Monday, August 19, 2013

Dear Fellow Freecyclers,

We always want to make our OFFER sound like it's a great item to have. There's nothing wrong with that. You want someone to take something and you want them to feel good about having it. Make sure you're telling the truth.

This following story comes from a Fellow Freecycler who wishes to remain anonymous:
I answered an offer for a drafting table. I was planning on buying a drafting table but there was a post for one sounding exactly like what I wanted so even better! She said it was a complete metal drafting table. I agreed to come pick it up at her convenience and got there on time. When I got there, her and her son had a bunch of stuff just strewn all over the driveway and yard... and her garage was still packed from floor to ceiling with furniture. She said they didn't have a yard sale and they'd been "at it" all day with the stuff. She had set out the drafting table top, which was wood not metal, and then said she couldn't find the legs but the legs were metal and they go with the table. She said she would email me when she found the legs. It's been two weeks. My wife has already yelled at me for taking the drafting table top and trusting this person. But I thought it would be ok since this is the moderator.

On my local list, if someone did that, the moderator would want to know so she could kick them off the list. I could not imagine how frustrating it must be when the moderator pulls unethical and dishonest stunts like this.

In this specific case, the OFFERer should have waited until she had all the pieces together before posting an OFFER for a complete drafting table. It obviously was not complete. She made no attempt to clarify that the Fellow Freecycler could possibly pick up an incomplete piece of furniture and to make sure they were okay with spending the gas to do just that. She was also dishonest about the materials the drafting table was made from and did not attempt to clarify this information before the Fellow Freecycler picked up. What's even worse is that the Fellow Freecycler said they picked up the table at her convenience, meaning she set the time for them to come to get the furniture she OFFERed. Since the Fellow Freecycler took the available piece in good faith and it's been two weeks with no word from the OFFERer, I recommend that the wooden drafting table top be returned to the OFFERer's home and placed where it was originally picked up from the yard or driveway. If the OFFERer has a problem with this since it's not good form in the Freecycling guidelines, this supposed moderator could take a nice, long look in the mirror and consider setting the example for a standard. I have a suspicion that the Fellow Freecycler's wife would agree with me.

As Always,
Me

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