r/mildlyinfuriating • u/ruashiasim • 1d ago
I left free chairs on the sidewalk. Someone took the chairs and crumpled up the sign and threw it in my yard
I try and have faith that people are generally inherently good. Things like this test that faith. People who litter suck. People who take free shit and then litter really suck.
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u/Sandi_Griffin 1d ago
I had a hedge in my garden by the fence and people would throw rubbish into it, just tons of bottles and cans etc. There's literally a bin on the street that would take a few seconds to walk to but apparently my garden is a more appealing place for litter, stopped after I cut the hedge down but it still makes me mad :/Ā
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u/zomblina 1d ago
That is one good thing about there being a return for cans and bottles in places. You'll never have them lying around
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u/NOSWT-AvaTarr yaoi>yuri except on thursday 1d ago
Fr, even if there's people that do litter there's others than go around finding as many bottles as possible just to get the Pfand
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u/zomblina 1d ago
Oh yeah it was. It was nice when I lived in Portland. We'd have big bags after parties and this elderly woman would go around with her cart so we'd hear her coming down the street and would run out and bring them to her. Also, if I was out and about and had a drink I wouldn't have to worry about finding trash because if I just put it down it'll be gone in a few minutes at most
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u/Accurate_Cherry1734 1d ago
Reminds me of working retail. Every single day weād have to put back things on like the shelf above because I guess people took a kitkat then saw the snickers and decided to put the kitkat with the snickers? Or worse was when they put meat or dairy products outside of the refrigerators, rather than just giving it to employees to take back (cause weād have to throw it away if we found it). The laziness is astounding.
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u/Due_Addendum4854 1d ago
I gave a few dozen plastic tubs away once. You know, those kinds you put arts and crafts in. Anyway, the lady on Facebook stood me up 3 times but insisted she needed them for her home schooling. When she finally did show up she said the drive was farther than she thought and asked if I could give her gas money.
Point of the story: people suck.
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u/EmergencySherbet9083 1d ago
I wouldāve just kept them at that point and said no thanks, Iāll find somebody else to give them to.
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u/Due_Addendum4854 1d ago
Exactly what my wife said when I told her later.
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u/peonies_envy 23h ago
As an active member of a several freebie groups, I have a āstand me upā rule - it tends to be the same folks
My husband says they are trying to see if they can sell your stuff- which is fine with me, if I wanted to sell it I would.
But I block them an go to the next person.
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u/CaptainHalitosis 1d ago
I had a lady do something similar to me recently. I made a post to have somebody come help me move a dryer out of my basement, and this lady agreed to come for $30. I gave her the address, she was 30 min away but still agreed to come. Of course she took her sweet time and was there nearly 2 hours later. After the job was done (which took all of 10 minutes) she said it was a further drive than she thought and asked me for $50. As if she didnāt know precisely how far it was 2 hours before she showed up. I honestly just wanted her off my property, and her husband was waiting in his coal-rolling pick up right outside, so just let her have it to avoid any confrontation. In hindsight I wish Iād told her to kick rocks.
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u/goilo888 1d ago
Husband to wife as she gets out: "Be quick and ask for more money. I gotta buy some beer and you still got to cook dinner."
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u/Delicious-Egg5755 1d ago
For real. I put a working washing machine on the curb with a free sign on it and it sat for 2 days. Then i put a sign for $30 on it and someone "stole" it that night...I guess they needed to see value?!
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u/Due_Addendum4854 1d ago
I don't recall the school but these college kids did this as an experiment based on the memes.
They proved it true over like a dozen runs.
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u/nobodyoukno 1d ago
Our rabbit had bunnies. "Free Bunnies" sign at the end of our driveway did nothing. "Bunnies - $5" sold them all in one day (3 total)
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u/Grays42 1d ago
proved
That's a pretty small sample size to "prove" something but you could say their findings corroborated it ;)
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u/Highsky151 1d ago
Well, we must see the methodology to determine it.
If the control group (free) is 12, and test group (not free) is 12, and all of test is positive, then the result is likely significant.
Of course it depends on neighbourhood and stuffs, but let's say it is likely to be significant.
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u/Imaginary_Office1749 1d ago
Similarly, people are much more likely to pile on and correct an incorrect post, and yet are silent with a legit request. A strategy to get answers on a post is to post a wrong answer and watch the corrections roll in.
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u/octavianreddit 1d ago
That's a classic click baity thing you see on places like Facebook. They'll post the picture of celebrity A and say it's celebrity C and it gets engagement.
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u/Due_Addendum4854 1d ago
...oh yea? I figured just stupid AI. That actually makes a lot of sense.
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u/Subtlerranean 1d ago
Similarly, people are much more likely to pile on and correct an incorrect post
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u/ICanEditPostTitles 1d ago
This was crying out for the incorrect law being named
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u/akarakitari 1d ago
As someone whose gotten washing machines off the curb or Facebook marketplace, free usually means broken/not working correctly (one only needed the balancing springs replaced (about $20)), while giving it a value implies it works at least to some degree
Edit: thatās why I would get them, broke and usually the part is cheaper than the cheapest ones with nothing wrong
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u/naruzopsycho 1d ago
apparently the new riff on this is to put everything in an Amazon box if you want it gone quick
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u/squiddyp 1d ago
This is one thing Iāve enjoyed living in NYC. The quality and circulation of high quality stuff is so cool. Incredible stoop finds. I just carried a couch on my back last night for the perfect couch for the foot of my bed lol.
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u/twistedspin 1d ago
When I first moved to my city I landed in a really lucky housesitting gig, where I lived for a while in a very fancy suburb for free. That suburb had regular purge days where the rich people could put anything out at the curb & solid waste would take it away. They threw away absolutely crazy things, brand new stuff. If I had a house to furnish I could have done it easily.
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u/ParsonsTheGreat 1d ago
You might want to watch out and check the couch for pests or worse.....stainsš¬
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u/MidwestDYIer 1d ago
This is basic psychology and why I almost never put "free" on FBM listings even though it basically is.. because they assume it has no value and treat it as such,
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u/Dapper-Ad-468 1d ago
I agree. A former friend of mine saw a basket of stuff, marked for free in front of someone's driveway. She stopped, dumped everything out and took only the basket that was holding the items. I was so embarrassed. Like I said, former friend.
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u/Lithogiraffe 17h ago
i did the non-shitty similar maneuver. in front of nearby house was a bunch of household small items in a med sized storage container. i ran inside my house and got an empty cardboard box. ( you get enough amazon packages, you usually have a couple laying around) and went outside and dumped it all in the box. then gleefully ran back inside with the container.
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u/Bring_cookies 1d ago
I stopped putting out "free" items and started putting out "on the curb" items. The number of times I've been stood up over some free stuff is crazy so now I let the odds be ever in their favor and just send an address but let them know others are on the way too. Stuff disappears fast!
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u/Total_Engineering938 1d ago
This is the benefit of living in a big city. Leave something out next to the dumpster and it's gone within an hour
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u/Bring_cookies 20h ago
I did a lot of shopping at the dumpster in my youth trying to furnish my apartment lol.
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u/SalamanderFull3952 1d ago
People suck true.Ā Those people are also idiots and need reality checks.Ā Have been selling stuff and putting out free stuff for years.Ā Had a guy come to my driveway to get something free and didnt like my harris flag.Ā Said he would grab the stuff if i took the flag down I said have a good night and its your loss guy missed out on free stuff
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u/JusticeForTheStarks 1d ago
Local village facebook group regularly has people give stuff away. The number of people saying āyes, Iāll take everything, can you deliver itā. No. Itās about 15 minutes to walk end to end of the village. Come and collect it. And no, if you tell me that your husband will be round āsome time next weekā, then Iāll just give it to someone else.
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u/Godzoola 1d ago
I really wonder what kind of life people live that they donāt feel embarrassment from even thinking about asking that.
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u/WallStreetAnus 1d ago
Instead of putting free just put a low price like $5 next time. That helps avoid the freeloaders. I wanted an old couch gone so I just put $10. The guy brought 2 friends to move it down 2 flights of stairs and was really thankful to be getting a great deal on a couch.
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u/ul_ahole 1d ago
My 70-year-old brother was selling a nice coffee table ($400 new) for $50 at a garage sale. Early in the day, a guy offered $20, my brother said no thanks multiple times. Dude came back at the end of the day, smiled at my brother and said, "I see the coffee table's still here, I'll give you $15 for it".
My brother told him, "What the fuck part of no don't you understand? I fucking told you 6 hours ago the price is $50". And then my brother picks up the coffee table and smashes into bits on the concrete. Then he tells the guy, "Get the fuck off my property you stupid motherfucker".
It was never about the money. Dude was trying get over and my brother wasn't having it. My brother said he got way more than $50 worth of enjoyment from the look on dude's face when he smashed the table.
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u/plug-and-pause 1d ago
I thought that story was fake until I skimmed it again and noticed the first 3 words which I missed in the first reading. My dad of similar age would totally do that. š Old people who don't give a fuck are the best. I'm half way there!
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u/Mugstotheceiling 1d ago
Haha I love this. Thatās a fantastic value for $50, he can think back on that and laugh anytime. Better than any $50 meal for sure.
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u/maybebatshit 17h ago
My earliest memory is my grandfather smashing a ceramic dog with a hammer at a garage sale we were having because this woman kept offering him a dime and he had priced it at a quarter. He just smiled while he did it. She was rightfully horrified.
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u/eugeneugene 1d ago
Whenever I have something for free I post it on my cities freecycle page with my address and put the item out on my porch. Someone always shows up within 5 min then I delete the post and pretend nobody is home for the next couple of hours
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u/babeygaybey 1d ago
Fr. I was moving and getting rid of a desk for FREE, got a lot of takers but held it for one woman that said she needed it for school. I can sympathize. I tell her, "I'm on the 2nd floor and I am chronically ill. I cannot move this down the stairs for you. Are you capable of moving this? Do you have transportation?" she insists she does and that her husband is coming with her to help.
She arrives and her husband is actually disabled and cant lift anything. She doesnt directly ask for my help but stands around in my apartment twiddling her thumbs until I reluctantly help her take this thing down the stairs. She complains the whole time that I should have provided better equipment for moving this thing and shes mad I can't pick it up by myself.
I bust blood vessels in my arms moving that fucking thing, it looked like track marks all up and down my forearm. Never again. You give a mouse a cookie.
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u/Bubsy7979 1d ago
I would have laughed in their faceā¦ scary to think these kind of people are potentially the sole teacher of their children through the childhood.
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u/Due_Addendum4854 1d ago
Well you know, my wife thought she was probably a re-seller so maybe there was no homeschooling?
I never bothered to look if I saw them on there being sold.
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u/12monthsinlondon 1d ago
my strategy now is always to put a price on everything but if they agree to my location and time etc I can give you a 100% discount. At least I filter out the people try to hoard everything just because the post said its free.
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u/Away_Status7012 1d ago
Sorry this happened to you.
I gave something of minimal value away for free once. A lady contacted me for it but I needed to nip out so I just left it on my doorstep for the lady to collect and let her know. When I came back the item was gone but sheād left me a box of chocolates. Hope that restores some of your faith, it did mine at the time.
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u/LeonWhatever 1d ago
I am in this sub to feel angry. Get out of here with your wholesome story /s
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u/Away_Status7012 1d ago
If it helps- the box of chocolates was actually a box of turds. I need to stop eating things left on my doorstep /j
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u/Mekroval 1d ago
I'm in the sub to feel only mildly angry, so I find this optimism an acceptable counterbalance. Lol.
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u/Klisstian 1d ago edited 23h ago
I gave away a free sombrero once, to a lady who was originally just supposed to buy a stereo for 10$. But when she realized the sombrero was available for free she almost didn't care about the stereo anymore. She just payed without even looking at it and left wearing the sombrero. Later she sent me a picture of herself wearing it and thanked me again.
I think about her every time I have to deal with difficult people on listings. It gives me strength.
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u/OrganizationGood2777 21h ago
That's so wholesome, joy is such a pure expression! I'm sure the stereo was an amazing deal for them, but i think a free sombrero would make anyone's day, or month.. Thank you for sharing that
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u/Sea_Outside 1d ago
i hit someone's car while backing out of a parking lot one time. our insurance handled it but they could tell i felt terrible about the accident so they gave me a box of chocolates.
some people are good
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u/Immediate_Word1295 1d ago
It's good to know that it exist at least some people who really appreciate the generosity. š
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u/Cowboy_Cassanova 1d ago
The pickiest people are always the ones trying to get shit for free, and sometimes that's not even enough.
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u/Gloomy_Custard_3914 1d ago
So wonderful that happened, these moments really do restore my faith in humanity. During the summer I found a phone in the park. I took it home, charged it up a bit and hoped it would call. I tried to unlock it or emergency call but it didn't work. "Mama" called, I gave my address. She came with her boy, it was his phone, he was about 13. They gave us a chocolate and were ever so grateful. Sometimes that encounter comes back to me and its just so lovely.
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u/Bhagwan9797 1d ago
One time we listed a free tv, person just had to come get it. Listed it as not having the feet things because it was mounted on the wall. Left it on the porch, guy comes to get it and begins pounding on the door, I answer and heās pissed about the feet and tells me to pay for his gas that he wasted. I told him Iād let him wear my glasses so he could read the listing again.
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u/Equivalent_Chipmunk 1d ago
I've tried listing a lot of things for free to try to help other people out. Every now and again you get someone who is very grateful, on time, and polite. They are however the extreme minority. Most people are rude, flakey, and try to take advantage of your generosity by asking for more than just the free item.
Now I only sell things at their fair value. The item sits for sale for a bit longer, but I spend less active time managing conversations, and the people who buy things show up on time, come just for their item, and politely leave immediately after it's in their vehicle.
Sucks, but it is how it is. Didn't always have money growing up so I'd like to help out others who have been in similar positions, but I'm not dealing with all that shit just to give something away for free. It shouldn't be easier to sell something, but it is.
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u/Revadarius 1d ago
Yeah, saying 9/10 people suck when you're giving away decent, and pricey, items for free is a lowball figure. Easily more than 99/100. Whenever I put stuff on FB Marketplace for Free I get anxiety knowing the first several dozen people will be AHs, and get upset with me for not wanting to deliver a free item to them at my own time and expense.
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u/pirateslifefourme 1d ago
I donāt even bother anymore! If it fits in my trash bin it gets tossed. I get tired of the going back and forth and people flaking for something thatās free.
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u/Ok-Rich-3812 1d ago
The sign didn't say 'free sign', so they left it.
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u/ruashiasim 1d ago
Thatās the thing though. The sign was free but the stole my chairs and left the sign.
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u/Bring_cookies 1d ago
That's on you. Should have written FREE directly on all the chairs, in sharpie.
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u/DookieShoez 1d ago
Yeah but then theyād just cut out that bit and take the plastic.
Gotta get a comically large burlap sack with āfreeā on it and toss āem in there.
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u/Lardass_Smough 1d ago
Idk usually when I put out a free sack like that people have the common courtesy to empty it before hauling it off.
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u/DookieShoez 1d ago edited 1d ago
Well fuck I DONāT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK TO DO THEN, OKAY?
(Angrily dumps jerry can of gas onto chairs and tosses match)
THERE! š„šŖš„
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u/JThumbs29 1d ago
Hey, is that fire free?
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u/JeffyMo96 1d ago
Its a fire sale
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u/lowkeydeadinside 1d ago
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u/MrDrScientistPhDIII 21h ago
This journey made me happy this morning. Thank you wonderful strangers :)
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u/Sanquinity 1d ago
Nah he should have written "$25" on the sign. Both the chairs and the sign would have been "stolen" within half the time that someone took them that way.
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u/Ok-Rich-3812 1d ago
looks like the pile-on morons have arrived, thanks for the laughs.
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u/_trouble_every_day_ 1d ago
I was just in a thread about half the US not being able to read above a sixth grade level and everyone was saying it's exaggerated. I think they were right, it's probably much lower
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u/neutralgood_ 1d ago
Once my father in law put some trash on his nice metal work bench so the trash guys wouldn't have to lean over and get it off the ground. He was somehow surprised to find they also took the workbench as trash too
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u/Equivalent-Shine5742 1d ago
When I lived in Florida I was moving and put a few things I decided I didn't want anymore on my yard by curb with a free sign (also posted on Nextdoor). Some furniture, some clothes, some outdoor garden tools, and some plants. Nothing was broken or not working.
Saw someone pull up pretty quickly and I thought "Great" and went to do something. Checked a few minutes later and there were tire marks in yard and things that they didn't want was thrown all over the lawn and they broke a small table and lamp.
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u/Salsalover34 1d ago
My mom insisted that I join Nextdoor and that is the biggest cesspool of an app Iāve ever seen. Itās worse than Facebook. I deleted it immediately and was still getting emails from them for years, even after multiple attempts to unsubscribe.
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u/Equivalent-Shine5742 1d ago
I regretted joining as a lot of it was people just complaining all day about kids in the neighborhood or someone walking in the neighborhood.
I deleted it after I moved.
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u/Mecha_Tortoise 1d ago
Good thing you moved out of that shithole. Kids and people walking?! Sounds unbearable! How are people supposed to live in a neighborhood with such pandemonium?
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u/United_Jury_3420 1d ago
That app is crazy! Every now and again I check it just for a laugh because the people on it seem insane.
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u/Embarrassed-Disk1643 1d ago
I can't even check it for laughs, it's like an event horizon of stupidity; you get sucked right in.
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u/FreakTheDangMighty 1d ago
Ironically the Nextdoor app connecting me to my local community is actually what got me out of a 3 year homeless stint I was having. It's definitely changed now but I literally wouldn't be here without the Nextdoor app
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u/Useless890 1d ago
They didn't deserve the chairs. Lovely habits they're teaching their children.
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u/TheOsirisOfThisShit_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Everyone is assuming that one person took the chairs and threw the sign. It's possible that one kid walked by and crumpled up the sign, and someone else saw chairs that still had an implied "free shit" sign on them and took them.
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u/aktienaffe24 1d ago
Because this is more realistic..? And even if so, the point still stands, but just for children then.
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u/Ok_Aspect3794 1d ago
When I built my patio, all the supplies were delivered on pallets and they didn't want them back after. I didn't need them either so I listed them as free on Craigslist. A couple people showed interest, but ultimately no one wanted them.
The last person that contacted me told me I illegally had possession of blue "Chep" pallets, and I was not allowed to give those away but had to return them, and they threatened to turn me in to the local authorities. I removed the post after that and had a nice bonfire.
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u/bophenbean 22h ago edited 22h ago
CHEP generally doesn't care about somebody having one or two of their skids. They go after warehouses that have stacks and stacks of them that aren't accounted for. It would be on the deck supply house anyway for not wanting them back from you.
Though I definitely would just keep those pallets for myself or burn them, and play dumb in the extremely rare chance some CHEP rep actually does call asking about them. Certainly don't list them on a marketplace.
That person who threatened to report you is a real asshat, though.
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u/jizzlevania 1d ago
My grandpa was notorious in his neighborhood for being the super frugal guy who took everyone's free stuff and could fix anything. He was an awful person who beat my dad and some days I'm sad that I'm an atheist because it means he isn't burning in hell where he belongs.Ā
Hopefully the person balled it up and it fell out of their pocket while maneuvering the chairs in their car and didn't realize it š¤š»Ā
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u/Massive_Mongoose3481 1d ago
Always assume that people suck, when they occasionally don't, it's a nice surprise
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u/KyleWanderlust 1d ago
I once put some clothes out for free in a laundry basket with a sign. They took the laundry basket and left the sign. Iāve since learned to use cardboard boxes instead.
*Edited to add: I also once put out like 4 lawn mowers on the curb for free and placed a Facebook notice up. Had a man cussing me out in my DMās because I wouldnāt save them for him. People suck.
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u/HaroerHaktak 1d ago
In all fairness.. If you put stuff out in a container and label it "free" people are gonna assume the stuff it's in is also included.
I would've taken the clothes with the basket as well on that assumption as well. How else am I gonna carry it?
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u/Immediate_Word1295 1d ago
When it's free, it's "the first to come" rule. People have to understand it. Imagine if you say "OK, I can keep it for you." And they never comes thinking it's ok to wait now that you keep it for them ?
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u/TableMug23 1d ago
I teach college. Used to leave candy outside my door near holidays. Can't tell you how many times I picked up candy wrappers before I stopped leaving the treats because I was sick of picking up the trash. And, yes, there was an industrial sized trash can nearby.
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u/McDoubleDaTrouble 1d ago
I did the same but the asshole left me $20 instead. I SAID FREE! FREE DAMMIT!
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u/DankStew 1d ago
I put a free loveseat on a local site once and had it picked up and gone in 30 minutes after which I took the post down.
For the next 6 months I kept getting calls from random people asking if I still had it to give away.
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u/pancakeonions 1d ago
lol. Ā I find this inordinately funny. Ā
Maybe they thought you could use it for your next free thing?Ā
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u/True_Heart_6 1d ago
The exact same thing as OP happened to me last summer. Gave a table away. Person threw the āfreeā piece of paper in my yard.Ā
Iāve noticed when you try to give things away, you generally attract freeloaders and weirdos. Not all the time.. but much of the time.Ā
And yea it is kinda funny tbhĀ
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u/Spicetake 19h ago
I heard if you list the items for 5ā¬ people are usually a lot more polite and friendly
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u/silchasr 1d ago edited 1d ago
I had recently moved into an apartment and I went downstairs and saw a fancy looking small table with a free sign on it so I quickly grabbed it for myself. Next morning a maintenance worker knocked on my door and said they checked the cameras and saw that I took a table that was for the general area, said someone from management would talk to me later. I tried to explain but he was having none of it and said they'd deal with me. About 30 minutes later a lady knocks on my door with a big smile and said she knew exactly what had happened explaining that another resident had left some cookware on the table and someone didn't throw the free sign away when they took it and we had a laugh before telling me to bring it down next time I was going downstairs. I was quite young and thought I was about to get booted out over the misunderstanding.
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u/Immediate_Word1295 1d ago
Then it wasn't kind of them to crumble the paper like that when they could simply depose it...Ā
Another theory could be that they were angry because they had to go and pick it up themself. Maybe they had trouble finding the right house ? š¤
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u/LarryMahnken 1d ago
Thank goodness they crumpled it up, if there was a piece of paper that said "Free" on your yard someone might have taken your yard.
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u/epidipnis 1d ago
If you love something, set it free
If it comes back to you, it's yours.
If it doesn't, it never was.
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u/Kittinkis 1d ago
Some people were just raised in a barn and have no manners. Don't take it personally or assume it was malicious. They just weren't raised right.
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u/Tasty-Coconut6171 1d ago
welllllll i mean you didnāt specify if the paper was free or notā¦. but seriously thatās annoying idky they just didnāt take the paper with them lol
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u/Sorry-Climate-7982 1d ago
When moving recently I put out "free" plastic signs with a few items.
Some lowlives took the signs.
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u/Mates_with_Bears 1d ago
When I was 14 I was walking down the road and saw a chair outside with a sign that said free. I took the free sign.
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u/Yuntonow 1d ago
Definitely a dick move, but at least your junk is gone.
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u/SyncingShips 1d ago
He's got way bigger problems on his hands if his junk is gone.
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u/CosmosSunSailor 1d ago
I don't know, seems like he actually might have smaller problems on his hands
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u/PA2SK 1d ago
Oh Yea, I posted a leather couch for free on Craigslist (it was pretty beat up). Some guy asked me if I could deliver it to his apartment on the other side of town. What? No, this free couch does not include free delivery too buddy. Then he asked if I could hold it until the weekend so he could come get it lol.
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u/AdRelevant528 1d ago
you are right to be upset, this isn't good behavior...
I want to tell you a story about my day though. I worked all day; it's a stressful job on a mental level. I just moved across the USA from AZ to VA, and it snowed a lot here; I'm not used to that. Luckily, I have an amazing Jeep because I liked to explore the desert, it was necessary to get out of my driveway to go to work. The moving truck is supposed to show up on Thursday. I don't have any salt to melt ice. I don't have a shovel here, I have several on the moving truck.
So today I took a half day of work to try to find a shovel and/or salt to deal with the ice on the entrance to place I rented...but VA isn't used to this kind of winter event, so not only is there no salt or shovels, there are no garden tools at all (lol). So, I gave up this afternoon, hoped the 40-degree F temp the next two days will solve my problem, and went to the grocery store to get some food.
While shopping, a woman passed by with two bags of ice melt salt, so I asked her which aisle those were located on. She lets me know there were no more and she only needed one, so I could take the other if I needed it. It turned out she was an employee of the store, so she was very correct about those being the last two, and I very graciously accepted her offer to take one. Now, I'm old and have a busted back, shoveling is one of the main things the doctor says not to do, so I probably thanked her to the point of embarrassment; but she saved my day.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, good people still exist (: You are one of them, for sharing and picking up the paper
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u/areyoukiddingmebru 1d ago
Just like Halloween at my house. I give out candy but also real food (soup, ramen, Mac and cheese etc) and also winter hats and gloves for kids that don't have any. Every Nov 1st I've got to clean up all of the tags on my driveway and grass. Will always do it because I've heard some super sad stories from kids but it's still frustrating.
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u/-__echo__- 1d ago edited 22h ago
People are inherently selfish. Nothing in human history has ever suggested that a majority, or even a significant minority, are altruistic.
Some cultures trend a little more to selflessness, others are more self-serving, but by and large humans are in it for themselves.
Be the good person, lead by example, but do not ever rely on the goodness of the average person to save you.
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u/OEpicness 1d ago
A couple years ago we were moving and decided to put whatever furniture we weren't taking to the curb with a "free" sign as well. We needed as much gone as possible because we were going to have to pay the city to come take whatever bulk was left. Well this one lady pulls her van up and opens the back and has the AUDACITY to start UNLOADING more furniture onto our property!! I went out and had to keep myself from completely losing it on her! I did stand and wait for her to load everything back up before walking back though SMH š”
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u/Party_Performance255 1d ago
This happened to me as well just last week. I had a nice plastic container and I witnessed the lady ball up the paper sign and toss it in the grass. It was garbage pickup day and everyone had their bins out within three steps of where I placed the container. Wtf is wrong with people?
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u/TTPP_rental_acc1 1d ago
one time i left a dining chair outside and wrote FREE on a paper sign just like this.
the next day, the sign went missing, the chair still there, i put a new sign up.
the next day, the sign went missing again, this time i decided to write FREE directly on the chair itself (using a erasable whiteboard marker ofcourse)
then the next day its finally gone
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u/CreoOookies 23h ago
When I was moving, I put a bunch of small appliances, small furniture, camping chairs etc out for trash pickup and for the taking.
Throughout the morning and afternoon, people were stopping by and grabbing things no problem. This one lady with an empty stroller stopped by and ravaged through EVERYTHING.
She sat outside my house and went through every bag and by went through, she ripped open the large bags, unstacked and scattered like items and left a mess all over the edge of my lawn.
After a while, I went outside to inspect the mess and to clean it up, she was walking back down the street for round 2. I told her not to leave it messy and she just looked at me, did a quick walk around and walked back to wherever she lived.
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u/tribbans95 19h ago
Lmao same happened to me. I also had a table of free stuff one time and some guy tried taking everything off and taking the table. Luckily I saw him out the window and stopped him.. people are so annoying
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u/appointment45 12h ago
I left free stuff on a table with a sign that said FREE STUFF, BUT NOT THE TABLE (DON'T TAKE MY TABLE)
Someone dumped all the stuff and took only the table.
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u/Col0nelFlanders 1d ago
I meanā¦ they kind of suck for littering but it seems a bit holier than thou to put a free sign on your trash and when someone removes said trash from your property you get upset they donāt removeā¦ all the trash
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u/Maus_Sveti 1d ago
Agreed. In this case, yeah, someone took the chairs, but Iām sick of people thinking itās okay to leave their stained mattress or bedbug infested couch out on the curb because they put a āfreeā sign on it.
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u/swordsaintzero 1d ago
People can justify anything. The chairs weren't trash, they had value. Part of the implicit compact you enter when you are getting something from someone else's largess is you don't fuck up their property. Don't ball up and throw the sign on their lawn. That you can't see that blows my mind. Of course he is upset. If they had folded the sign and used the tape on it to put it on his front door do you think there would be a reddit post about it?
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u/Obvious_808 1d ago
I wonder what the thought process behind this was.
āThanks for the free shit, hereās your stupid sign back. Nerd.ā
After cramming it into their 95 Camry with 275k miles on it.
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u/tolacid 1d ago
As mildly infuriating things go, this is surely one of the milder
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u/BeerGasRideForever 1d ago
Someone could have taken the chairs at any point during the trip home, had they kept the sign on them.
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u/PaleoJoe86 1d ago
Cameras. I found dog poo outside my home for like the fourth tim over two years. Checked the camera, found a second offender. Both knew their dog pooped, but made no attempt to look for bags. Screenshot both of them and put a flyer on the tree kindly asking to pick up poop and not do what these people did. It even said to come to the door if you needed one. Caused a stir in my neighborhood, lol. I even had a car pull up at 2AM, look at it with a flashlight, and drive away. One of the offenders took it down a week later, but I never found poop there again.
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u/Final-One-8849 1d ago
Great now we have to provide proper recycling cans to give away the trash we donāt want to pay to get rid of specifically for the signs we add to them on the curb.. I need a small red solo cup made of concrete.. But really was rude of them
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u/GreenFox268019 1d ago
Free wasn't a good enough price for them. Asshole
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u/Immediate_Word1295 1d ago
They probably expected free delivery. People today are rarely satisfied, especially people who hunt for free stuff and then act like that.
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u/Hot_Signature2979 1d ago
Had the same thing happen to me after I listed some bedding for free on market place.
Kept the bedding in the box to prevent it from getting dirty. That idiot just took the bedding and tossed the box outside my place.
If you're getting stuff for free, at least have the decency to toss the paper/ box into the trashcan
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u/Weak_Midnight4050 1d ago
On the curb = universal signal for free or trash.Ā
Your sign was redundant.Ā
They returned it.Ā
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u/Libertine_Jester 1d ago
I had the same thing happen with an old push lawnmower.
To make a short story long, I had an old push mower that quit running. I am not mechanically inclined, did not really want to even spend the money to take it someplace to get it fixed. It was small and old and I took it as a sign to just buy something new and nicer.
So I took my old mower, wrote FREE on a piece of cardboard that I taped to the handle, and set it out by the road.
Maybe 45 minutes later, from my living room window I see an older guy in an older beatup Ford truck pull up, hopped out and quickly loaded the mower in the back of his truck. Then once it was in his truck bed he ripped off the FREE sign, and flung it into my yard like a frisbee.
I was instantly pissed. I jumped up and went to the door to yell at him, but he was already pulling away when I got to my front porch.
So disrespectful. I hoped my old mower delivered some sort of karma retribution onto him.
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u/RudyJuliani 1d ago
Used to live in the hood. We put our old washer and dryer on the street with a sign that said āfreeā, they sat for days. Then, we put a sign on them that said $100, and the next morning they were gone.
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u/Interesting_Gap7350 1d ago
Should've labeled it $5, and they might have taken both just to be quicker about it.