Hi there, I recently picked up some items that were being given away across the road from our apartment. The box was marked Gratis and seemed to have some interesting goodies.There was a few electrical appliances and some kitchen utensils.
When I tried to use them, basically everything was broken, even the kitchen utensils were broken.
I am aware that it is a chance you take when you get something for nothing, but for me personally I wouldn't put anything out Gratis if it was broken. I would class is as rubbish and would dispose of it myself. Not put it out as Gratis to get rid of my rubbish.
I am sure this may be a matter of personal opinion. Or is there a rule of thumb here?
Cheers

It is not wrong...but the person should have had the common courtesy to let you know that the items are broken. In this case, it is wrong..as they simply discarded the items for free. Oh well, I guess you just had a "fool me once..." moment.

It just saves them the effort of properly disposing of them, or taking them to the proper place, or recycling.
It's now somebody else's (yours and others) problem.

Possibly wrong ...... but quite shrewd.

Fixed that for you

I think it's not right unless they say so. Bring it back to them & put a note in with the it so no one else takes it or only someone who wants to repair it will take it.

Ethically, its wrong. Usually, if you put out broken things (but you don't want to label them broken) the sign should read: "Für Bastler" Which is code for you'd better be handy with the soldering iron.

Legally, its likely to be considered a gift and unless the gift-giver gives an express warranty he or she does not have to warrant that the "gift" is not broken.

However, if you suffer damage as a result and the gift-giver grossly negligent (for example he knows that the appliance will burst into flames after its been plugged in for 10 minutes, because its done so the last three times he's tried it), then he's responsible for the damage caused.

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I saw an old and sofa that was really out of shape just dumped on the street with a "gratis" sign. That I thought was just lazyness! Some people do this just because they don't know where to put all their old broken stuff. You were cheated!

I was arsed to google for definition of the word gratis and I saw this picture. So I guess "junk" word springs to my mind. Some people just want to get rid of their junk and look for scapegoats.

...general rule of thumb...most stuff people put on the street as "free" is garbage they don't want to recycle...if it was "worth" something it would be in Brockenhaus...or ebay...

You have to pay them to pick up your stuff they will sell at a very expensive price for second hand stuff.

What I couldn't sell or give on EF (lots of people are picky when it is for free) I put it in the street and it always made someone happy because it was generally gone in the hour.

By principle, I prefer to give it for free in the street than giving it to a Brockenhaus.

put it back where you got it from with a gratis (but broken) sign on it...

I was going to suggest that too. I am sorry, but I think that the people who put out nothing but broken goods are taking the pxss

I don't think it is wrong as long as you know it is broken and you can always try to fix it if you are a bit DIY.

What is wrong is to put something gratis on the street and find it few meters away into someone's garage sell....

But on the upside the Brockenhaus is a charity institution, so any "profit" they make goes to charity. Also they only charge to pick up stuff, if it can't be resold. They do not want to end up with 50 assorted Ikea cupboards...
http://www.zuercher-brockenhaus.ch

Put something out on the street in Kreis 4 on a Saturday, and you can buy it back at the flea market in the Kanzlei Areal in about 10 minutes...

The Brockenhaus in Binningen is certainly not a charity Institution! The Salvation Army is.

I don't agree. I've put plenty of good stuff on the street to give away as I needed to move things quickly and brockies don't normally want to take IKEA furniture. I could've put it for sale on EF or Ebay but that comes with it's own problems that it's sometimes just not worth it. E.g. I can't transport a sofa to someone so when I want to get rid of it at the end of the month I will put it on the street as it's in fairly good nick and I'm sure someone will want it.

The lady that took my playpen (worth more than 400CHF) yesterday for free wasn't complaining and nor were my neighbours when I put out a fully functioning TV and TV unit a few months back.

Anyway, back OT, I think it's wrong to put broken items as "gratis" as stated by others above. It's not fair unless it's clearly labelled as broken and it's just an easy way to dump crap that you don't want to waste valuable Bebbi Sagg space on

Yep. You are right, that one is owned by Turkish citizen, who probably has little to do with the Salvation Army.
http://bl.powernet.ch/webservices/in...&lang=1&sort=0

You saw his passport?

It's my understanding that one can, of course, put ANYTHING in a box and mark it with gratis, but that whoever put it out there is still responsible for it.

In other words, if I dump a broken chair on the street and no one takes it, then I have to dispose of it myself. Of course, if no one knows who the chair beongs to I'm in the clear - but that's the same as illegally dumping stuff anywhere in the world.

So if it were me, I'd take all the broken crap and put it back in the box.