Stretching Your Budget with Barter
Money does not pay for anything, never has, never will. It is an economic axiom as old as the hills that goods and services can be paid for only with goods and services. - Albert Jay Nock
Barter is often called the world’s second oldest profession (do I have to spell out what the first is?). When I owned a successful business-to-business publishing company in the 80s and 90s, I made extensive use of a barter clearinghouse which allowed us to increase cash flow while adding to our advertiser pool.
When times are tough, many people make us of bartering to acquire other goods or services they need while unloading items they no longer use.
In the past, goods were exchanged on a one-to-one basis with the intent that the value of the goods traded was of relatively equal value. Prior to the establishment of currencies, barter was the most accepted form of commerce. The equality of the value in a one-on-one barter is often an issue. In 1626 Peter Minuet traded $24 worth of beads, knives and kettles for Manhattan Island – clearly Minuet got the benefit of the bargain on that transaction.
While one-to-one bartering is still practised between individuals and businesses on an informal basis, organized barter exchanges have developed to conduct third party bartering. The barter exchange operates as a broker and bank and each participating member has an account which is debited when purchases are made, and credited when sales are made. With the removal of one-to-one bartering, concerns over unequal exchanges are reduced.
Modern trade and barter has developed into a sophisticated tool to help businesses increase their efficiencies by monetizing their unused capacities and excess inventories. The worldwide organized barter exchange and trade industry has grown to an $8 billion a year industry and is used by thousands of businesses and individuals. The advent of the internet and sophisticated relational database software programs has further advanced the barter industry's growth. Organized barter has grown throughout the world to the point now where virtually every country has a formalized barter and trade network of some kind.
Included with our PoorMan CD you'll find a report on starting your own neighborhood barter program based on the experience of other successful organizations. Below are other groups which merit your review as well.
As is the case with any kind of transaction, a certain level of caution must be exercised. There are scams (always has and and most likely, always will be) everywhere – even eBay cannot eliminate all of them. Barter, like our currency, depends on trust. Right now, trust in our federal government is a bit shaky! This is why using a recognized trade exchange is useful in that it cuts down on scams. For quick, one-on-one barter swaps, you can use craigslist.org, not universally popular in all cities, but available in over 50 cities and many other countries.
Another online group which is reputable and FREE is Trashbank. Registration is required but credit card information is not requested. I joined recently but do not have any financial interest in the group. For information or to join, go to:
http://www.trashbank.com/default.aspx
www.swaptree.com
www.barterbee.com
Find trading partners you can trust with these two sites where feedback is encouraged.
