We put stuff we don’t want on our curb and it always gets taken.

Anonymous wrote:Give it to a thrift store. Don't feed hoarders.

+100 it's always the same people asking for everything. And on buy nothing they're is always 1-3 people who just keep circulating the same stuff all day long like it's their job, it's very strange.

If you really want to help people, then I don’t think bn or free cycle groups are what you really looking for.

I love my BN group, I hated freecycle. I like knowing who I am giving to and getting from. It's been great and I don't see too many hoarder/reseller types.

In my experience in BN/CCDC, chances of getting things that are actually useful is pretty close to nil unless you spend your days just waiting for the posts to come in or get lucky in one of the random drawings that are sometimes offered. Otherwise, it's a great way to get rid of things fast! If something has even just a few dollars of value though, I've found facebook marketplace to be a great way to get rid of things.

Anonymous wrote:The other thing I hate about Buy Nothing is that there always no shows. I think people are more likely to show with Freecycle. I gave away a brand new internet mattress 10 years ago to a young man who was picking it up for his [presumably female] co-worker. I sure hope he got to spend some time on that mattress, it was heavy!!

I haven’t tried Buy Nothing, but I’ve given up on Freecycle because at least half the people never show.

I only give something away on Buy Nothing to someone who uses their full name. Literally every time I've picked someone using a fake or partial name, they've been a no show. Today, someone came and looked at some nice throw pillows on my porch (that looked exactly like the pic I posted) and just walked away. She didn't even message me to say they weren't what she was looking for. I blocked her so I don't accidentally choose her again.

The other thing I hate about Buy Nothing is that there always no shows. I think people are more likely to show with Freecycle. I gave away a brand new internet mattress 10 years ago to a young man who was picking it up for his [presumably female] co-worker. I sure hope he got to spend some time on that mattress, it was heavy!!

My local Buy Nothing group is mostly junk (today I saw old bras, easter candy, and filthy shoes, for example), but occasionally there is a gem. Last year, I got a brand new $90 keyboard from someone, for example. I have given away a ton of like new toys, games, and books over the past year.

Does anyone know what's going on with the Buy Nothing groups in the CP/ Friendship Heights/ CC area? There are multiple FH/ Tenleytown groups, CP rejected me because they said my address wasn't in the boundaries, and a group I think I'm in the boundaries for has had me pending for 6 weeks now. I just want to give away a bunch of baby stuff and it's so difficult to figure out which group to join.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When one lets something "simmer" does it become a contest of who can right the best blurb. "Oh my dying aunt just made a wish for red cowboy boots and her birthday is tomorrow!" "I have a collection of purple unicorns"

In my group “let it simmer” people always say ahead of time that they’ll do a random drawing. Cuts down on the silly blurbs.

There are some people who have an irrational attraction to anything free. I think "let it simmer" tends to weed out those people and leave things to people who might actually need them.

Anonymous wrote:When one lets something "simmer" does it become a contest of who can right the best blurb. "Oh my dying aunt just made a wish for red cowboy boots and her birthday is tomorrow!" "I have a collection of purple unicorns"

In my group “let it simmer” people always say ahead of time that they’ll do a random drawing. Cuts down on the silly blurbs.

Anonymous wrote:When one lets something "simmer" does it become a contest of who can right the best blurb. "Oh my dying aunt just made a wish for red cowboy boots and her birthday is tomorrow!" "I have a collection of purple unicorns"

Yes it absolutely does. And then often those people don't pick it up. If the first taker is somebody who reliably shows up, I give it to them.

When one lets something "simmer" does it become a contest of who can right the best blurb. "Oh my dying aunt just made a wish for red cowboy boots and her birthday is tomorrow!" "I have a collection of purple unicorns"

I love my BN group. The fact that freecycle was anonymous meant more people just didn't come through to pick things up. Fb is less anonymous so people follow through.

In our Bn group it is your choice to give to the first poster or to let it "simmer" for a few hours or a day.