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 Food listings in any 28 day (4 week) rolling period. After 100 pick-ups of Free Food listings, you will not be able to request any more listings until the number of Free Food listings you have picked up in the last four weeks drops below 100.

It is important to note that the count does not start from 0 after 4 weeks or at the start of each month. Instead, it’s a count that declines over time. Every day it will decrease by the number of Free Food pick-ups the user did 28 days ago - so if that was 0 then it will go down by 0 and if that was 10 then it will go down by 10.

How are the quotas calculated?

Quotas are calculated based on the number of Free Food listings, you have picked up in the last four weeks. A pick-up is created when the Olio-er giving away the 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.

Please note that certain FWH listings are automatically excluded from the quota calculation. We're excluding item types that tend to have lower pickup arranged rates. This includes, but is not limited to, some breads and salads. 

This means you can pick up as many ‘quota free’ items on top of your 100 free listings.

How do I know how many free listings I’ve picked up in the last four weeks?

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.

Why is my pickup quota count different to my ‘Listing received’ count under My Impact?

Certain FWH listings (and Non-food listings) are excluded from your quota calculation. We're excluding item types that tend to have lower pickup arranged rates to prevent these items from going to waste. This includes, but is not limited to, some breads and salads.

How do I know if a listing is quota free?

Not all listings that are quota free have a label that makes them visible, but you may claim a listing that does (this includes, but is not limited to, some breads and salads).

A label is only shown to users who are close to reaching their quota—typically at 80% or more.

To monitor your quota usage, you can check your progress on the "My Impact" page, accessible through the menu.

How does Olio decide which listings are quota free?

We’re constantly looking at the pickup arranged rate of listings. We may choose to add or remove categories of listings from counting towards quotas as a way of ensuring that we’re constantly preventing these items from going to waste.

I’m a paying Supporter - why can’t I request more Free Food 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 Food 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.

Why isn’t my 'Pick up quota' count 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.