours:
“Chinese steamer: Large, three tiered steamer. Like the bamboo steamers you see in Chinese restaurants but this one is metal and can be used over a stove.”
“Online offer for One Hanes Place: Coupon code to be used when ordering from the Hanes Outlet. Coupon is good till Aug 30, 2009 and is good for: 20% off order of 100 dollars or more; 15% off order of 75-99.99; 10% off order of 50-74.99.”
“DirecTV TiVo: Yes it was the one offered before, I was the lucky recipient but it did not work with my service. There is nothing wrong with the unit.”
Not bad, right? And it’s fun to see what other people are tossing out. The down side is having to register. It takes 4 minutes but once you join all the donations are close by. Unlike Craigslist where you could get sucked into driving across town.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
Unfortunately, freecycle is the same kind of internet ghetto as craigslist. People will not read your email correctly, ask you repetitive and meaningless questions, or completely misunderstand what you were trying to offer or otherwise communicate.
Descriptions of offered property are vague more often than not, and almost no one bothers to put up a picture.
This is true. Craigslisters are infamous for being flakly. Many never show up to claim items they say via email that they are desperately interested in. However, savvy users can find a lot of good items through Freecycle. I’ve been amazed at the things offered for free since I joined, including a $200 indoor composter. Unfortunately, I was too late!