Im wanting to do some spring cleaning and thinning out all my crap ive accumulated over the years.
Im not interested in shipping any of it or listing it for sale so, this is for any people/s within driving range of central Indiana, just north of Indianapolis that may be starting out and need things or just dont have the money to buy everything online.
I have a ton of stuff from sensors, power supplies, transformers, misc wire, steppers, servos, hardware, connectors, and even some books like some old Arduino books, Python, electronics and so on.
If anyone is within driving distance and interested, i can add more specific items or you can request if i have certain things.
Again, im 100% serious. The things i want to get rid of are 100% free and theres no catches. I have limited space, ive lost some interest and ive accepted reality and know i wont use many things. Most of this is from my Amazon shopping addiction and the fact that if for example i need one IC, its actually more expensive to just buy 1 than it is to buy a 5 pack of those IC’s… Those 5-7-10 packs seriously add up and accumulate over time and why im posting this.
I do have 2 conditions for anyone interested.
Only take what you think you’ll actually use and this isnt inventory for your Ebay seller account!
Im paying it forward and trying to help others. I ask that if anyone takes things for free, then remember to pay it forward in the future and try to help someone else if you can.
I definitely hear you there. I only have 2 Walmart branded tool packer boxes so I don’t have a whole lot but I can see how it would get out of hand depending on what projects you’ve worked on. But I keep thinking the same thing - “when am I ever going to use this again?” The bad thing is that you never know what’s going to pop up in the future where you need one of those things that you gave 10 of them away.
I’m north of Fort Wayne but if I was a bit closer I might drive down and add to my (probably not ever needed) inventory. It’s probably a good thing you are a bit too far.
But on that note, what sensors, power supplies and connectors do you have?
Oh nice! I thought i was the only Hoosier on here lol. That is decent haul, something like 3 hours? Im actually just north of Westfield and Carmel and south of Kokomo.
Ya, thats basically why ive kept it all so long to begin with and still never used many things. The linear voltage regulators for example. The thought of using basically a mosfet alone to get a stable output voltage, it sounds like a handy thing but, the current limitations, heating and inefficiency arent really worth just using a switch mode psu and thanks to Goodwill and being borderline Hoarder, i have lots of a variaty of those anyway. Ive been storing those probably 2+ years and its time to let go.
I have a good buddy who goes up to Michigan a few times a year to visit his dad. If theres stuff you might want and its not a hurry. I could box it up and im sure he’d be fine meeting you somewhere as long as its not way out of the way.
I could check into shipping it too since its local. I was wanting to avoid it but, if your a member of the honor program and would reimburse me after you receive it, i would be ok with that if it doesnt cost a lot.
Also, if you know of any kids programs that could use it, id be happy to donate stuff too.
Many of us here are in the same situation. I need one module and I buy 5, I need one component and I buy 25. Because the cost is about the same. And I keep on accumulating… I’m too lazy to start selling on ebay and would be happy to give away for somebody that is looking for those parts.
I have been thinking many years how nice it would be if every town had some hobby electronics whatsapp group to exchange / gift / sell /look for those accumulated components. It would be faster, cheaper and especially more ecologic to share the stuff than ordering from China.
Ya, you bring up an interesting idea too. Maybe something like a “Components for Free Locally” page. Not only would it help those who may struggle financially but it woulld bring local people together and be able to help each other.
I wont lie, ive always been interested in finding a local “role model” to discuss things with or get into things more in depth. The only fear i would have is you already know there would be people abusing it and running an Ebay Seller page on the side… That would piss me off for sure.
Last time i did this, it was because of a guy in the groups asking for donations because he was setting up a local boys scout program where he would teach electronics, programming, etc. I thought it was such a cool thing for him to volunteer to do, i damn near provided 8-9 starter kits with MCU’s, couple raspberry pi zero w’s, sensors, books, the whole works. Im not BS’ng about this but, i cant remember the last time i really felt that good about doing something and getting nothing in return. I highly recommend it to anyone!
I remember growing up when RadioShack was around and completely dismissing everything in there… Now that im older and its a hobby. Ive really wished i had a place like that now.
IDK if MicroCenter?? is still around but, for the longest time, the closest one to me was a 5 hour drive into a neighboring state and thats no good…
I know if i dont get much interest, i probably will look around for any children groups or school programs that might like some donations… I hate seeing so much stuff not used and essentially going to waste.
That’s always present… There should be some smart “karma point” rating for every member limiting no-one can just receive significant accumulative quantity of stuff.
In many cases it could be exchange, you give me 5 voltage regulators and 3 temperature sensors and I give you one usb-ttl converter and one rf-receiver…
Even with occasional abuse it would have positive impact from every point of view.
Ya, i like that idea too! Being able to trade some of the 4 remaining components from the 5 pack i had to buy, that would benefit everyone! I’ve even got several leftover components that came in a 50 pack like micro switches, optoisolators, and several others. I definitely wouldnt lose any sleep trading away a bunch of that stuff.
IDK if its just me but, ive kind lf got the impression that, im not sure if its person specific or culture specific but, you often see people who see “Free” and will load every single thing up and take it… Its hard to explain to somone that its kind of rude to take excess amounts and instead, get yourself a few things and be courteous so that others can also benefit… There’s no way of explaining that without being and sounding like an a-hole so, doing some trading would help eliminate some of that.
Both.
I’m going for dinner in “oriental” restaurant with other people, included my family.
After paying the check they offer some bracelet or whatever gadget as a gift. I say " no thanks, I don’t need it." and everybody around me are screaming: “but its free, it’s a gift…”
For every fucking stupid gift taken, there has to be new one produced…
Lol i wasnt gonna name drop any specific groups and risk getting kicked off here a second time but ya, thats one i had in mind when i said that. It kind of seems like the moderators on here didnt grow up somewhere free speech is highly valued and protecting peoples feelings, even from the truth is more important than someone hearing a not so pleasant truth… IDK man, you can only tell people to quit being lazy and try reading the documentation so many times before you start dropping some F-bombs and some “your momma is so fat” jokes.
We have a local Facebook Group named “Everything Free”, and the next town over, “Make it Gone”. You might be surprised to find such a Facebook group like that near you.
On the “abuse”, so what if it finds its way to eBay? You wanted it gone and the alternative is the town dump.