I have too much stuff!

[gunwharfman]

Over the years, as I'm sure most of us have, have accumulated a lot of hiking stuff, from very small items to bigger items like rucksacks and tent and clothing. I don't need or want these items anymore but am reluctant to just dump it. I would like to give it away to someone that might want or need any of the items to add to their hiking pleasure but HOW?

I could type up an inventory and post it on say this Forum and hope I get a response but it then would have to go somewhere. I would be a bit nervous about handing out my home address to the world at large on an open forum as I'm sure other people would be but if anyone as a useful suggestion I would be grateful for the idea.

I'm not prepared at the moment to just take it to a charity shop, I'd like to think that my stuff would go to a real person or family.

[sussamb]

You could try here https://www.facebook.com/groups/usedgearexchangeuk/

[Ridge]

You could give it to your local Scouts.
If they run the DofE scheme they may be particularly grateful for backpacking items as most of the stuff they own is likely to be geared to large static camps.

[SteamyTea]

Pop it up on Freecycle.

[kinkyboots]

Your local schools with pupils aged 13+ may also run the DofE scheme courses and would be grateful for donated items which they could loan out to participants.

The alternative is to do some work and start by making a list with acurate descriptions, age and condition etc. Take photos, package ready for posting, weigh each parcel and work out the postage costs from the Post Office or Hermes website.

Either wait for an eBay £1 max per listing weekend which happens about every 2 weeks and stick the lot on eBay as separate items - you may be surprised at the prices you get.

Or put a list on the forum and invite offers by PM or state what price you are prepared to accept from interested forum members with say a 25 or 50 posts minimum or a predefined length of membership. Payment method can be a problem but PayPal is a safe method to use.

[forgotmyoldpassword]

Hey GWM,


Part of my outdoors life these days is planning and running trips for 15+ year olds to try and instill in them some interest and wonder about the outdoors and what it can potentially bring them. It's also a good way to help them find they can lead themselves, and a major aspect is getting the older young adults to take on responsibility and grow their confidence - hopefully something they can draw from in all aspects of their life.


We do have a small selection of 'loan' rucksacks and a boot fund for disadvantaged kids, but if you want to have a think about donating any kit rather than drop it at the charity shop drop me a message.  Maybe we can organise a Lakes Meet handover and I'll buy you a pint or something.


This is NFP and purely something we're doing to try and bring kids some enjoyment of spaces they'd otherwise not get to visit.

[Pitboot]

Rohan are doing a 15% discount on their range if you donate some kit in March. Alpkit accept donations of gear too. You don't need to give out your address on here either, just do your negotiations via private message.
Most areas have a "Sell and seek" Facebook section for local stuff, although you would need to be careful there, as to who you want to turn up, although you could stress that you would deliver.

[Mel]

Commit a Random Act Of Kindness and bundle up some clothes into rucksacks and hand them out to any rough sleepers in the area.  I'm sure they'd appreciate it at this time of year.

[gunwharfman]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I'm not interested in trying to get any money, happy to give it away for free.

I realise what I need to do first is to go to my garage and write up an inventory of whats actually there and then decide what to do.

To 'forgotmyoldpassword,' I'll get back to you in a few days with hopefully a list for you to choose from.