I like Gumtree but….

It’ true, I do like Gumtree, I use it and Freecycle – I don’t bother with the book of faces.

Gumtree, I find, is a great way to find local bargains or give stuff away for free. I admit, I don’t find it so great for selling!

I had an interesting experience years back, trying to sell a car on it but that’s a story for another day.

What I want to do today is offer a public safety announcement, so to speak, about the number of weirdos on it!

I once tried to sell some maternity underwear on it – nothing strange, just breastfeeding bras which a new mum could well make use of. I made the mistake of letting my mobile number be shown on the advert – then the calls started. They seemed innocent enough to begin with – I actually thought it was a husband kindly getting things for his wife.

It wasn’t.

Turns out it was two obnoxious young men who thought it would be a laugh to keep phoning and harassing me. My husband intervened and then he got dogs abuse from them too. In the end, when they rang my number, I answered then put the phone in a drawer to let them waste their money. It was a long time ago and memory about whether I managed to block the number is hazy.

More recently however, I had a slightly different yet equally uncomfortable experience.

I put on an ad to sell an old pair of shoes I didn’t want. They are high heels which I bought a long time ago from a charity shop. I’ve never worn them so I thought there was no point keeping them and listed them for a few quid.

I got a message, which I’m going to show you to prove I’m not making this up!

Some guy named ‘Junaid’ from Derby (nowhere near me by the way), has offered to pay me £30 if I wear the shoes MORE.

??????

At first I thought he’d made a typing error or sent the message to the wrong advert. But no, the message was for me. Needless to say I didn’t reply to him again and haven’t heard any more from him.

So beware – there are weirdos aplenty, waiting to pounce when all you want to do is declutter a bit.

On a brighter note, the shoes are still available – black, UK size 6, any takers? (and no, I won’t wear them more for you!)