Aside from having a clearler UI, I think the big differences are that this has more of a community feel and it's not just about stuff. With freecycle, people travel a few towns over to get stuff. There's nothing wrong with that, but these groups are supposed to help foster community. From what I can tell, my group is doing that. And it's not just about stuff. One person posted asking for crochet lessons. A few people offered to give her free lessons, but others said they also wanted to learn, so now this weekend there's a group getting together at a local coffeeshop to do crafts and teach each other. I really love that, especially in areas like mine where we live close together but we don't know each other.