Just so we know where you're going with this, are you trying to cover all the bases or do you intend to not use the Big Three if you can avoid it?

Would intend not to use ebay and amibay if I can avoid it. Ebay is a last resort because it would cost me money, because you can't list something for free with no fees on ebay. Amibay has been, in my experience, hostile and draconian, so it's my last choice. And I've already tried a few posts on vcfed, but if the interest isn't there, then nothing happens.

People have done giveaway threads here that seem to have gone smoothly for the most part, and you’re a trusted long time member so I’d be surprised if anyone objected to you doing one.

I'll second the disdain for Amibay. They *still* don't have dedicated PC sections, and their users are largely based out of Europe, making the site useless for most people here, and doubly so for those of us in the Western Hemisphere.

Have you considered Craigslist for local distribution? Sure, it's a wasteland second only to Ebay, but at least there aren't any posting fees. I know I'll idly check both computer sections and the free section when I have a minute at work, and I doubt I'm the only one here. Obviously it doesn't solve the problem of national and international outreach, but it's a start.

Anyway, if you find somewhere to list everything, do please update this thread, mods permitting.

What's hostile about Amibay? I don't have much experience of the site but what I've seen seems pretty friendly.

I've been on AmiBay since almost the start, you can't have a free trading forum without having some ground rules.
As long as you state prices, don't comment on prices / act rude , follow the interest queue rule and generally act with common sense all is OK.
Amibay was never meant to be the equivalent of craig's list for example where everything goes.
Also yes, it's EU oriented and was created to trade amiga and commodore home computers hardware/software , just like there are US based sites/sellers that don't really work for people outside US.
Just like everything in life amibay works for some people, doesn't work for others. One has to judge for themselves.

There is eBay classifieds: https://www.ebayclassifiedsgroup.com/

They have a few sub companies, like the german eBay Kleinanzeigen. Free listings, no bidding. I use it a bit to buy and sell/give away stuff.

Other than that I would assume that a giveaway thread would also be fine, at least from what I saw in the past.

badmojo wrote:

People have done giveaway threads here that seem to have gone smoothly for the most part, and you’re a trusted long time member so I’d be surprised if anyone objected to you doing one.

In what forums have such threads been tolerated? (Would like to check a thread or two to verify proper etiquette.)

Rawrl wrote:

They *still* don't have dedicated PC sections

That is admittedly my largest raised eyebrow, as everything I want to distribute is PC-related.

To answer another question from someone else: The amibay people are not hostile; they're all mostly very nice. It's the site's rules I find hostile.

Have you considered Craigslist for local distribution?

Yes, but if I have to resort to local distribution, I'll just donate to the free pile or fundraising auction at VCFMW this year. 100% of the attendees at VCFMW are the intended recipients 😉

have you thought about starting such a place on mobygames? and advertising it at vogons and other places?

I was surprised to learn that the Amiga was much more popular in Europe than the US. I always thought it was the reverse.

MobyGamer wrote:

In what forums have such threads been tolerated? (Would like to check a thread or two to verify proper etiquette.)

Fun guessing game and all:

Old hardware giveaway thread.

robertmo wrote:

have you thought about starting such a place on mobygames? and advertising it at vogons and other places?

MobyGames added want/have lists over 15 years ago, but we never had the staff to do much more with the feature than that.

I haven't been involved with MobyGames, other than a handful of times, since 2010.

There have been some massive PC parts threads on amibay, how quickly things go depend on how attached you are to them (how much you are willing to let them go for). But a few users on here seem to have had huge sale threads on amibay.

The rules are not hard to work within, and the mods are tolerant as long as you explain what you're up to and follow their advice especially if they pick you up on something.