Vocal Voices

I belong to my local freecycle group and get one or two daily emails from people offering their stuff or asking for bits and bobs... time and time I'm amazed at the cheek (well I think it is) of some people when they ask for things.

A few years back a lady was asking for a Nintendo DS, but it had to be a pink one! Then there was this guy asking for various fish tanks; and today there's a guy asking for a boat with an outboard motor really????

Never mind the cheek of asking but do people really give things like this away?

when i went on it years ago i was also amazed at the cheek
of some reguests
so iv never used it since dead cheeky
odd boat indeed

Yes - it always amazes me what some people expect for nothing!

People can be extremely cheeky on there, I have heard! I've only used Freecycle once however, and had a very good experience Just before we moved here last year I bought new oak dining furniture and wanted to offload my old pine dining set, I tried local charities but because it had a few puppy-tooth marks in the legs they weren't interested. Apparently the poor need things to be perfect these days

Anyhow I advertised it on Freecycle and had several enquiries - I offered it to a young woman who rang and she arranged to call round at 5pm. TBH I expected to be messed around a bit but she turned up on the dot, loved the table and chairs and called her boyfriend right away - and they came and collected it that night! They were a young couple with almost nothing, setting up home together, and were so grateful that I was really pleased to see it go to a good home

It is also amazing what goes the other way.

I needed some bits to build the children a computer, so I replied to an ad.

We pulled up at this big detached house and were shown up to the 'study'. In there were three nearly new computers, two monitors and a bag of keyboards, mice and odds and ends. The deal was simple: take the lot or take nothing. There was another baby on the way and a nursery was needed.

I took the lot, built two better computers from those and my own.... and to my eternal shame sold the two others via cards in Asda.

No need to feel ashamed for that Frank! They wanted rid and you obliged - they could always have sold the bits themselves if they'd wanted the hassle - it was a mutually convenient arrangement

Thank you hun, my conscience is salved.

Kaz wrote:No need to feel ashamed for that Frank! They wanted rid and you obliged - they could always have sold the bits themselves if they'd wanted the hassle - it was a mutually convenient arrangement

Exactamento! One man's meat and all that...

When we were down-sizing, prior to moving into our retirement apartment,
we gave away lots of things which we could have sold but we didn't want the
hassle. It's surprising the enjoyment that can be derived seeing the pleasure
you give to deserving cases. Money isn't everything, as long as you're happy.