Prove to me you're human...

[ffutures]

I put a couple of things on Freecycle, and as is my custom ended the item descriptions with:

Free to a good home. Please make it clear that you are human and genuinely interested in this item when you reply - if all I get is a message saying something like "I want this" or "plz call my cellphone" I'm not going to bother replying.

So far I've had two "I want this" messages, once cellphone number, and one person who posted "Hi. I am interested. Thanks." six times to the same item. I might actually reply to him, since this does seem to be an attempt to comply after a fashion.

Count me less than impressed.

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Yes, my Freecycle list is similar. A lot of people have stopped offering things on it because they frequently have 3 or 4 no-showers in a row. And who has the time/patience to schedule multiple pick up times iwth multiple people for something that you were just going to dump in the bin anyway?

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Feeling that way a bit too - another no show today.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

I always thought Freecycle lists should keep and maintain a monthly blacklist of no-show people, so that people who offer their time and generosity can weed out the serial failures who ruin it all for everyone.

Because I've definitely noticed over the last few years, the amount of stuff being offered has dropped away by 90%, and every time I went to pick something up, the people always exclaimed to me how nice it was that I showed up always on time when I said I would, because most didn't.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Same here - someone who offers something on Freecycle and arranges to be at home is putting themselves to a lot of trouble, it's a PITA if the recipient turns up late or doesn't turn up at all.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Because what I think happens is there are a s mall number of people sitting watching the lists, and they say GIVE TO ME! as soon as pretty much anything appears. And then they go and check to see if they can make any money out of what it is, and if not, they just don't bother turning up to get it.

And these people really need to be blacklisted.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Definitely - especially in London, where there are usually forty or fifty items on offer a day in a fairly small area and someone with a fast response and a van can possibly score big-time by picking up several items a day. If I owned a van I could really clean up in the used office furniture area - except that there must be others doing it already.