Free trade is flourishing once more in the Financial District – the hippie commune variety, that is.
No money is exchanged at the Free Store, which recently opened at 99 Nassau St., and all the merchandise – which ranges from jewelry and vintage clothing to knickknacks – is literally priceless.
To New Yorkers hit hard by the recession, the price and the timing couldn’t be more right.
“It’s amazing when we tell customers, ‘Yes, you can take anything and it’s free,’ ” said Athena Robles, who opened the store with fellow artist Anna Stein. “It’s a good time to do a project like this, especially near Wall Street. No one has any money now.”
As they entered the store, which was funded by a $9,000 grant from Grants for Arts in Public Spaces, many shoppers seemed puzzled by the concept.
“When my friend told me about this I said, ‘What’s the catch?’ ” said financial analyst Lee Eskin, who snagged a book, corkscrew and notebook, and donated his mother’s vintage dress in return.
Donations are optional, but Eskin said he felt uncomfortable walking off without paying a penny.
“The idea of bartering rather than spending money is really nice right now,” he said.
Free stuff seemed downright un-American to some.
“It feels like shoplifting with permission,” said Peter Tambini, 35, a lawyer from Westchester.
“This is an odd idea,” he said, perusing the goods. “I think I’ll help myself to the colored pencils. I have a 4 1/2-year-old daughter that loves to draw.”
The “free store” concept is not new – it was invented by the radical group the Diggers, who opened branches in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district and on East 10th Street in Manhattan in 1967.
“Alternative and generous systems such as bartering have long been used in times of financial hardship,” Robles said.
The inventory is carefully monitored, and even though no money is exchanged, “purchases” are documented with receipts.
The ever-changing merchandise has included a cutlery set, books, DVDs, a video camera and a pair of blue ’20s-style drop earrings that a woman brought in because they had been a gift from her ex-fiancé and she wanted them out of her life.