Barter Systems, Trading What You

Have For What You Want

Bartering has been around literally forever or nearly so. In fact, bartering
predates the use of formal currency as a measure of exchange for labor or
goods.
What is bartering? Simply put, its the exchange of goods or services without the
use or exchange of formal currency. You may, for example, barter with a friend
to mow your lawn in exchange for babysitting her children for two hours. Or, in a
more formal arrangement, you may barter with your landlord to do maintenance
or repairs for other tenants in exchange for a reduction in rent. It remains a
useful way to exchange goods or services without having to bring money into
the equation.
Now, bartering has a new twist. With the advent of the Internet, online barter
sites are showing up everywhere. Some sites are local, while others have a
reach thats literally worldwide.
In general, these sites allow users to post ads on what they have to offer and
what they would like in return. Some sites are free, while others charge a users
fee. Care to Trade, at http://Caretotrade.com, is one example of a goods-
exchange site. With Care to Trade, you can also have items shipped from
anywhere, whereas other sites offer local trading. NOCO Hours
(http://www.nocohours.org) focuses on Northern Colorado, for example.
To find a site local to you, go to your local newspaper or newspaper’s online
site(s) and type in “barter.” In many cases, one will already be established. If
not, do a bit of research if you like and start your own.
U-Exchange.com also offers tips on getting started with bartering online and not
only offers listings by country, but also specific to individual states in the United
States.
Google Groups offers specialized Usenet groups (many local) offering the barter
of a variety of goods and services. http://Yahoo.com has over 600 mailing lists
available offering a variety of locations, goods, services and bartering options. If
these are not local to you, and this is what you would prefer, you can start your
own.
Bartering has also made a comeback in the world of business with Internet
trading. With “direct bartering”, business owners swap their product(s) or
service(s) directly with their vendors in exchange for the vendors product(s) or
service(s).
“Exchange bartering” means each bartering partner will use his extra time,
goods or services to get “trade dollars” instead of direct goods or services from
the other. These trade dollars can then be used to purchase goods or services
from the other vendors. This works well when exchanges arent quite equal or
need to be measured or kept careful track of.