Craigslist, you've done it again

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schwaggly

Burning Hunk
Sep 23, 2009
198
n.shore ma
I'm not sure if there is a sticky thread where these go but this is a gem.


http://newlondon.craigslist.org/lbg/5101758228.html


A huge branch cracked over the weekend with the wind and rain storm. I hired someone to trim the branches sloping on my house. While trimming the smaller branches the big branch snapped off and fell on the back yard. The guy I hired was injured because the tree snapped and broke off because of the weight of the limb where he was cutting. He didn't have enough experience to be trimming large branches even though he said it would be no problem. There was no way for anyone to know the branch would snap. I now have this huge branch with limbs covering most of my back yard. I will give someone the wood for free if they come to my house to remove the large branch and limbs. The man I hired can't finish the job because he was injured when the tree snapped and pushed him off the ladder. Anyone who wants free wood and knows how to trim the tree properly and remove the broken branch, please call me.
 
Someone's looking for free skilled labor. Oh, and the liability is yours for free also.

Around here there's always people trying to "give away" bald tires ("make a rope swing!") and disgusting upholstered couches ("from a non-smoking home!"), since it costs to dispose of them.
 
OK, so that widow maker has its first victim and the homeowner believes he can get another
 
The person they hired was trimming the tree while on a ladder. This person seems to have a pattern of going cheap.
 
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Posted a month ago, and no takers yet? Haha
 
All kinds of "free wood" around here on CL too. It's a daily thing of morons giving away "free" stuff including wood so they don't have to pay to get something done. The other week I saw where some ass clown was giving away free broken concrete rubble. Yeah, OK,,,,,, I'll be right over there Jack.
 
Not to defend idiocy, but I really don't have a problem with some of the things referenced here (excepting for the "risk your life for free" posts) I'm all for someone getting a bald tire to use for a swing or letting someone use ruble for free. I lived in a very poor part of a poor town for awhile. When I moved, I put many things near the street that had little, if any value. Almost all of it was taken by people passing by that found a use for it other than filling a landfill.
 
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I will give someone the wood for free if they come to my house to remove the large branch and limbs
Seems to me they aren't being too terribly picky... Sounds like the limb is on the ground and they just want the large stuff gone; the large stuff is what wood-burners want.

I wouldn't pick on the guy too hard; OTOH, the moron cutting a tree from a ladder is just that, a moron...
 
Don't get me wrong here. Some free stuff is great and I have scored good "free wood" on CL. Reusing and re-purposing stuff is good and a win-win situation for both parties. It is smart in many ways. When free costs you a bunch of time, labor, and fuel etc; then "free" isn't necessarily free though. Is it?

Many ads on CL are borderline scams where some clown thinks the "free" wood is going to get someone to take down a tree that realistically is a difficult and expensive job. They think that tossing in the wood makes all of that go away. Most tree service companies charge more to remove the wood from the property. Why? Because it costs money and takes time.

Too many of these jokers think free wood justifies a free $1,500 tree removal. Sure if it's down with easy access then it can be a win-win. I have scrounged many a loads of wood. Now the ones that want you to kill yourself or drop a tree on their home so they can sue you is another story and they are plentiful on good old CL. Go grab all of that high risk "free" wood you want. I won't hold you back and obviously neither will the advertisers until things go wrong.

These "free" to a sucker deals are a dime a dozen and very ignorant in so many ways. Liability being #1. Not just for the sucker thinking he / she is getting something free, but the homeowner too. What happens when some fly by knight "tree guy" drops one and kills someone. Nah his family won't sue because the owner was so kind and loving giving away free stuff. Whatever......

And if someone wants to do a $1,500 job for $500 worth of wood then more power to them. There is no such thing as free wood. Yes, some can be scrounged on the cheap but it is never free.
 
Not to defend idiocy, but I really don't have a problem with some of the things referenced here (excepting for the "risk your life for free" posts) I'm all for someone getting a bald tire to use for a swing or letting someone use ruble for free. I lived in a very poor part of a poor town for awhile. When I moved, I put many things near the street that had little, if any value. Almost all of it was taken by people passing by that found a use for it other than filling a landfill.
The problem is, there are far more free tires on the side of the road here and on craigslist than people could ever use for tire swings, or anything else that you use free tires for. Therefore, the craigslist ones end up on the side of the road too, since no one wants to pay disposal fees.

Same with couches. People put them in the pickup with the tailgate down and then go around corners real fast. Dodging upholstered furniture on the road is a sport around here...
 
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Don't get me wrong here. Some free stuff is great and I have scored good "free wood" on CL. Reusing and re-purposing stuff is good and a win-win situation for both parties. It is smart in many ways. When free costs you a bunch of time, labor, and fuel etc; then "free" isn't necessarily free though. Is it?

Many ads on CL are borderline scams where some clown thinks the "free" wood is going to get someone to take down a tree that realistically is a difficult and expensive job. They think that tossing in the wood makes all of that go away. Most tree service companies charge more to remove the wood from the property. Why? Because it costs money and takes time.

Too many of these jokers think free wood justifies a free $1,500 tree removal. Sure if it's down with easy access then it can be a win-win. I have scrounged many a loads of wood. Now the ones that want you to kill yourself or drop a tree on their home so they can sue you is another story and they are plentiful on good old CL. Go grab all of that high risk "free" wood you want. I won't hold you back and obviously neither will the advertisers until things go wrong.

These "free" to a sucker deals are a dime a dozen and very ignorant in so many ways. Liability being #1. Not just for the sucker thinking he / she is getting something free, but the homeowner too. What happens when some fly by knight "tree guy" drops one and kills someone. Nah his family won't sue because the owner was so kind and loving giving away free stuff. Whatever......

And if someone wants to do a $1,500 job for $500 worth of wood then more power to them. There is no such thing as free wood. Yes, some can be scrounged on the cheap but it is never free.
I completely understand that CL is full of garbage ads but consider all of the facts and look at it from a different perspective and the cost vs. benefit may not balance out the way you allude.

#1 Falling trees that are easy to fall: Falling a tree out in the open is generally a piece of cake job for a guy that actually knows how to fall a tree. That's how I get a significant amount of my firewood. Generally the homeowner is responsible for brush; I don't mess with the limbs/brush unless I'm getting paid or I'm doing it for a friend/family-member.

#2 Things that are already on the ground (as this craigslist ad indicated) are generally very low liability and if the homeowner is willing to clean up the mess (as this ad also seemed to indicate) then that wood is a lot more "free" than most.

Of course this all depends how hard/easy it is to get wood in your area. I have firewood coming out my ears but I'll still go cut a nice yard tree down if it's a low risk drop... generally the homeowner is willing to help you clean up or willing to pay you well for it. If they want you to clean up for "free" then I completely agree with your assertions.
 
More power to 'em. If someone comes and does it for free, go for it.

If I was unemployed (and didn't have 8 acers of wood in my backyard) I would be tempted. I love hard work...and an opportunity to be neighborly is always a good thing.
 
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