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There’s a bike in Woking, Christmas cards in Bristol and sofabeds and stepladders in Camden, north London.
Can you really get something for nothing? Thousands of people have realized that you can now become a social media mainstay with the trend of trading in free content.
Due to the cost of living crisis, Britons are using sites like Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle, Freegle and Olio to find things that others no longer want to evacuate their homes and gardens or help clothe themselves or their children – and That too for the source. Christmas gifts.
Gumtree has reported a 160% increase in free item page views since May this year and a 15% year-on-year increase in user sessions on the freebie page. The site found that two-thirds of Britons had picked up something for free in the first six months of the year, with 29% doing so for the first time.
Gumtree estimates that there are £3.96bn worth of items in British households that we’d happily part with for next to nothing, a market ripe for tapping.
Freegle, a swap site that has been operating since 2009 and has nearly 3 million members, said activity on the site was up 70% in the year to the end of February compared to the same period pre-pandemic.
The number of people looking for free stuff on Facebook Marketplace has increased by 75% year-on-year, with 30% more joining UK-based freebie, swap or discount groups, while neighboring social network Nextdoor says 40% more are finding free stuff. Given away from pre-epidemic.
Freecycle, which has more than 600 local groups across the UK and 5,000 worldwide, says its activity has doubled. It reported a 50% increase in new sign-ups in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and remains 20% above historical rates.
Kate Fletcher at Freegle says sharing sites are an alternative to charity shops because they can offer items that many people won’t take – from slightly broken furniture to electrical goods and children’s clothes. Another attraction is that the goods go to a local person who benefits immediately and they can pop round to pick up the item, saving them the hassle of finding transport.
Fletcher also runs a free shop in Brighton, where dozens of people drop by and pick up free items every week.
Catherine Fisher, 46, who donated some children’s games and a dimmer switch this week, said: “I’m really keen not to put things in the rubbish. It felt like these were things that had a lot more life in them, even though they weren’t useful to me.”
She has previously used the Facebook marketplace and sharing app Olio to buy, sell and give away items but says the Free Shop “takes a lot of things that other places don’t want to take and finds a home for them”.
The speed of getting rid of things for free is part of its appeal. Driven by fear of missing out and with no worry of haggling over payment, listed items usually go in a day or two.
“It’s like hot cakes,” says Hannah Roach, chief marketing officer at Gumtree, where about 1m free items are listed every week.
She says the growing interest in freebies is part of a general shift in behavior over the past year or so to greater acceptance of secondhand goods and an interest in sharing them with the local community.
Interest in trading sites was partly driven by necessity during the pandemic, when supply chain problems and high street lockdowns made it difficult to get some items through normal routes – whether it was a freezer, hot tub or caravan.
Chris Alderman, 27, who lives in Surbiton, south-west London, said he has given his flat almost entirely for free using Facebook Marketplace and other sites. A cash crunch prompted him to look for a new purchase option soon after finalizing the purchase of a house when deliveries of sofas and couches were being held up during the Covid crisis.
“At first I thought I’d only get two things but it worked out so I think I’ve saved myself a thousand pounds,” says Alderman, who picked up a bed, desk and desk chair, dining chairs, coffee table and lift. . Mirror He also took a sofa for £25.
He says: “It’s amazing what people will give for free to get rid of it. I was selective… I made sure it was made of the right wood or good quality, made to be taken apart and put back together.”
Alderman shows a general shift in openness to bartering, sharing and trading with neighbors since the pandemic, while “preferred” items have become fashionable thanks to the rise of secondhand trading sites such as eBay, Depop and Vinted.
“There are fewer social barriers,” adds Fletcher. Interest in trying to be more sustainable has also driven the trend, she says. “Not buying something new and reusing it in your local community has a big impact on carbon emissions,” he says, because it then doesn’t have to be produced and transported, often far away overseas. “We don’t need to build or buy new ones,” he says
Inflation in energy and food bills has only accelerated the trend. “A lot of people are posting [requesting an item] say they can’t afford it because of the cost of living so we know that’s the case,” says Jacqueline Durham at Freecycle.
Gumtree has seen increased activity on its free section around certain ads that have put financial pressure on households, such as rising petrol prices and rising interest rates.
Michelle, who runs the Facebook group “Discount Codes Freebies and Glitches” with about 70,000 members, says she’s been overwhelmed by the number of people joining online. “We are getting a lot of requests from single parents, pensioners and people who say they work full-time but are struggling to make ends meet.
“Some have made me cry. Members would like to thank us for helping with Christmas gifts this year. We all need a little therapy when times are tough.
But it’s not all about financial need. Rauch says that when she lists toys or baby clothes on the free site, it doesn’t mean she gets rid of the items she wants to clean up quickly but adds a feel-good factor. “I felt so good about it every time a family came over to get something because I could see their joy,” she said.
She says that combination of sentiment, interest in sustainability and the potential to save money will only increase interest in sharing free content.
“I think it will normalize and increase. Once people find the quality of things, they are more likely to make it their starting point [for looking for something] Next time.”
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