Freegle in Norfolk - making and managing Wanteds

Requesting items on Freegle

Post a WANTED to request something that you need. You can do this via your group's Yahoo Groups home page (click on Post on the menu on the left hand side of the home page). You can also send messages via email - but we recommend you post via the web page if you are new to Yahoo Groups.

Yahoo Group home pages, and email addresses, for all Norfolk groups are listed here.
Not sure which group to post to? More information can be found here.

Please think before posting your WANTED - remember Freegle is a place for re-homing items that would otherwise be thrown away. Members may also be reluctant to respond to people who make extravagant, demanding or numerous WANTED posts.

The three basics of a WANTED message

1. Address: if you are posting via your group's Yahoo Groups home page, you don't need to worry about the address as your message will automatically go to the group. If you are sending your message by email, make sure you use the correct address (see link above).

2. Subject: the message subject line MUST begin with WANTED, followed by a brief description of the item. Please also add your general location. Examples:

WANTED: scrap wood - Thetford area

Messages which do not have all three parts will be rejected, and you will be invited to re-post the message with full information in the subject line.

You can make writing Freegle messages easier by using Message Maker - an online tool which asks you for all the above information and produces a correctly formatted message. Note: for some groups, use of Message Maker depends on your email program and browser settings.

3. Message Body: the main part of the message might include:

The specific area/s from which you can collect.
Any additional information to help others understand what you need or can accept, e.g. size restrictions.
An idea of when you might be able to collect.

Dos and Don'ts

Repeat postings

Please don't post more than one wanted message per week. If you really need multiple things, put them all in one message.
See our Policies page for our time limits on repeating messages and sending to multiple groups.
More details on which group to post to.

Please do not include any of the following:

"Sob stories" about your personal circumstances - simply ask for what you need.
Phone numbers, full postcodes or street addresses.
Commercial messages about goods or services for sale/hire.
Requests for, or offers of, payment of any kind.
Requests to swap your items for others - just Offer what you have and request what you need.
Borrowing or lending - Freegle is for passing items on permanently.
Opinions, questions or information - please use the Café.
Long "signatures" (four lines max, please) or those pointing to commercial, religious or political sites.
More details of behaviour not allowed on Freegle.

The following items are absolutely forbidden on Freegle groups:

Anything that is not free
Anything that is not legal to own and pass on
Firearms or weapons
Alcohol, tobacco or drugs of any kind.
Live animals may not be requested (although some groups allow Offers).
More details of items not allowed on Freegle.

Dealing with replies to your request

If you are offered the item you seek, please thank the offerer even if you cannot accept the item for some reason.
If you are offered a suitable item, arrange a specific date and time to pick it up. Be sure to be there when you say you will or, if you really cannot make it, contact the person in advance to rearrange things.
Once you have what you requested, please post a RECEIVED notice to the list (matching your original OFFER).
In the RECEIVED post, please include the name or Yahoo! ID of the donor of the item (and any others who offered) to acknowledge their generosity.

Also see our page on Freegle etiquette.

NOTE: If you get inappropriate or unwanted replies to your WANTED, contact your group's moderators.

Last modified: 11th March 2010