I had the idea that I could look for a dryer. There are some from time to time, but it’s always strictly “first guy to come by gets it”, which leaves me out because I’d have to arrange to borrow a truck and that takes too long.
At least in the Twin Cities, the items most frequently offered are: used sofas and loveseats; tube TVs; mattresses; cabinets, shelves, and entertainment centers; and baby stuff. Also mentionable are cardboard boxes, spare sheetrock, and firewood. Other items are rarer but mostly fall into the garage-sale category. Now in the post-Christmas season there’s a glut of decorations and artificial trees.
Still, I check every so often to see if something wonderful is there for the taking. Has anyone here ever found anything really great?
Two weeks ago I bought a pair of Klipsch stereo speakers for $125 They are really high quality speakers, and I love their sound.
In addition the seller threw in a Klipsch center channel speaker, which I don’t need, but, sure I’ll take it. I’m selling it on eBay, and will likely get about $125 for just the center speaker.
So that kinda counts as free, right?
But, yeah, the free section is like looking for a needle in a haystack to get something worth the effort.
“Antiques Roadshow” and eBay have ruined bargain hunting for everyone. Now everyone thinks their garbage is worth a fortune.
I work with a NPO who help people get off of welfare so I deal with this a lot and Craigslist, in my experience, seems to be people wanted to unload garbage and are too lazy to go to the dump
Everyone I talk with says you can find deal and great items but the key is to go all the time. I had one a client who dressed great, and she told me she gets her clothes from the thrift store. But she adds, she lives about two blocks from it, and she goes nearly every day. She says she may find good items only about twice a month.
So unless you consistently look you’re going to have to be lucky to find anything.
Freecycle has given me good results when we use it to get people established. Especially small appliances. Everyone there seems to have a boatload of toasters, blenders and coffee makers to give away. And out of date TVs, you know the analog ones. If anyone has a use for those.
I got a gas barbecue free once. It was certainly not new, but it worked fine and I used it for years. I’ve given away stuff that’s perfectly serviceable for free. It goes fast.
Just for the heck of it, I decided to have a look at what was going for free on our local Craigslist. Among the usual suspects of old furniture, appliances and fill dirt are some houseplants, 5 goldfish, a Nordic Track and, you won’t believe this, two Zambonis! What’s the chance of finding one Zamboni for free on Craigslist, much less two? Apparently, they need work (Major work, I suspect) or you can scrap them out if you want but you have to pick them up at the lister’s location in Tacoma, WA. Anyone interested?
