Come On...It's Free! (Bunch of Flakes)

[redhawker]

What the hell is wrong with people nowadays? My wife is a teacher at a small private school. They have (I wish I could say had) a small antique-style couch and chair (not real antiques) that they want to get rid of. They asked me to put it on FB Marketplace and Offer-Up for FREE. It's been listed on both since Tuesday. I've had many people (I think 18 at this point) contacting me and saying they want them. The first four people that supposedly wanted them have all flaked and have not shown up to get them. Basically ghosting me after not showing up. It's like what the hell! I even rescheduled a doctor's appointment today because this last guy swore he'd show up by 5 pm at the latest to get them. This guy wanted them so bad he offered me $100 to let him come get them yesterday before the last person that was supposedly on the way to get them (who also flaked). So, I've now offered them to the next person in line. I wonder how many times I'm going to have to do this to get rid of these things. You'd think these people would at least let me know if they changed their minds or got tied up and couldn't make the meet.

 

[golferboy426]

slow learner

 

[arfmel]

I believe the problem is that they’re free. People think they’re junk. Price them at $100 OBO. Watch the race between prospective buyers wanting to beat everyone else to the bargain.

 

[The Preacher]

Yep. Years ago I heard of a man who placed a few items out on his lawn with a "Free" sign on them. They sat for days....Then he removed the "Free" sign and put up a sign with a price for the items....gone over night.

 

[Rat76]

I agree with arfmel & Preacher. I've also found putting things at the curb with no sign works pretty good as well. You get the drive by exposure & enable impulsive shoppers.

Heck sometimes they don't even wait til after dark to haul it off. However, your city codes HOA rules may apply.

 

[tazbigdog]

Yes, had the same people contact me through Craigslist and Offer Up. Idiots!

 

[hittman]

Human nature. Stay away from people who want ( or pretend to want ) something for nothing. They’re unreliable And dishonest in my opinion.

My daughter got new furniture and wanted rid of an average condition small love seat.
She sat it at the curb in the summer with a big FREE sign on it.
It sat there almost a week. Then it got rained on 2 days.
I told her to put a sign on it ”For Sale ~ $25.00”.
It was “stolen” the next day.

 

[GunnyGene]

If you just want to get rid of something take it to a local charity - Goodwill or whatever. You can deduct the value off your income tax if you qualify.

 

[AJGUNNER]

Free furniture is all about timing and the right town. Pick any college town, time it with the start of the next term, set it out for free and watch it disappear. Don't be surprised if you see it again out front of someplace at the start of the next term.

 

[Yaworski]

When I got married, my wife had two wooden rockers that just sat in the basement. "Colonial" style but nothing special. We decided to get rid of them so I posted a little sign at the local supermarket (pre-internet) "Rockers, $20 each." No one wanted them. I then changed it to "Free." No one wanted them. So they sat in the basement.

I was chatting with an antique dealer and mentioned the chairs. He said, "Bring them to the store and we'll put them on consignment." They sold for $120 each.

People don't want free stuff.

 

[Watchman]

All I know, is there's nothing more expensive than a free boat!

 

[Watertender]

My neighbor was mowing his lawn and ran out of gas in the mower. It was in his front yard probably 15 feet from the edge of the road. He was walking the maybe 50 feet to his garage when a curb buzzard stopped and started loading the mower on his truck. It's a good thing that the neighbor saw the guy trying to take it. The idiot was arguing with the obvious owner of it and was trying to say that it was left at the edge of the road so it was fair game to take. I went over to back my neighbor up and took down the license plate of the truck. The curb buzzard is a known thief so I turned the information over to the police and let them know what happened. The police talked to the idiot and he swore up and down that it was at the road so he was entitled to take it.

 

[Yaworski]

When I sold lawn and garden I had a customer tell me that he left his mower by the edge of the road when he ran into his house. It was trash day and the truck came by, scooped up his trash and mower. By the time that he figured out what was happening, his mower was crushed. Trash company said, "Sorry but that's life."

Moral is never leave your mower by the curb.

 

[wolfsong]

All I know, is there's nothing more expensive than a free boat!

That's been my experience, only in my case it's a free horse...

 

[cowboycopus]

Facebook???? Really???? Who does that????

 

[Taterman]

Facebook???? Really???? Who does that????

We recently moved and I sold a ton of stuff though FB.

 

[vito]

People don't value anything that is free. With a price on it people give it value. In my first assignment as a young Army officer, back in 1967, I had the additional duty as the "Special Services Officer" at the large hospital at which I was assigned. We had tons of great stuff that could be checked out for free, including golf clubs, Winchester Model 12 shotguns for hunting, all sorts of sports equipment, and several boats for fishing or water skiing. This stuff was intended for our long term patients but in truth was mostly used by staff at the hospital. People treated the stuff like garbage because it was free. A wise old Noncom told me that if I put a rental price on the items, people would treat the equipment more respectfully. It didn't make sense to me at the time but I thought it was worth a try. Suddenly a boat with motor and trailer was $8/day instead of free. A shotgun was $2/day instead of free, and so on. It was amazing how much better people were in their use of this stuff once they had to pay even a nominal amount to use it.

 

[Jack Ryan]

What the hell is wrong with people nowadays? My wife is a teacher at a small private school. They have (I wish I could say had) a small antique-style couch and chair (not real antiques) that they want to get rid of. They asked me to put it on FB Marketplace and Offer-Up for FREE. It's been listed on both since Tuesday. I've had many people (I think 18 at this point) contacting me and saying they want them. The first four people that supposedly wanted them have all flaked and have not shown up to get them. Basically ghosting me after not showing up. It's like what the hell! I even rescheduled a doctor's appointment today because this last guy swore he'd show up by 5 pm at the latest to get them. This guy wanted them so bad he offered me $100 to let him come get them yesterday before the last person that was supposedly on the way to get them (who also flaked). So, I've now offered them to the next person in line. I wonder how many times I'm going to have to do this to get rid of these things. You'd think these people would at least let me know if they changed their minds or got tied up and couldn't make the meet.

Stop promising to hold them. "Who ever gets here first gets them."

 

[James also]

If you just want to get rid of something take it to a local charity - Goodwill or whatever. You can deduct the value off your income tax if you qualify.

FYI Goodwill is a scam, the only good will is the donator.