Like free stuff? There’s an alternative to shoplifting
October 14th, 2009 • 7 Comments
Once upon a time, in a land before the internet, the only way you could get free stuff was to rob it. Of course, since the advent of web browsing, people can rob entire libraries of music, books and films… but it doesn’t have the same human interaction does it?
Well, there is another way of getting things without paying for them AND you get to meet the occasional human along the way.
Sprouting like bulbs, there are a load of websites online that give away things or encourage you to swap. Most of them do it under the guise of being eco, but no-one is really interested in that are they?
The Guardian chucked up a load of links to alternatives to Freecycle (probably the most famous of all the FreeStuffSites) which is very handy if you’re broke or want something, but not so much that you demand a new (possibly working) one.
Some of the better sites include Freegle, LetsAllShare and clothes swapping (not that kind of clothes swapping you dirty buggers) site WhatsMineIsYours. Amusingly, the article also features a link to MySkip which is currently not active “for non-payment”.
While the premise of these sites initially seems a bit like Come And Pick Up My Junk Because I Can’t Be Bothered Throwing It Out, with a little digging, there’s some great stuff to be found. A mate of mine got an ace piano for his son once and I got a load of ace vintage office furniture. If you like having things and want to save money, these sites can be a real goldmine.
Myskip, ’site closed for nonpayment’.
Obviously couldn’t barter a deal with the host company.
Hi, my name is Brian. Thanks for the “free stuff” article Mof Gimmers. Can you use your journalistic research instincts to find me a web site for FREE SEX (with females). I’ve tried Gumtree, but they are mostly males pretending to be young chicks.
TIA, Brian.
You guys should try “dumpster diving” in the UK. Tons of people do it here in the US and find a whole bunch of stuff (and junk)!
Financial Samurai
People “dumpster dive” here too. I regularly remove items from skips.
What the article doesn’t discuss is freeganism (as applied to food). Loads of (quality) free food is available from the back of M&S. They always chuck it out on the best before day, rather than lower their image and sell it off cheap. Sometimes they lock their bins to try to stop people getting at it, bt there is usually a way in.
The Guardian including links to dead sites is fairly common these days – they recycle stuff they find on the net without checking it first. At least BW checks links before recycling them!
There is also snaffleup.co.uk which is worth a look.
The Free Movement | Voucher Mum