Terms of Service

1. What Patchstand is

Patchstand helps neighbors in the Kansas City area find each other's homegrown food, homestead goods, plants, and crafts, and gives you a chat to arrange a handoff. We connect; we don't transact. Patchstand never handles money, products, or delivery. We do not process payments, hold or transfer funds, charge transaction fees, take a cut of any sale, inspect or handle goods, or ship anything. Buyers and sellers deal directly with each other, and any price, payment, or exchange is agreed between the two of you. Patchstand is not the buyer, the seller, an escrow agent, or a broker.

2. Who can use Patchstand

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• One account per person. Don't share your account or create extra accounts.
• Anyone, anywhere, can browse listings and contact sellers.
• To sell, you must grow or make your goods in our service area, and every handoff must happen inside it. The service area is six counties: Johnson, Leavenworth, and Wyandotte in Kansas, and Clay, Jackson, and Platte in Missouri. Patchstand checks a listing's handoff pin when the listing is created, when its pin moves, and when it is published or relisted, and refuses a pin outside this area. The check uses a slightly simplified county boundary, so a pin right at a county line may be judged either way.
• Sellers must apply and be approved before they can list. Patchstand reviews each application by hand. Approval means we reviewed your application. It is not a license, inspection, or guarantee of anything you sell.

3. If you sell

You are responsible for what you list and hand off. That means you:

• describe each item honestly, including what it is, how much, and its condition;
• follow Kansas and Missouri law where you sell, including cottage-food, labeling, and food-safety rules;
• get and keep any permit, license, or registration your items need; and
• keep your listings current: mark items sold out or hide them when they're gone.

Patchstand does not check whether sellers follow these rules, and we can't tell you what the law requires for your items.

4. What you can't list

These are not allowed in any category, including Other:

• meat, poultry, or fish;
• dairy;
• prepared meals;
• supplements; and
• anything that is illegal to sell, trade, or give away where you are.

We may hide any listing that breaks these rules, even if the law would allow it.

5. How everyone behaves

Be respectful in chat and at handoffs. Don't use Patchstand to harass, threaten, defraud, deceive, or spam anyone, and don't post content that is hateful, sexual, or violent. Don't try to get around a suspension, a hidden listing, or the service area.

6. Food safety and no warranty

Listings are written by other users, not by Patchstand. We do not inspect, test, certify, or guarantee any food or goods, and we don't promise that any seller follows the law. The seller is responsible for safe growing, preparation, handling, and labeling. The buyer decides whether to accept an item. You accept goods at your own risk. If something seems off, don't take it, and report it to us.

7. Meeting up safely

Every handoff is arranged and carried out directly between the two people involved. Patchstand is not there and does not supervise it. Some practical advice:

• Meet in a public, well-lit place, and bring someone along if you like.
• Keep the conversation in Patchstand chat until you've met.
• Trust your instincts. You can cancel or walk away at any time.
• Report anyone who makes you feel unsafe or doesn't act in good faith.

8. Reports and moderation

If you're signed in, you can report a listing, a user, or a message. When you report a message, we keep a copy of it with the report so we can review it. We review reports and may:

• hide a listing; or
• suspend an account (see section 10).

If two different people report the same listing for food safety, Patchstand hides it automatically until we review it. Other patterns, such as several reports or a run of bad ratings, flag the listing or account for our review; they don't trigger action on their own. Only Patchstand can restore a listing we hid.

9. Ratings

After a handoff is completed, the buyer and seller can each rate the other: thumbs up or down, and whether you'd deal with them again. A summary of all the ratings a seller has received, including ratings from handoffs where they were the buyer, is shown on their public store page and listings. Individual ratings are public too (see our Privacy Policy). Rate honestly and only on the handoff itself. Once submitted, a rating can't be changed or withdrawn.

10. Suspension and ending your account

We may suspend any account that breaks these terms or that we believe puts other people at risk. A suspended account is locked out of the website and can't message, list, or confirm handoffs, and its store and listings stop appearing on the Patchstand website (a listing's existing photos and details can stay reachable at their direct web addresses for a time). If you think we got it wrong, email us. You can stop using Patchstand at any time. To close your account, email us; our Privacy Policy explains what we remove and what we keep.

11. Notifications

We're adding email and browser notifications. When they are available, Patchstand may email you or send browser notifications about new messages, handoff and rating reminders, decisions on your seller application, and similar notices about your account and listings. Browser notifications are sent only if you turn them on in your browser. Where we offer a setting to turn a notification off, you can use it. We will still send the sign-in emails you request.

12. Changes to these terms

We won't change these terms silently. When we change what they say, we publish a new version, and the next time you use Patchstand we'll ask you to read and accept it before you continue. (We may fix typos without a new version.) Until you accept, the website shows you the new version instead of the rest of Patchstand while you're signed in, and you can't apply to sell, start a new chat, or confirm a handoff. If you don't agree to a new version, stop using Patchstand and email us to close your account.

13. Disclaimers and limits

Patchstand is a new, early service provided as it is, without promises that it will always be available, error-free, or right for your purpose. We aren't responsible for what other users list, say, or do, for the quality or safety of anything exchanged, or for any injury, loss, or dispute that comes from a listing, a chat, or a handoff. Any disagreement about a handoff is between the buyer and the seller. Nothing in these terms takes away rights that the law says can't be taken away.

14. Contact

Questions, appeals, or account requests? Email [email protected].