Dear Fellow Freecyclers,

Please do not post a TAKEN until the item is actually taken from you.

So often I see posts like this:

TAKEN: Item
Pending pick-up. I already have a back-up and a back-up to the back-up so Thank You.

Let me say first that I completely understand wanting to end the emails asking for the item or the emails asking specific questions about the item, as if we're running boutiques and are just dying to let this one individual person have our item.

With that in mind, I'm sure it's easy to understand how annoying it is when everyone on the list receives a post two days later that says:

RE-OFFER: Item
Offering this item again. No no-shows.

You can delete all the annoying emails after the item is picked up but wait until it is no longer in your life before you post the TAKEN post. Posting TAKEN does not serve the purpose of stopping emails, it serves the purpose of indicating that the item is gone.

RE-OFFER is most appropriate when an OFFER has sit for a significant amount of time and you'd like to remind your fellow freecyclers that you still have this item and would still like to give it away. This is a great opportunity to add a little more detail to generate some interest.

As Always,
Me.