Can you make money with Freecycle?

There are a lot of people out there using various marketplaces to sell items that might be lying around their homes or reselling items that they have bought cheaply at charity shops, but with people now giving away items they no longer need for the good of the environment and those in need through websites like Freecycle, can you make money with Freecycle and more to the point, should you?

What is Freecycle? 

Unlike other classifieds like Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle is built around a community where people give away unwanted items for free to people they live close to.

The community is large, with over 10 million members in over 5,000 towns giving away and receiving items, so there will always be the chance that you might be able to get something for free, what you would have otherwise bought. 

What items are given away free on Freecycle?

With a community so large, there is no end to what is given away on Freecycle, but this is dependent on where you live too.

The thing to remember is that these items are not new and are being given away for free, so if you’re looking for something that looks brand new, Freecycle might not be the place for you, if you’re looking to resell an item later on.

Some of the items that you’re likely to find, might include:

• Furniture 
• Clothing 
• Toys
• White goods
• Electronics
• Books and DVDs
• Gardening tools

How do you use Freecycle?

As well as being a community of people giving away their items for free, Freecycle is also free to sign up for and free to use.

1. Go to Freecycle to create an account
2. Once signed up you can search for an item that you are looking for in your local area
3. Once you’ve found an item on Freecycle, you can request the item from the person that is giving it away, through the online messaging system. The item that you are interested in will have a reply button 
4. When you have contacted the person giving away the item, you will need to arrange pick-up 

Can you make money using freecycle?

It depends.

The Freecycle network is about community, giving items away for free to those who need them and trying to keep items that would ordinarily be thrown away out of landfill, so being able to sell the items that you obtain from Freecycle will depend on a few factors.

Freecycle actually have its own reseller guidelines that you will need to abide by when making an offer for an item 

Some groups will allow reselling, but if this is your intention you will need to provide full disclosure of this when contacting the gifter.  

It is then at the discretion of the person giving away the item whether they want to give it to you or wait until someone else makes a request for the item.

Some groups do not allow reselling but if this is the case the local group will let you know this.

As part of its reseller guidelines, Freecycle has provided some standard wording for groups that do and don’t allow reselling.

Can you sell items on Freecycle?

No.

This goes against everything that Freeccyle is about and for that reason they don’t allow people to sell items on the website.

If something is offered for free and someone later asks you for payment, you should report them.

If you have items that you want to sell there are several other classifieds that you might want to try.

Is Freecycle safe?

While I’m predominantly talking about Freecycle in this post, the following safety tips apply to any classified website or app that you might use.

Don’t offer too much personal information

While many in the group are there intending to do good, there is always going to be that chance that there is going to be someone that might not have good intentions, for that reason don’t offer too much personal information when contacting the seller or in this instance gifter.

Think before you act, do you need to give away your address, and telephone number, before you’ve arranged to meet?

Whenever possible, try to meet in a public place

Following on from above.

Try to meet in a public place, with someone accompanying you, this isn’t going to be possible in all instances, such as when collecting/gifting larger items, but if the item can easily be carried and you are both local to the area, meet in a place that you both know.

Keep your wits about you

Whether it’s contacting someone through Freecycle or meeting them in person, have your wits about you.

If someone makes you feel uncomfortable online, cut off all communication with them no matter how much you want or need the item they are giving away and the same is true if you are meeting someone in public, as soon as something doesn’t feel right walk away.

Conclusion

At the beginning of the post I asked whether Freecycle was a great way to get items for free to resell and the simple answer to this is no.

While some local groups might allow reselling, this is at the discretion of the gifter so there are no guarantees that you will be able to get any item on the platform.

There are other ways to obtain items cheaply to resell, but in this instance, Freecycle is not one of them.