A Freecycle clone for your town: everything free.
Build a Freecycle clone for your town or neighbourhood: a giveaway website where people offer things they no longer need and ask for things they want, and nothing is sold. It works for a Buy Nothing group website too. Yclas gives you the categories, a map, private messages and moderation, on your own domain.
Free for 15 days · No credit card · Plans from $19 a month
What makes a giveaway network work.
Freecycle and Buy Nothing groups run on a few simple ideas. Everything is given, never sold. Groups are local, so pick-up is a short walk or drive. Members post two kinds of message: an offer of something they have, and a request for something they need. Volunteers moderate each group and remove anything that breaks the rules.
A site of your own keeps those ideas and adds what a chat group lacks: search, categories, a map, and posts that do not disappear under new ones.
A Freecycle clone, feature by feature.
Here is what a giveaway network does, and how each part works on a Yclas site.
| A giveaway network has | On Yclas |
|---|---|
| Everything free | Switch off the price field in Settings, or keep it and show a Free tag for a price of zero |
| Offer and Wanted posts | Two top-level categories, Offered and Wanted, with item types under each |
| Local groups | Towns and neighbourhoods as locations, a map and distance search |
| Private replies | Messages on the site, by email and push; no numbers shared |
| Taken or received | Mark as sold from My listings; the label can be changed in your translations |
| Volunteer moderators | Approval of new posts on every plan; moderator roles on Professional, for the whole site rather than per town |
| A daily or weekly email | The weekly digest of new posts |
| Thank-you posts | Not included as a feed; use the forum or blog |
| Replies by email to the whole group | Not included: replies go to the person who posted |
Freecycle is a trademark of its owner. Yclas is not affiliated with Freecycle or with Buy Nothing.
Snap, post, and someone picks it up.
Giving away has to be quicker than taking something to the tip. On a phone, a member takes a photo, picks Offered and a category, adds the street and a pick-up note, and posts. On paid plans the AI writes the title and description from the photo.
- Members ask questions in public, so the next person knows if the sofa fits through a door.
- Saved searches tell people the moment a "bike" or "cot" is offered nearby.
Keep it a giveaway website, not a shop.
The hardest part of a free network is keeping sellers out. Write the rule in your posting terms, approve first posts from new members, and add AI checks with rules in plain words, such as "No prices, no sales, no business offers". Members report anything that slips through, and you block repeat offenders.
Tip: keep a short list of things that cannot be given away on your site, such as medicines, weapons or baby car seats, and put it on the posting page.
What to launch with, and what to add later.
Day one
- One town or a few neighbourhoods, not the whole country.
- Offered and Wanted categories, price switched off.
- Messages, the map and the weekly digest.
- Approval of new members' first posts.
Later
- More towns as locations, once the first one is busy.
- A sponsor banner from a local business to cover the cost.
- Events such as swap days and repair cafés.
A launch plan for a giveaway website.
- Set it upThe Reuse or Kindred look, Offered and Wanted categories, price off.
- Add your placesThe town and its neighbourhoods, and the map.
- Seed itPaste posts from your existing group: the AI makes up to 20 listings at a time.
- Spread the wordSend the group message and pin the QR poster in the library.
- Keep it friendlyAnswer reports quickly and thank your most generous members.
What is a Freecycle clone?
A website that works like Freecycle: members of a local group give things away and ask for things, without money. It is a model, not a copy: your site has its own name, design and rules.
Can I build a Freecycle clone where nothing has a price?
Yes. Switch off the price field in Settings and listings have no price at all. Or keep prices and show a Free tag when the price is zero.
Can it be a Buy Nothing group website?
Yes. Make the area small, a neighbourhood or a few streets, and keep the Offered and Wanted categories. The site cannot be called Buy Nothing.
Is Yclas affiliated with Freecycle?
No. Freecycle is a trademark of its owner, and Yclas is not affiliated with it.
How do I keep sellers out?
Write it in the rules, approve new members' first posts, set AI checks with your own rules and let members report posts.
Is it free to run?
The site costs $19 a month on Starter, with a free 15-day trial. Many giveaway sites cover it with one local sponsor.
Can it cover several towns?
Yes. Add each town as a location; members choose theirs or search by distance.
Related pages.
The parts of Yclas this leans on.
A giveaway network for your town, online today.
Switch the price off, add your neighbourhoods and invite your group. Free for 15 days.
Start my giveaway site