Not on Nextdoor? You can still grab your neighbors’ stuff on Free Finds

Published June 3, 2021

Nextdoor, the app that helps neighbors connect, launched a new feature called Free Finds today, which will help people browse the free items available in their neighborhoods. Since the start of 2020, monthly listings to buy, sell and give away items on Nextdoor have increased by 80%, but 25% of these listings advertised free stuff. So, the company decided to create a more streamlined way to get the word out about cool, free stuff on the curbs of your neighborhood.

You don’t have to be a member of Nextdoor to scroll through the free listings. Typically, becoming a member can be a complicated process that requires you to verify your home address via snail mail. But now, whether you’re looking for a free blender or seeking your next trash-to-treasure upcycle project, you can browse what’s up for grabs in your neighborhood.

To contact the seller, you need to set up a free account and go through the standard Nextdoor sign-up process. If your cell service billing address is at the same address where you live, the sign-up process is quick — you can verify your address via text. But, if the addresses don’t match (read: if you’re still on your parents’ family plan), it can take up to 10 days to receive an invitation letter to become a verified Nextdoor member. By then, that lightly worn pair of boots might be long gone.

If you live in a densely populated area, you can probably find a neighborhood “free and for sale”-themed group pretty easily on Facebook. But, at the outset, Nextdoor adds a level of functionality by filtering items into categories, like “for young ones,” “for plant parents,” “spoil your pets” and “hidden treasures.” It could also appeal to those who don’t want to deal with browsing through multiple Facebook groups, including those that stretch beyond their neighborhood to nearby areas that would require a commute.

Nextdoor emphasizes the environmental benefits of a feature like Free Finds, which can help neighbors reduce waste when they discard perfectly usable items — instead, they can share resources with their neighbors. But more broadly, Free Finds is about leveraging people’s interest in free stuff to grow Nextdoor’s user base.

It also comes at a time when Facebook is threatening Nextdoor more directly. The tech giant launched its Neighborhoods feature in Canada last month, which is an obvious Nextdoor clone (Facebook copying other social media apps? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before). The feature should roll out soon for U.S. users.

Facebook launches Neighborhoods, a Nextdoor clone

Over the last year, Nextdoor has launched multiple initiatives that aim to support communities, like Sell for Good, which allowed users to sell items on the social network and donate proceeds to nonprofit causes. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, it also added features like Help Maps, Groups, a fundraising option for local businesses and a neighborly assistance program created with Walmart.

Still, some consumers have become understandably skeptical of neighborhood-based social media apps. The “Black Mirror”-adjacent crime-reporting app Citizen recently came under fire when its CEO Andrew Frame bribed users with $30,000 to catch an arsonist using the app’s new livestreaming service, but had targeted the wrong person. Nextdoor, meanwhile, had in the past developed such reputation for racial profiling that the company eventually had to roll out special tools to address this. Today, it still faces accusations of allowing unneighborly behavior, including political discussions and other posts that can make minority groups feel unwelcome or even unsafe.

Ultimately, investing in new products that encourage the opposite behavior — neighbors helping neighbors, as Free Finds offers — can only go so far to combat the app’s reputation.

The new Free Finds feature is live today in all the countries where Nextdoor operates at either nextdoor.com/freefinds or by visiting the Nextdoor Finds section in the Nextdoor app.

Nextdoor and Walmart partner on a new neighborly assistance program

Published April 23, 2020

Neighborhood social network Nextdoor and Walmart are teaming up today to launch a new “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” program that will make it easier for vulnerable community members to get assistance from neighbors who are already planning a trip to Walmart. The new in-app feature will allow Nextdoor users to post to groups associated with their local Walmart store to request shopping assistance.

To find the new option, Nextdoor users can either use the Nextdoor website or mobile app.

From there, users will click on the “Groups” tab where they’ll see local Walmart stores pinned to the top of the page. Members can then post a message to the group feed where they can ask for help or offer to help others.

Members who connect in the feed can then work out the details on the message board or through direct message, where they can share more private details like their address and what they need from the store.

The feature is designed to help elderly, high-risk or other vulnerable members find someone who will pick up groceries, medications or other essentials when they’re planning a trip to the store.

This could also offer a low-cost alternative to using online grocery delivery services, which require tipping. In the case of a neighbor helping a neighbor, the assistance is offered on a volunteer basis, not as someone’s job. That could be potentially life-saving for low-income community members who can’t risk shopping in a store during the coronavirus pandemic, but who also struggle to afford alternatives like online grocery.

Walmart isn’t moderating or managing these Nextdoor groups, to be clear, but worked with Nextdoor to make the feature available.

For the retailer, the addition isn’t just beneficial in terms of directing customers to Walmart to shop, it’s also seen as a way to reduce the number of people who come to the store in-person.

“I’ve seen first-hand the countless ways our Walmart team is working together during this challenging time, leading with humanity, compassion and understanding to serve our customers,” said Janey Whiteside, Walmart’s chief customer officer, in a statement about the feature’s launch. “We’re continuing to do that through our new program with Nextdoor. We’re connecting neighbors to each other so that more members of our communities have access to essential items, while limiting contact and the number of people shopping in our stores,” she added.

Nextdoor has launched several new features in response to the coronavirus pandemic in recent weeks.

Its new “Help Maps” allowed members to post and offer help in their neighborhood, for example. But this feature had been buried on the “More” menu in the app and was being underutilized as a result. A dedicated place within Nextdoor Groups for these sorts of requests is more visible, making it easier to offer assistance or to ask for help.

Over the past few weeks, Nextdoor says it has seen a 7x increase in people joining groups to help one another, a not surprising figure given its recent exit from beta.

Nextdoor will also make the Walmart groups easy to find by pinning them to the top of the Groups tab, it says.

Meanwhile, Walmart store locations and hours where “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” is available can be found on Nextdoor’s “Help Map.”

“We’re inspired everyday by the kindness of people around the world who are stepping up and helping out. In recent weeks, we’ve been blown away by the number of members who have raised their hand to run an errand, go to the grocery store, or pick up a prescription for a neighbor,” said Sarah Friar, Nextdoor CEO, about the feature. “We’re grateful for Walmart’s partnership to make this important connection between neighbors around vital services, and we’re proud to come together to ensure everyone has a neighborhood to rely on,” she said.

The new initiative is launching nationwide starting today, but may not be immediately available in the app as the rollout could take time to complete.