No good deed...

[beowabbit]

I’m not saying I’ve lost my faith in the basic goodness and responsibility of my fellow human being. But trying to give away furniture for free on Craigslist tends to test it a bit.

Comments

[ron_newman]

would Freecycle perhaps work better for this purpose?

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

When getting rid of things on CL, I often put a price on it, even if I'd be happy to give it away for free, because people take the whole transaction more seriously that way.

Or, in other words, I feel your pain!

[zzbottom.livejournal.com]

I give away a lot of stuff on CL. I tend to require a phone number in ad replies so I can actually have a conversation with the person and make sure we have an understanding. They don't get an address other than the phone call. They also then have my phone number. I used to go with a first-response-gets-it model, but I now tend to leave the ad up for a little while, say an hour or so, and then try to judge who seems most engaged in the transaction by seeing who actually talks about their need/want for the item, rather than just "is it still available?". I still get frustrated with the flakes and liars, but for my experience, I feel like it's improved.

*hugs*

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

In my neighborhood, the curb works so well for this. Put a "take it away" sign on it, set it out, and it vanishes like a frickin' magic trick.

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

yes, this. or I leave it on the porch for the Craigslist person to pick up so I don't have to wait on them.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that!

Norman has given some of our stuff away, and he's had good luck with teachers who are trying to acquire stuff for their classrooms; they tend to be committed and engaged.