etiquette

Giving and Receiving

- Any items listed must be gifted or given away to somebody, no strings attached. Ziilch isn’t about making money, it’s about reusing items, de-cluttering your home and helping out other people.

- You should respond to requests and offers in a timely manner (eg. within a few hours if possible but maximum 24 hours). If you can’t collect an item or change your mind, make sure you let the other member know.

- The giver may charge an appropriate fee to arrange postage of items between themself and another ziilch member, however it must be reasonable.

- The receiver should be prepared to pay for postage if the service is offered, especially when somebody is going out of their way, with no financial return to post an item.

Exchanging telephone numbers 

Whilst you may wish to exchange telephone numbers with other members, in general, we DON'T encourage it. Keeping all communications on the Ziilch website is very reliable and effective and it is the safest option to protect your privacy. It also allows you greater control over your exchanges and an overall smoother Ziilch experience.

Collection etiquette

As a general rule, consider a meeting point that doesn’t involve someone you don’t know visiting your home, such as a shopping centre car park. If this isn’t possible, particularly with larger items you may like to give specific instructions on where it can be collected from your property without disclosing whether or not you will be there. We have a ziilch branded label you can download and print which allows you to write a members name and a personal message to attach to the item.

Happy giving and receiving is what ziilch is all about, so make a mutually agreeable time to collect items that you know you can keep – notwithstanding unforeseen circumstances, of course. We are all busy people and there is nothing more frustrating than making a time to collect something and having one party not show up.

Another point of note when dealing with the collection of large or heavy items is to ensure that both the giver and receiver have considered the necessary assistance to help moving and lifting the item.

Treat fellow members with respect

Sometimes things go wrong and there are misunderstandings, but we are all like minded adults trying to do our bit for the environment and our community, so remember even when things don’t go according to plan to treat fellow members with respect and courtesy.

To help ensure a pleasant community trading environment, ziilch has a member rating system that we ask you to use after each transaction is complete and of course you are also welcome to contact us directly if you would like to report inappropriate behavior.

Sometimes things go wrong

Unfortunately there may be occassions when you don’t hear back from somebody who has requested an item or they fail to collect it. At ziilch we are about happy transactions, so we have implemented some features to help make ziilch fair for all members.

Requests:
As the number of requests are published next to your listing, you have the ability to delete a request in “I’m Giving” located in “My Account”, to bring the number of requests back down to zero. This makes it clear to other members that the item is definitely available.

Withdraw offer:
If a member is unable to collect the item, you are able to “Withdraw the offer” in “I’m Giving” located in “My Account”. A message will be sent to the member who requested the item notifying them that the offer has been withdrawn

Penalties:
To keep ziilch fair and honest, if you don’t collect an item or fail to continue communication, a member may withdraw the offer and choose to deduct a point from the offending member. The member will also be flagged in their feedback profile for not responding to or collecting an offer.

Hopefully if you were unclear on anything regarding the way Ziilch works, this post has cleared it up for you. If you have any other queries please check our comprehensive help section, and if your question still isn’t answered use the contact us link on the main site.

Happy Ziilching!!