Freecycle, give me a clue

[evelyn]

I have just signed up to freecycle, YAY!

However, how dose the site work? i thought there would be lists of stuff people are recyclig but i cant find any, all i am getting is the find your area page.

As i am a compleet muppit when it comes to all things tec can one of you help me out and tell me how it works please.

Thank's

Eve

[Annpan]

Most groups run a spam check - you'll get an email, probably asking for a postcode, to which you must reply before the group approves your membership.

When you join up, you'll get a few emails in your inbox which explain how you should use your group.

When you do have access to the group it will be through the yahoo groups page, where you will be able to see past listings.

The freecycle list works more as an email update group, you will get an email everytime something is posted, or choose to get the 'daily digest' which means you only get one (or so) a day.




So... in short check your e-mail (sometimes emails from freecycle can get lost in a spam folder) - oh, and please don't remind me it is a crap system

Feel free to ask anymore questions you have

Lots of love
Freecycle Lanark owner.

[growingthings]

Hi evelyn,
You will be sent via email a wanted and offered list, and if you are interested in anything you can follow the links so that you can contact the person directly and make moves to collect it.
I get sent a new one around every two to three days, I think mine is quite a busy group, and covers a fairly large area.

Hope this enlightens you a little.

Lorna x

[Green Aura]

I guess it works differently in different areas - depending on who set it up. Here I log on and then look in the messages section. No-one sends any emails to me, although ours is a very small concern.

[sheena]

Hi,
Congratulations on taking the freecycle route, there are a lot of good freecyclers out there.
I have been with our local group from the very beginning and have offered lots of items and had lots of items myself, it creates a great community spirit and is going from strength to strength.
Don't worry too much about not being too much of a techie, its easy enough to pick up with a little practice.
Search for yahoo groups and type in freecycle(and the name of your county) groups for your area should be displayed and you will have to register a username and password, you can then take the option of being sent e-mails to inform you of all items being offered and wanted - all that is required from yourself is that you abide by the moderators rules and use the common courtesy of using please and thankyou's to your fellow freecyclers.
All you have to do is click on the items that you are interested in - anything else that I can help with, just post me a message.
Happy freecycling.
Sheena

[MEL78]

Hi I have used my local freecycle very successfully and have rehomed many items and have also managed to pick up one or two -- you just have to watch out for the volume of emails you will get - my location is on the edge of a couple of groups so I signed up for both - and as my computer has been off line with a virus for about six weeks I have just logged on to find over 2,500 emails..
Mel

[MKG]

I have to say that my local Freecycle group appears to me to be a dismal failure. It may be just me (but I doubt it) but most of the transactions were taking place amongst a small group of people - the same names (about six of them) cropped up with amazing regularity. Despite claims to allow time for everyone to see messages, it was astounding how many emails I received - a) offering and b) receiving - with less than one hour between them. After three months, I removed myself from the mailing list. The Freecycle ethos is wonderful - but easily abused.

[lsm1066]

I'm a local Freecycle group moderator and ours is a very lively group. We ask that people post an offer before they start posting wants and then that they stick to the rules. Namely no selling, no animals (unless they've gone through one of the pets4life groups first and one of our mods is a mod there so it's easy to check) no more than 4 wants in a month, no borrowing. Every post is moderated. Sounds rigid, and we are because it keeps it fair. However, there's also a cheapcycle group for people who want to sell items for a maximum of £500 and a local cafe group for lending and general gossip. We even get a regular on the cafe group advertising a naturist swim!

I've got rid of so much stuff it's fantastic (and picked up a few things that I was desperate for). If you're trying not to buy anything new for a year, this is definitely the way to go. Enjoy!

Lynne