Wednesday, August 26, 2015

RE:USE 'EXCHANGE' SITES

Got something that's too good for the skip but not going to get a bean on eBay? And at last has filled the last iota of space in the loft? Give it away! What you need is a nice e-way to do it.

There are LOTS. And as most, if not all, are free, I think it's worth giving 'em all a go.

So, in no particular order (well...):

Junkk.com's JunkkYard - a bit buried away, but does have some nice features. As you need to be registered, and that involved your postcode, it will tell you how far away 'it' is. Which can be handy. And you can select the radius of how far you want to travel.

2 recycle.co.uk - to be reviewed
Bigwardrobe.com - clothes related - to be reviewed
craigslist - has a free section
Note (US-based): http://videos.komando.com/watch/8528/komando-com-reports-3-sites-better-than-craigslist-to-buy-and-sell-items?
ecofreek - (US based) - NEW - to be reviewed
efreeko.co.uk - to be reviewed
flog.co.uk - to be reviewed
freebay.co.uk - to be reviewed
freecycle.com - Or .org. The Daddy of us all. You'll have to burrow a bit to get 'your' area.
freegle.org - A freecycle spin-off - all a bit political, mind
Guardian - The top 10 swap websites - If they say so
GreencycleSussex -
letslinkuk.net - to be reviewed - barter of services
Times - Online swap shop Freecycle booms as middle class feels squeeze
Times - Freecycle: the big green giveaway
Times - Something for nothing - they are keen at the Thunderer!
fridgemountain.com - to be reviewed. I'd guessed that it's fridges, but as I'd hoped there is now some feedback to say that it does more.
Furniture Reuse Network -
gigoit.org - to be reviewed. Great name!
giveortake.org - to be reviewed
greenhomeshop.co.uk - to be reviewed
gumtree - to be reviewed
hitflip.co.uk - to be reviewed
iflyerz.com - to be reviewed
musicmagpie.co.uk - Music to my ears... they pay. All things CD & R.
rag-and-bone.co.uk - to be reviewed
recycle.co.uk - to be reviewed
recycle4free.com - to be reviewed
rehomeyourstuff.co.uk - to be reviewed
reuze.co.uk - to be reviewed
snaffleup.co.uk - to be reviewed - Hat tip: Dave of Solarventi
swishing.org - to be reviewed
vskips -
whatsmineisyours - to be reviewed

Not Free

bytestart.co.uk - to be reviewed
cashgenerator.co.uk - to be reviewed
cex.co.uk - to be reviewed
gazelle.com - US-based (we do get readers there)
eBay - to be reviewed.. like I need to!
snaffleup.co.uk - to be reviewed
stuffusell.co.uk - to be reviewed

Swap

bigwardrobe.com - to be reviewed
https://www.bozowi.co.uk - to be reviewed
iswap -
oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com - to be reviewed
readitswapit.co.uk - to be reviewed - books
seedypeople.co.uk - to be reviewed - Gardening focus
staffshare.co.uk - to be reviewed - staff time!
swapcorner - to be reviewed
swapcycle.co.uk - to be reviewed
swapandplay - More IT
swapshop - to be reviewed
swapitshop.com - to be reviewed
swaptree.com -
swapxchange.org - to be reviewed
swopex.com - to be reviewed
swapz.co.uk - to be reviewed
u-exchange.com - to be reviewed - houses

Borrow

neighborrow.com - to be reviewed. It's US-based, but hey, it may catch on

Charities (who will take stuff, often quitebig)

Oxfam -

There'll be more. And I'll add 'em when I find 'em.

Or you could tell me about them too. Many are 'too be reviewed'. If you know something, good or bad, add to the comments and that'll prompt me to check and highlight.

Articles - Junkk - Hat tip Ecologist - What went wrong with Freecycle in the UK?

Guardian -  Fed up with Freecycle? Try these top 10 alternatives - One person's top 10 is another's grist to a growing mill. One day I'll add any in the lists to make my list bigger:)

Guardian -  Accusations of very tight control split UK recycling network from US parent - Blimey, who would have imagined a free reuse initiative could end up so 'political'. Good job Junkk is benign... {Homer growl} for now:) Actually, as JunkkYard is pretty much left up to the users, I'd be hard pressed to figure how I'd influence anything. Maybe I should, as it is kinda languishing.

But it seems some just can't resist trying to 'take control', and that is not my style.

Medical Product-related (A new category)

http://intercare.org.uk/

http://uk.gsk.com/en-gb/responsibility/our-planet/complete-the-cycle


24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice you spotted fridgemountain.com, but it isn't just fridges. It's freecycle done UK style on one site that works out what's local. What's more it's set up to ensure that any money made goes to the community.
Not a lot of people realise that FreeCycle is making Yahoo shareholders a good deal of money!

Emma said...

I'm hoping to stumble across/get told about as many as possible... and share them!

Thanks for the clarification.

I hadn't actually appreciated the financial consequences of FreeCycle as you suggest until now.

So long as it is free to the consumer and helps the planet I am not so worried how the originators do things. Setting up a site and running does have 'consequences', as I don't need to tell anyone who is trying to achieve.

I felt/feel a bit sorry for the originator as his voluntary basis business model has kind of restricted his ability to generate income from his idea. Though I believe he did try and engage an ad model and it caused a fuss... plus some commited supporters to feel 'betrayed' and depart to set off their own versions.

That is more complex. On the one hand it could be said he can do what he feels like, but then on the other, as with Anita Roddick and Body Shop, there are the ethics and consequences of starting under one banner and then swapping to another for various reasons, usually financial.

This can also be relevant beyond the individual public audience.

For instance, I still await an adequate explanation from my local council as to why they are prepared to 'support' only FreeCycle with printed leaflets, when surely any initiative that costs the ratepayer nothing and serves the cause of reducing waste is worth a mention?

Or some funding bodies who seem very narrow on their definition of third sector/social enterprises. I have been told Junkk.com does not qualify for all sorts of reasons - from being 'for profit' (when such as WRAP are 'not-for profit' yet have directors on 100k++ salaries who get bonusses by using public money to commission mega-million ad campaigns, which I consider a conflict of interest) to not serving a clear national social purpose.

Does Yahoo feed back any money to FreeCycle?

Anonymous said...

Good question about Yahoo feeding money back to Freecycle.

For the email groups, Yahoo keeps all of the revenue they raise from advertising.

The only way for Freecycle to get at the advertising revenue would be to host their groups or a website themself, and then carry adverts. The problem is that it's all a bit costly.

One thing that I'm looking at, right now is whether we can use Amazon's web services to give people pay as you go features without the financial overheads of running e-groups for millions of people.

Emma said...

Back-end IT stuff and payment models... not my forte!

Ironically, I am trying to put together a proposal for a West Mids bit of funding that is specifically (and only) for feasibility sudy consultancy.

A year down and I still only have Google AdSense up on both the Blog and the site! And the latter was set up from day 1 to have banners and stuff once the numbers kicked in, which it clearly is now.

Trouble is it's still just me (never any money for a person in the room) and I am desperate for skilled help in areas beyond my old-school creative numptie skill sets and experience.

I have a raft of guys ready to help, but they don't work for free and the clock starts ticking at £300/hr to just to get Linda E to get 'em out of bed!

I am hoping as an interim measure to get my head around all the RSS feed stuff that I posted recently with a view to upping the revenue opportunities on my own and/or looking at getting much smarter on the newsletter.

I've sat on that since Feb and we're up to almost 3000 opt-in sign-ups now just on people hearing about the site, swinging by and asking to be kept in the loop.

Emma said...

Forgot to mention...

I just got chased by another site that I know has been funded quite well by a certain initiative, only theirs charges for a mention in their directory.

This puts me in a dilemma. I am committed to sharing information, tips and links for all, for free.

Now, as they are expecting me to stump up to be on theirs, how do I feel about mentioning theirs on mine?

At the moment I am erring on suggesting mutual links, otherwise I am afraid they may have to go to the bottom of a big queue at least!

You guys (I'm assuming you are associated with fridge mountain) are welcome on the Junkk.com diRE:ctory by the way.

Send an email to info@junkk.com and I'll fire off an invite/explanation.

Kitty said...

QUOTE Neale said "The only way for Freecycle to get at the advertising revenue would be to host their groups or a website themself, and then carry adverts."ENDQUOTE

That's exactly what The Freecycle Network is attempting to do at the moment, although they are meeting a considerable degree of resistance in some quarters as many group owners are happy with the existing vehicle of the Yahoo Groups system (warts and all).

I only wish I could persuade my local council to suppport Freecycle (or any similar thing) - they don't !! I could live without leaflets or stickers on bins ... just a mention on their website would be nice, but after 2 years of asking it's not happened yet :o((

Emma said...

Welcome Kitty.

You are quite right and being green, this time with envy, is not a worthy sentiment. I just wish my council appplied their largesse equally, but something is always better than nothing.

Freecycle is of course the de facto 'big beast' and hence deserves first crack.

It's ironic that I have on occasion felt the creator of Freecycle and I have similar 'problems' generatinmg income for our initiatives, if from different directions.

He has vast reach, membership, PR, volunteers, etc, but few easy ways to monetise it - not least by having been, and being built on a voluntary, goodwill model (like many successful charities and not-for-profits). Changing that will be tricky at best. As evidenced by the US-sponsorship deal creating some breakaways.

Self-evidently I don't have a problem with ad-funding as my site was designed for that from day 1. Just... nothing like the numbers... yet.

There is of course a slight ethical question of buliding a brand on the back of one low-investment model, and then when it hits crtical mass moving to another to start generating profit. How do you reward those who helped build it all?

But like I say, whatever works to save waste.

I am amazed that your council can't even manage a mention online. That's plain silly as it costs them no more than a few minutes' work.

Send us an email and we'll gladly send an invite to give your group a diRE:ctory slot. It can then be picked up on a local postcode basis.

Not much, but 'every little bit helps', as one entity that could do a wee bit more perhaps might say:0

Kitty said...

Morning Peter - I'd love to send you an email with the info, but can't find an email addy to send it to :o(( I'm not very good with blogs, couldn't see anything obvious in your profile so chances are I'm looking in the wrong place. Can you point me please?

Emma said...

Sorry, it is a wee bit tucked away on the site ('Contact us' at base of each page) and I did post it above for Neale: info[at]junkk.com.

I don't post telephone numbers and even email addys as I now need to be cautious as spam bots pick them up and the in-box is getting a tad full of 'Love the site! Here's my viagara/handbags, etc'.

What I'll send in reply is a version of this, only with a few hyperlinks to illustrate what you can do to make it easier.

diRE:ctory Invitation

We have been made aware of your organisation, and as it falls well within our remit of sharing environmental knowledge, products and/or services freely with the public would be keen to explore mutually beneficial synergies.

To kick off we would be happy to include you in our diRE:ctory (which provides invaluable local coverage) where you can create your own entry, and once we have approved it is yours to manage as you wish.

We used to do it for folk, and can still assist, but now have a major backlog as we are understaffed. It's much quicker to do direct.

All you do is register as an organisation and once that's done create your entry via the 'Edit My Page' link that appears in the 'My Junkk' Box in the LHS Nav Bar once you're in.

The above information gets you into our system, and hence easily found via internal searches (by name, category, etc) that a Junkk.com reader may make. It also allows us to point at you when we write about a certain topic in editorial, blog or a review. But there are other ways we can help with profile.

You may also wish to consider being a guru in your specialist category (if there isn't a suitable one already, we can always add one!). We invite objective articles (ie: not to much 'me-me', but rather a useful overview to help consumers understand the issues and protagonists who can solve them in your area of specialisation.

We do of course give you a full credit and link, which kind of puts you 'top of mind'!) and the willingness to field the odd question in your area of expertise.

Kitty said...

Aha - and thank you. I was only looking in the blog .... it never occurred to me to look at junkk.com as my mind wasn't associating the two.

Elly Russell said...

You missed a site! there is also one called http://www.rehomeyourstuff.co.uk which allows you to give your old things away for free.

It's all good stuff!

Emma said...

Welcome Elly,

I am sure there are many more I have missed. But thanks to guys like you we are working towards getting them all the exposure they deserve; thank you.

I am sure the URL is correct, but I can't seem to get it to open. Is it down?

mrs green said...

Blimey - and I thought I couldn't sleep!

Excellent list, I shall be linking to it in the future.

We've done an interview and review of Snaffle Up; I personally love it as it's fuss free and I get about 2 emails every 3 months with items that are within a 20 mile radius of my home, so there is no full inbox!

http://myzerowaste.com/2008/12/lets-snaffle-up-the-landfill/

thanks again; brilliant resource you've created.

Emma said...

Ta for the compliment - coming from you that is praise indeed.

Up at 5am this morning.

Now I find I need to be at Ally Pally at 5am... for the chance of a runner up 15 second slot on GMTV tomorrow.

Trying to nurse a cider to 10pm and then conk out 'til 4am to get in for the potential shoot.

Had to find a local B&B as there's no way I could do it from my chum's in Staines.

Things we do for the chance of a bit of PR, eh?

mrs green said...

Good luck with that - let us know how you get on. I guess it's all over now!

Emma said...

You have no idea...

Up at 4am. At Ally Pally at 5am. Wait around for my slot at 8am, and... cancelled!

Seems GMTV had footage of a reality TV star getting beaten up.

Now, what chance does one have vs. that?:(

mrs green said...

OMG - that *really* sucks and hey why bother saving the world when there is something FAR more important going on.

Really sorry to hear that. Our blog got ditched in some really good media coverage for a divorcee instead .... I guess fly on the wall drama is much more interesting for viewers.

Emma said...

Ah well... no risk... no reward.

The last day was good. Lots of public who really 'got it'.

And the GMTV presenter did say he would try and drum up a slot another time.

Mike said...

Here are some resources to add to your list if possible please.

Sell Your Mobile
Sell and Recycle your mobile phone for cash. Get money for mobiles. Mobile phone recycling information directory, review and comparison site. See reviews and comparisons of mobile phone recycling sites to get the most money for your mobile.

Cash for Mobiles
Cash for mobiles site gets you cash for your mobile by comparing the prices offered for your make and model of mobile phone by the top mobile phone recycling sites in an easy to understand comparison table to get cash for your mobile.

Mobile Recycling Comparison
Compare the prices offered for your make and model of mobile phone by using the simple mobile phone recycling price comparison tool on the Mobile Cash Comparison site to get the most money for your mobile phone.


Mobile Phone Recycling
http://www.mobiles2recycle.com
Mobile phone recycling information. Reviews and comparisons of mobile phone recycling sites and other types of environmental information and recycling sites and info. Get money by recycling your old mobile phones.

Emma said...

Ta for the input, Mikey.

Of course I will add.

Need to find some time to review, but will post asap.

Unknown said...

Hi Peter

You've got Music Magpie for CDs. There's <a href="http://www.chilloutgames.co.uk/SellGames.aspx >Chillout Games</a> for video games. They're the only site that I've found where you can get a price for PS1.

I've found freecycle mercenary whenever I've used it. Hundreds of people queuing to grab your wares but few willing to part with theirs.

Phone Recycling said...

I am well aware of mobile phone recycling sites and have heard of FreeCylcle but was unaware of fridgemountain.com. Its a great idea I hate throwing stuff out and I normally send anything I don't want anymore to a local charity shop. It's a shame more people don't know about this site as it is a realy good idea and could be very useful if more people got involved. I will be signing up for sure.

Unknown said...

Hi Peter,

We have been involved in recycling tech for almost 20 years now https://www.bozowi.co.uk/.
I hope this is something of interest to you and could be added to your list?

Thanks

Jaike

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We purchase cartridge from InkjetsClub. It is a very good product, and we plan on using it a long time.

https://inkjetsclub.co.uk/