The Kansas City Really Really Free Market is like a community garage sale but without any prices or even trading. People simply bring things that they no longer want and add them to the market's colelction. Everything in the market is free for any guests. It isn't neccesary to donate anything in order to participate.
Yes, everything in the market has been donated by someone who did not want it or was otherwise willing to give it away at not cost. It's all free for anyone.
I store the collection in my basement between events. Perishable food items are passed on to Kansas City Food Not Bombs.
You can bring donation directly to any event. You can also email us to arrange a seperate time to deliver a donation.
What's that buffet saying? 'take all you can use but you all that you take.' We've never had a problem with anyone taking too much. We get plenty of donations and as I often remind guests, anything you take is something I don't have to pack up at the end.
However there are two things we try to prevent, reselling and hoarding. There is little that we can do about reselling and it has never been a significant problem. I will say however that it is incredibly rude and antithetical to purpose of The Really Really Free Market. Hoarding on the other hand is a mental problem largely out of the immediate control of the person doing it. Again, there is little that I can do to stop someone suffering from hoarding disorder but when I notice the warning signs I try talk with those people about what they are taking and whether or not they will really be able to use it.
We will only postpone events if there is active precipitation. Rain or falling and melting snow could ruin the donated items so we do not set up during precipitation. However, we will not cancel for any other weather. We will be out there in heat, cold, and with snow or ice on the ground. If there is rain or snow falling on the first sunday of the month, expect us to postpone to the second Sunday of the month.
There are many ways to help, transporting, donating, cleaning, organizing, storage, skillsharing, and more! To learn more check out our How To Help page.
Simply put, I want to live in a city with a really really free market. I believe it is an alternative economic model that every community needs.