Personal gizmos and personal sales

NOTE: The problem is not so much the actual sales of personal items by volunteers and staff as much as it is the environment that those sales create. For instance, volunteers may not understand that the items being sold are personal (and not Free Geek) property. This can create misperceptions that reflect poorly on Free Geek and allow unscrupulous people to steal and sell Free Geek donations.

DEFINITION: A gizmo is an item that might easily mistaken for items donated to Free Geek, such as computers or computer part.

Two direct policies:

1. The sale of personal property on Free Geek's premises is not allowed. People with items for sale are encouraged to use the bulletin board in the store to advertise these items, but the transaction needs to actually happen away from Free Geek property.

2. Free Geek staff and volunteers are not allowed to sell personal property while representing Free Geek, whether they are at Free Geek or elsewhere.

Some related policies:

3. People wishing to bring gizmos to Free Geek to repair, troubleshoot, or upgrade must obtain approval of a Build Coordinator or Build Instructor before doing so. The person wanting to work on the gizmo and the Build Person Instructor must each initial a form to be developed by the production team. The work must be done under the supervision of the Build Person.

4. The form that the production team designs should contain a disclaimer that limits or eliminates Free Geek's liability regarding proprietary software installs or upgrades. It should also include the date the work was performed, the names of the volunteer or staff member and Build Person, and other data that would be useful to collect, such as the number of hours worked and the type of work performed.

5. All Free Geek gizmos going out of the building for purposes of testing or otherwise loaned out, but be recorded in the Borrow Book (or a Borrow Database when and if we develop that).