How to Get Stuff for Free on the Internet
There are a bunch of ways to get things you want or need online, absolutely free! Here are some online communities that allow you to give away or ask for items of your choice with no cash or barter required.
Buy Nothing Project
The Buy Nothing Project is based on the concept of a gift economy, where people can exchange items freely without anything expected in return. The idea is that each individual group will serve a local community, such as a neighborhood in a city, part of a large town, or an entire small town. This allows members to get to know their actual neighbors through the medium of Facebook.
Buy Nothing Groups are formed by volunteer residents of the community, and the group is formed around that person geographically. You are only allowed to belong to a Buy Nothing Group that includes your home. Since there was no group in my town when I moved here, I contacted the Buy Nothing Project and started my own group! The regional volunteers helped me to set the geographic boundaries of the group and recruit members. From there, the group was on its way.
Once you are a member of the Buy Nothing Group, you are able to make posts to give away or request any item allowed on Facebook (which prohibits, for example, alcohol). You can also request the gift of time, by asking a neighbor to teach you how to make a recipe of theirs or how to start a garden, for instance. The main rule is that anything you ask for or give away cannot be a transaction; you must gift freely and receive freely with no strings attached. You never know what your neighbors might be giving away, and you might make some new friends in the process.
As I mentioned, the Buy Nothing Project operates through Facebook. While you can click on the section header above to go to the Buy Nothing website and search for your local group (or learn more about the non-profit), you will need a Facebook account to participate in Buy Nothing. For some people, this is a deal-breaker, but I will note that you do not need to be otherwise active on Facebook to be part of Buy Nothing. Volunteers do verify your residency within the Buy Nothing area and determine that you are a legal adult before permitting you to join a local group.
Buy Nothing Project
The Buy Nothing Project is based on the concept of a gift economy, where people can exchange items freely without anything expected in return. The idea is that each individual group will serve a local community, such as a neighborhood in a city, part of a large town, or an entire small town. This allows members to get to know their actual neighbors through the medium of Facebook.
Buy Nothing Groups are formed by volunteer residents of the community, and the group is formed around that person geographically. You are only allowed to belong to a Buy Nothing Group that includes your home. Since there was no group in my town when I moved here, I contacted the Buy Nothing Project and started my own group! The regional volunteers helped me to set the geographic boundaries of the group and recruit members. From there, the group was on its way.
Once you are a member of the Buy Nothing Group, you are able to make posts to give away or request any item allowed on Facebook (which prohibits, for example, alcohol). You can also request the gift of time, by asking a neighbor to teach you how to make a recipe of theirs or how to start a garden, for instance. The main rule is that anything you ask for or give away cannot be a transaction; you must gift freely and receive freely with no strings attached. You never know what your neighbors might be giving away, and you might make some new friends in the process.
As I mentioned, the Buy Nothing Project operates through Facebook. While you can click on the section header above to go to the Buy Nothing website and search for your local group (or learn more about the non-profit), you will need a Facebook account to participate in Buy Nothing. For some people, this is a deal-breaker, but I will note that you do not need to be otherwise active on Facebook to be part of Buy Nothing. Volunteers do verify your residency within the Buy Nothing area and determine that you are a legal adult before permitting you to join a local group.
A friend had given me this box of artificial flowers
to use in my wedding. Since I didn't use them, I gifted
them through my Buy Nothing Group.
I also gifted this frame from my bridal shower to the
same lady who received the flowers above.
same lady who received the flowers above.
This online community first began on the platform Yahoo Groups but has since moved to its own website (link above). Freecycle is another online community that is linked to your actual community. The goal of Freecycle, per its website, is to prevent waste and keep usable items out of landfills by providing a place on the internet for people to give away items in their community. Like the Buy Nothing Project, Freecycle is a gifting group that asks members to give away items with no strings attached. Members can both offer and ask for items that they want or need in posts within their community groups.
You can search the Freecycle website linked above for a group that operates in your town, then create an account with Freecycle in order to participate. Freecycle also disallows the gifting and requesting of certain items, including any drug/medication (over-the-counter, tobacco, alcohol, etc). Since Freecycle operates an independent website, replies to posts are received via email instead of via Facebook. This is ideal for people who do not use Facebook.
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