Reselling

It occasionally comes to light that a member has been reselling goods they've obtained on Freegle. Claiming or asking for items in order to resell or redistribute them doesn't violate Freegle's guidelines directly, but many members prefer to give their items to people who will use them, not sell them.

Resellers should disclose their intention to resell or redistribute an item when accepting an offer, and when making a wanted request.

If a member fails to disclose this

If you discover, or think, a member is failing to disclose this when asked, or when posting a wanted, you may wish to:

• Keep the member on permanent moderation.
• Write to the member informing them of the guidelines, and warning them not to do it again.
• Issue a strike - a warning for a serious misdemeanour; two strikes can lead to a member being unsubscribed, at the owner's discretion. (See banning vs moderation.)
• Send an admin to the community reminding members of the reselling guidelines.

What members can do

• Ask responders if they intend to resell an item before agreeing to gift it.
• When marking a post as taken, select the member they believe has resold their item, and add a feedback comment for volunteers, so it can be noted for any further action.
• A few communities do choose a policy of no reselling. It's worth bearing in mind that it's hard to prove a member has been reselling goods acquired via Freegle.

Tip: watch out for posts including links to sites like eBay, Gumtree and Facebook.

Trash Nothing

Here is an extract from Trash Nothing's help pages:

"Is reselling allowed? Resellers are members who receive free items and then sell them outside of Trash Nothing. Buying and selling on Trash Nothing is not allowed, but reselling free items is a valid way to reuse items and keep them out of the landfill, as long as resellers follow the rule below. People who 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. To help with this, there's a setting which can be ticked which puts this sentence onto the member's posts. If you have a question about your local community's rules, please contact the moderators. If a post is breaking this rule, please report the post. If another member has broken this rule, please report the member."

See also

• Sample message: Reselling - sample messages to send to individual members
• Sample Admin: Reselling - sample messages to send to the community
• Scrap Metal - guidance on Freegle's position on reselling metals

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