Pick-up Quotas
Why has Olio introduced pick-up quotas for free listings?
Our analysis shows that 10% of Olio-ers pick up approximately half the listings on the app each month, which is on average £3,000+ of free stuff per person, per year. Alongside this we have tens of thousands of Olio-ers each month who don’t receive anything at all.
We’ve therefore introduced a pick-up quota to ensure listings are distributed more fairly within our community. The benefits of this are threefold:
- More people will have the chance of a successful request
- The Olio community will grow and therefore have more environmental & social impact
- If more people benefit, then hopefully more people will become Olio Supporters, which means we can cover our costs, and continue to operate
How many pick-ups can I have before I reach the pick-up quota?
All users, regardless of whether you are a Supporter or not, can pick-up a maximum of 100 free listings in any 28 day (4 week) rolling period. After 100 pick-ups of free listings, you will not be able to request any more listings until the number of Free listings you have picked up in the last four weeks drops below 100.
How are the quotas calculated?
Quotas are calculated based on the number of Free listings (food and non-food), you have picked up in the last four weeks. A pick-up is created when the Olio-er giving away the free listing marks in the app that you are picking up that listing (they do this in the messaging conversation between you, and you will receive a message confirming that you are picking up that listing). The quota does not take into consideration the number of items you have received in a particular pick-up e.g. whether you have received 1 bunch of bananas or 5 bunches of bananas.
How do I know how many free listings I’ve picked up in the last four weeks? And how do I know if I have reached my pick-up quota?
Go into the main menu in the app and select ‘My Impact’. At the bottom you can see how many free listings you have received in the past four weeks.
You will know you’ve reached both your pick-up quota as you’ll see a message within the app the next time you request a Free listing that takes you over the threshold. In time we hope to build a personalised pick-up counter so you can see at a glance how close you are to the relevant quota.
I’m a paying Supporter - why can’t I request more Free listings?
The current pick-up quota of 100 listings per 4 weeks is applicable to all users whether you are a Supporter or not. The idea of the pick-up quota isn’t to encourage users to become Supporters, but to create a fairer and more even distribution of supply within our community.
How do I know how long I have to wait until I’m able to request Free listings?
You will be able to request more free listings as soon as your number of free pick ups in the last 4 weeks drops below 100. We hope to make this more visible in the app in the near future.
Why isn’t the number of listings I’ve picked up in the last 4 weeks in the My Impact section decreasing?
It all depends on your pattern of pick-ups over the last 28 days.
Example 1: I start on 0 pick-ups and then do 100 pick-ups in one day. The count under My Impact will then continue to show 100 for 28 days, until on the 29th day it will drop to 0.
Example 2: I start on 0 and do 5 pick-ups every day until I hit 100. Thereafter my count (as displayed in My Impact) will drop by 5 per day.
If your count doesn’t drop on a given day, it means that you didn’t collect anything on that day, 28 days prior.