Posting

  • Can I buy, sell, trade, swap or barter?

    Everything posted must be free with no strings attached so buying, selling, trading, swapping and bartering aren't allowed. It's also against the rules to reply to other members' posts to try to buy, sell, trade, swap or barter with them. So please don't attempt to do this or you'll likely be removed or banned.

    There are many other sites and apps that allow you to buy, sell, trade and barter. You might try Ebay, Craigslist in the US, Gumtree in the UK, Kijiji in Canada.

  • Can animals and pets be posted?

    The rules regarding animals are set by the volunteer moderators who run each group and so the rules can often vary from group to group. Some groups do allow animals to be posted and other groups do not. You can contact the moderators of your local groups to ask whether or not animals are allowed.

  • How do I edit my post?

    To edit your post, go to the Your Posts page and click on the post that you would like to edit. Then click the option labelled "Edit".

    The edit option will only show up for active posts. If your post is no longer active, then you can repost and you will be able to edit your post before it is reposted.

  • How do I mark my Offer as gifted?

    Once your item has been given away, go to the Your Posts page and click on the Offer post that contains the item(s) that you want to mark as gifted. Then click the option labelled "Mark as gifted". This will remove your Offer post from the group listings.

  • How do I mark my Offer as promised?

    Once you have promised your item to someone, go to the Your Posts page and click on the Offer post that contains the item(s) that you want to mark as promised. Then click the option labelled "Mark as promised". This will help other people know that your Offer has been promised.

  • How do I mark my Request as received?

    Go to the Your Posts page and click on the Request that you want to mark as received. Then click the option labelled "Mark as received". This will remove your Request from the group listings.

  • How do I post a photo?

    The New Post page has a button labelled "Add Photos" that you can click to add photos when you are submitting new posts.

    If you have problems adding a photo using the New post page, most groups allow links to photos in the details section of your post. So you can use a site like Flickr, Dropbox or Google Photos to upload your photos and then just include a link to those photos in your post details.

    If your trying to add photos to an existing post, you can edit your post to add photos to it.

  • How do I post an Offer or a Request?

    To offer or request items, simply fill out and submit the new post form.

    On mobile devices, you can find a link to the new post page in the action bar at the bottom of most pages. On devices with larger screens, a link to the new post page is in the header at the top of most pages. There is also a link to the new post page at the top of the digest emails.

    Before you can post, you must sign up.

  • How do I prevent no-shows?

    When someone arranges to come and pickup an item you're offering and then doesn't show up, it can be very annoying. Here are a few tips that long-time members use to reduce no-shows:

    • Don't simply choose the first person to respond. Gather a few replies and choose someone who you think is most likely to show up. Good things to take into account are how well each person communicates with you and information on their profile including their feedback score*, their posting history and how long they've been a member.
    • In your Offer posts, ask people to provide dates and times that they can pickup along with their phone number. This makes it easy to eliminate people who don't provide this information.
    • If you ask for a phone number, it also makes it easy to remind people about the pickup and find out what's happening if they are late.

    *Feedback scores usually show up next to a persons' profile photo on the messages page and in the emails you receive from that person. But the feedback system is new so not everyone has a feedback score yet.

  • How do I remove my post?

    There are two ways to remove your post. If you've given your item away or received the item you requested, you should mark your post as gifted (if it was an offer) or mark your post as received (if it was a request).

    Alternatively, you can withdraw your post if you need to remove it for any other reason.

  • How do I remove the Fair Offer Policy from my posts?

    Every time you post an Offer, there is a checkbox on the new post form that asks if you want to use the Fair Offer policy. Simply uncheck it the next time you post to indicate that you don't want to use the Fair Offer policy on that post.

    If your post is already published, you won't be able to remove the Fair Offer Policy but you can withdraw your post and then uncheck the Fair Offer Policy option while reposting.

  • How do I repost?

    First, view your post on the site. You can find your post by going to the Your Posts page and clicking on the title of the post that you want to repost.

    Once you are viewing your post, you should see an option labelled "Repost". Once you click on repost, it will automatically fill in the new post form with the correct information and then you just have to click the Submit button.

    Alternatively, you can simply fill out and submit the new post form manually. The repost button just saves you some time.

  • How do I unpromise my Offer?

    Go to the Your Posts page and click on the Offer post that contains the item(s) that you want to unpromise. Then click the option labelled "Mark as available".

  • How do I view my posts?

    You can view and manage your posts on the Yours Posts page.

    When you are logged in, a link to the Your Posts page is in the account dropdown menu that is at the top right of most pages (open the menu by clicking the menu icon with 3 horizontal bars). Once you open the account dropdown menu, click the link labelled "Your Posts" to open the Your Posts page.

  • How do I withdraw my post?

    To withdraw your post, go to the Your Posts page and click on the post that you want to withdraw. Then click the option labelled "Mark as withdrawn".

  • How often can i repost?

    The reposting limits often vary from group to group and the limits are usually different for Offers and Requests. Most groups allow Offers to be reposted after one to seven days and Requests after 2 weeks. The time period will often increase if a post has already been reposted a few times. For example, you may have to wait a month or more to repost a Request that has already been reposted a couple times.

    To learn more about the reposting limits, you can contact the moderators.

  • What are the rules and guidelines?

    Only posts that are giving away or requesting free, legal and family-friendly items are allowed. Members are expected to always be respectful and polite when posting and communicating with other members.

    In more detail, the following are not allowed in posts or in messages to other members:

    • No buying, selling, trading, bartering or requesting money
    • No alcohol, tobacco, weapons or prescription drugs
    • No services or jobs
    • No promotions or advertising
    • No real estate, rentals or housing
    • No coupons or vouchers
    • No spamming

    Anyone who plans to resell items must say in their posts and messages that they plan to resell items they receive. This gives the people giving away items the chance to decide whether they want their item to be resold or not.

    Certain rules can vary from group to group depending on the volunteer moderators who run each group.

    For example, most groups don't allow posting animals or pets and don't allow requests to borrow items but some groups do.

    And rules on how often posts can be reposted vary from group to group. With most groups, you can repost Offers after a few days and Requests after a couple weeks.

    If you have a question about your local groups' rules, please contact the moderators.

    If a post is breaking a rule, please report the post.

    If another member has broken a rule, please report the member.

  • What do the different post colors mean?

    There are two different types of posts and each type of post is shown in a different color. There is a key that explains what each color means on the top of the main posts page.

    Offer posts which list Items being given away are colored with a light tan / yellow color.

    Request posts which list items being requested are colored with a light green color.

  • What do the flame icons mean?

    The number of lit flames you see shows how many people have replied to a post.

    One lit flame means the post has received few or no replies. And four lit flames means the post has received lots of replies.

  • What does PPU mean?

    PPU = Pending Pick Up

    This phrase is used by someone giving away an item to indicate that they have chosen someone to receive their item and they are waiting for that person to pick up the item. If the person they selected doesn't pick up the item, they will usually choose another person to receive the item.

  • What does it mean if a post is promised, gifted, received, withdrawn or expired?

    Promised is shown on Offer posts when someone has been chosen to receive the item and the item is pending pick up. But if the person who was promised the item doesn't pick up the item, it may become available to other people who have replied to the Offer.

    Gifted is shown on Offer posts when an item has been given away and is no longer available.

    Received is shown on Request posts when the item that was requested was received.

    Withdrawn is shown on posts when a post has been removed. This is used any time a member wants to take down their post but the post wasn't gifted or received.

    Expired is shown on posts that are older than the expiration date set by the poster. By default, posts expire after 90 days but members can set their posts to expire sooner if they need to (eg. for food that may go bad or when people are moving out soon).

  • What is the Fair Offer Policy?

    The Fair Offer Policy is an optional policy that people can use when they post Offers. If someone chooses to use the Fair Offer Policy, it means that they have agreed to wait a period of time before choosing who to give their item(s) to. This gives people who receive the digest emails, or those who are online less frequently, a fair chance to reply to the offer.

    "A period of time" is usually just one day though some groups ask their members to wait two or three days when using the Fair Offer Policy.

    Note: The Fair Offer Policy does not mean that someone is offering an item for sale. Buying and selling is not allowed on freecycling groups.

  • When I try to post, the submit button doesn't do anything!

    Make sure you have Javascript enabled in your browser. Or you can trying using a different web browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

  • Why isn't my post showing up?

    Many groups moderate posts (especially posts from new members). This means that your posts may have to be approved by the volunteer moderators before they will show up on the main posts page.

    Depending on how active the moderators are, it can take anywhere from a few minutes up to a day before a moderator approves your post. If your post doesn't show up after a day or two, you can contact the moderators to ask about your post.

    In rare cases, moderators may reject your posts because the posts don't follow the rules. When this happens, the moderators will usually send you an email explaining why a post was rejected.