Friday, January 2, 2009

Barter And Swap? How's about FREE?

We all like FREE stuff. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to gather things that you can barter with other people. Things that you can repair on the cheap and sell for a few dollars.

Okay be judicious about what you pick up. Some of it is truly junk.

Go to Craigslist. Once there, select your state and city near you. Select the "For Sale" catagory, then look for the heading under "For Sale" labeled "Free"!

Another site is Freecycle.

Local advertising circulars like the Penny Saver, Hot-Ads, and The Great Exchange (Santa Cruz, Ca. circular) often have a free category. Keep your eye on them. Check the local classifieds in your newspapers. Look for the free magazines frequently in front of bus stops, and out in front of liquor stores, grocery stores, and shopping centers.

Locally, quite a few people are losing their homes. Most of these people are having to downsize their living space and have way too much stuff. There's so much stuff and so few buyers, that a lot of it just gets given away because garage sales just don't work that well in the dead of winter. Goodwill and the Salvation Army have become picky with what they'll take.

Things I have seen given away:

Firewood. Wood burning stoves/inserts. Building supplies. Refrigerators. Freezers. Washing Machines. Dryers. Cars. Small 14 foot aluminum boat with trailer. Mini-vans. TV's. Stereos. VCRs and DVD players. DVD and VHS movies. Furniture. Books. Toys and games. Bicyles. Mini-bikes. Clothing. Golf and Tennis equipment. Gardening supplies. Food. Hydroponic equipment. Kitchen stuff. Ham radio stuff. Reloading equipment. (Some guy was faster than I was on that item....bummer)

Granted, the cars and the mini-van needed some work, but if you're a mechanic and can invest some time and a few bucks, you could easily net yourself a few dollars.

From what I have observed, the best stuff seems to be rolling out of the suburbs and small cities.

Keep your eyes peeled for that deal!

5 comments:

Bullseye said...

I check Cragislist everyday, man they give away some good stuff. Most of it is about an hour away from me but I did make the drive to pick up a gun cabniet for free. 10 gun in great shape, sitting in the family room today. Good post, lot of good stuff out there for those of us willing to look for it. I have seen some crazy stuff being given away to the first taker.

Catman said...

A gun cabinet? Man, talking about a score! Nobody out here in California has a gun cabinet. We all use safes because people out here just don't respect other people's property anymore.

Ken said...

...free is good,two years ago this spring,i got my trailer for free...all i had to do was put tires on the axles...old gal was pissed,saying something about me 'cheating' her,as i pulled it out of her yard,she had said it was 'junk'...hell,even the lumber floor was good

Catman said...

Very cool Ken. Anyone else score some cool stuff?

Anonymous said...

ROFL, Ken- ain't that the way it goes? Someone sees someone else HAPPY to get their 'junk' and it pisses them off. Go figure- human idiocies, I guess.
Scored my BUGOUT camper much the same way...been storing it for close to 20 years, the owner says 'keep it' when I asked if he'd move it.
Got to wait for spring to get it outta the 'back 40' and check the frame: if it's still good, it's a BUGOUT Home.
Shy