I must be living in a parallel universe

[worrasf]

This morning the guys came around to collect my sofas and chair that I had given away to a local/national charity (on the 'phone they were delighted to be receiving them). But oh no. "They are in sound condition but the fabric has lost some of it's colour from the sun" one of them opined. "we can't take them - it wont be cost effective"

FFS! What is wrong with people when a charity can turn down perfectly good furniture because of a bit of sun-fade? Clearly they have far more money than they need. I would have thought there were many folk who would leap at the opportunity of a free Barker & Stonehouse lounge suite - I know I would have done in my formative years.

So as I had no way of taking it to the local tip I had no choice but to cut it up and burn it. Fortunately, I have room out the back for a large bonfire as and when. My wife took the seat cushions to the tip and the guy there said they have this all the time with charities declining to take perfectly good stuff and showed her a dining table and chairs in virtually as new condition that someone in the same position as me had left there because no charity wanted it. So much for recycling/right to repair etc etc.

To cap it all while I was butchering the sofa and chair it was instantly apparent that despite having paid top dollar a few years ago at B &S they were not the bespoke quality pieces I had been led to believe. There was not a single screw or bolt holding the frame together just hundreds of staples pinning cheap 2" x 1" and plywood together. Shoddy carcass hidden by expensive fabric.

Rant over :eyebrows:

[struth]

yup ive had similar... its too old to go into even the poor and have nowt. the govt will give them near new for nothing. wouldnt have happened in my day

[dave2010]

Too late now, but perhaps if you'd advertised the sofa for £40 or offers, buyer removes, you'd have had a deal. We have found in the past that trying to offload stuff doesn't always work, but if you put a price on something punters feel that whatever it is "must be worth something".

I had an exercise bike - obtained on Freecycle. A year or two later tried to offer it on Freecycle again - no takers - even with a few reminders. We advertised it on - I think Gumtree - for around £40, and the phone didn't stop ringing with potential buyers for days. Went within hours.

Another option - though it depends on where you live - is to just stick it out in the road, and hope someone will steal it.

We did offer someone a microwave oven though - one of the workmen who was working for us at the time - and we put it outside the front door, and some while later it had gone. As it happened we did have another spare one we were also trying to lose, so we gave the workman that instead - we didn't really expect to have the first one we put outside our door stolen - but it went very quickly!

[worrasf]

Too late now, but perhaps if you'd advertised the sofa for £40 or offers, buyer removes, you'd have had a deal. We have found in the past that trying to offload stuff doesn't always work, but if you put a price on something punters feel that whatever it is "must be worth something".

I had an exercise bike - obtained on Freecycle. A year or two later tried to offer it on Freecycle again - no takers - even with a few reminders. We advertised it on - I think Gumtree - for around £40, and the phone didn't stop ringing with potential buyers for days. Went within hours.



Interesting.

Yes a bit late now. I did advertise it on our local Facebook group (free to a good home) but no takers - maybe I should have asked for a few quid - who knows?

[Pigmy Pony]

Too late now, but perhaps if you'd advertised the sofa for £40 or offers, buyer removes, you'd have had a deal. We have found in the past that trying to offload stuff doesn't always work, but if you put a price on something punters feel that whatever it is "must be worth something".

I had an exercise bike - obtained on Freecycle. A year or two later tried to offer it on Freecycle again - no takers - even with a few reminders. We advertised it on - I think Gumtree - for around £40, and the phone didn't stop ringing with potential buyers for days. Went within hours.

Another option - though it depends on where you live - is to just stick it out in the road, and hope someone will steal it.

We did offer someone a microwave oven though - one of the workmen who was working for us at the time - and we put it outside the front door, and some while later it had gone. As it happened we did have another spare one we were also trying to lose, so we gave the workman that instead - we didn't really expect to have the first one we put outside our door stolen - but it went very quickly!

Some good points - if you offer something for free people will assume it must be crap. If you leave it outside with a sign saying "Free to good home", you'll never be rid of it. If the sign said "£40 ono", it'll disappear overnight.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that charity shop workers see donations as a nice little perk, and the best gear never makes it to the shop.

Three piece suites are a tricky one - hard to lug around and transport, and take up a lot of expensive floorspace, so I sort of see where they're coming from.

[struth]

https://youtu.be/7dhtJRIozHs

[worrasf]

[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

[Sherwood]

I've had similar experiences. Due to my mobility problems I've had to clear some space so that I can get around the house with a walking frame. My first reaction was to get in touch with some local charities and offer the items to them. Almost all said that they no longer do collections, and the one that said they could collect later said otherwise. Undeterred I advertised the items on the local Facebook freecycle/gifting sites. I will not do that again.


All the items I posted were in good condition and most in very good condition. My only reason for posting them was my need to free up some space. The responses I got made me think I was doing them a favour. They wanted to know how old the items were, whether they were from a smoke/pet free home. Some wanted delivery of the items and went on to let me know when that would be convenient for them. Several who made appointments to collect never showed up and did not respond to me thereafter.


One event really pissed me off. Someone who claimed to be in dire circumstances collected several items, showing up 2 hours late to do so. By chance, I saw the same person selling some of the items on Facebook a few weeks later.


Now I do put a price on things just to deter the nasty parasites that seem all too prevalent.

[hifi_dave]

Yes, same again.

I couldn't get rid of 'designer' curtains and any furniture with soft cushions because of 'fire risk'. 2 x sets of chisels and 2 x saws with rosewood handles were too dangerous, magazines not wanted, jigsaws might have a piece missing and worst of all 2 x kiddies bikes which were new, still wrapped in plastic and cardboard because they needed to be professionally set up..:scratch:

[Pigmy Pony]

Yeah, there seems to be an underclass who want something mint, and want it for nowt. Similar to the vultures at car boots who pounce on you to buy your items for next to nothing, to later sell on their own stalls at a big profit.

Moral of the story - always sell, never give, because your kindness will come back and bite you on the arse.

[worrasf]

A few years ago I was visiting the old city in Acre, Israel (stunning by the way). I paid for my entrance ticket and when given change I politely asked the ticket seller if they had a charity box and if so to put the change in it. She looked at me as if I was the devil incarnate and suggested very strongly that i should keep my hard earned money and not give it away to undeserving charities. At the time I thought how rude and inconsiderate - I am seriously reconsidering my position now. I do know that with a very few exceptions (Pilgrim Bandits being one) I no longer donate to any charities after all the corruption/scandal and downright entitlement stories.

[Macca]

I got my furniture for free. It cost three grand back in 1994.

A mate got it in his divorce and when he shacked up with his new woman she wanted all new furniture.

It was only six years old and one of the two couches had never been used and the other looked brand new. He had it professionally cleaned anyway, and advertised in the local paper. No takers. He had to get rid so he said I could have it for nowt if I could organise I van. I could so I did.

Still got it although it's not mint anymore and the cat did do some damage with his claws while clambering about on it.

Place down the road sells charity furniture, big showroom, every item they have on sale is practically mint so I doubt they will take any donation that's less than perfect.

[guy]

Strange that it was refused - over the last few days we have been looking in local (Ipswich and Colchester) charity shops for a sofa, as our youngest is about to move in to a flat, and all the ones i have seen were quite grubby (some with a bit of staining around where the crotch would be resting on the seat cushions :eek:)