How To Use Freecycle

 This page is still missing answers to some questions, and perhaps some questions.

The Basics

What are the basic rules?

When you join your local group, you'll receive a copy of the rules by mail. Please read them - there aren't many, but following them will make life easier for you and the moderators of your group.

Although the precise rules will vary from group to group, click on Basic Rules to read the common ones.

How do I send a message to the group?

There are three ways:

1. Posting via email
2. Posting via Yahoo
3. If your group uses it, Posting via My Freecycle.

Please read these and select the one you prefer. If you're not sure, use Posting via Yahoo.

In both cases:

• If you're new to the group, or haven't used it for a while, your post may need to be approved by a volunteer moderator before it goes out to the group, so there may be a short delay. Please be patient - remember that moderators have something resembling a life, which means they can't always be looking at the group.
• If your mail is wrongly formatted, or unsuitable for some reason, you may get a message asking you to modify and resend it.

How do I see replies?

Replies will go to the email you used to join the group, which may be your yahoo.com address.

Please check that address regularly, including any junk or spam folders in case replies get filed in there.

How should I arrange pick-up?

Arrange as you like. Generally, you'll wait until you get a handful of responses or maybe overnight, and then you can pick whomever you like! That's half the fun. You might like to consider giving your starving local charity preference if one should respond.

Please arrange pickup with one person only, rather than "it's outside, whoever gets here first gets it." Otherwise you'll become unpopular pretty fast with your fellow Freecycle group members.

     Also, only give your phone number to one person at a time or ask for the recipient's phone no. Otherwise you'll get swamped with phone calls. Some groups do not allow phone numbers and addresses to be posted due to safety concerns for their members. Again, this is local policy.

What happens once I've given away/received the item?

If your group encourages it, or if you're getting lots of mails you no longer want about the item, then you can post another mail to the group.

• If you posted an OFFER mail and the item's gone, post a TAKEN.
• If you posted a RECEIVED mail and you've got what you wanted, post a RECEIVED.

If your group uses the plugin then posting TAKEN and RECEIVED mails is particularly useful, because it will grey out your OFFER or WANTED mail when other people using the plugin look at the group.

Other Questions

What's moderation?

This is when your posts are approved by a moderator before they go to the group. See Moderation for more information.

Is it really worth OFFERing this?

You'd be astonished what things get taken on Freecycle, even if they're damaged, broken or just plain weird. Some people don't mind having damaged items - if a sofa has a big stain on it, they can put a rug over it. Other people like taking broken items and fixing them up (sometimes to offer back up on Freecycle). And you can never predict what people will want for an art project.

So rather than decide that something isn't worth OFFERing, why not offer it up and see if anyone wants it?

Isn't that WANTED request too greedy?

Some groups restrict WANTED mails for expensive items, and some groups just let their members decide whether they want to respond to a request. Please respect the policy of your local group.

• If the guidelines you got when you joined ask you not to post WANTEDs for some items, then please don't.
• If there aren't any such restrictions, then please be aware that something you might think is a ridiculous request might be something someone else was quite happy to give away.

Your Membership

I'm going on holiday - how can I stop the mails?

You can change when you receive mails - see Mail Delivery Options. If you're on holiday for a while, then you should select Special Notices. You can change it back to Individual Email when you return.

I'm getting too many mails, what can I do?

You can change when you receive mails - see Mail Delivery Options. If you're getting too many mails, then you might like to switch to Daily Digest (to get them batched up) or Special Notices (to just read them on the web page).

How do I leave the group?

The easiest way is to send a mail to the unsubscribe address. This is usually present as a footer at the bottom of all mails from the group, or you can find it on your group's home page:

You must do this from the email address you used to join the group. If this doesn't work, or you prefer to use the web, an alternative is to go to the join page and click on a button there to leave the group.

Yahoo has a delay before it fully realises you've left the group - so you may get emails for a day or two.