There was a fascinating story from a few years ago about a young man from Montreal, Canada who successfully bartered from an ordinary red paper clip all the way to a house. The entire process took 14 trades and almost a year to achieve. His first trade for the paper clip was a pen that looked like a fish and the last one before the house was a role in a Corbin Bernsen movie. His website is appropriately called one red paperclip.
The story isn't over yet as he is now in the process of trying to trade his house.
Bartering has been around as long as long as there have been people, predating money, a relatively recent invention. We barter all the time without realizing it. Remember the lunch time Twinkie exchange for some home-made cookies? It was always a win-win situation.
According to Wikipedia "bartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for goods or services without the use of money".
If you Google, you will find several bartering websites that exist to serve as a meeting ground so you can set up the trade. This is all done without any membership fee or commission. You can trade anything from home exchanges, electronics, appliances, vehicles to housekeeping services and running errands.
How do you go about doing it? Before you even consider it, check out bartering 101 on the U-Exchange bartering website which should address most of your questions and concerns.
Bartering is based on trust. Once you make the connection to someone you hope to do a trade with, it's essential to barter in good faith. This may involve exchanging pictures of the items, email and phone conversations and even giving references.
If at any time you do not feel comfortable with the process, back out.
As many of the bartering websites are world wide, the option of choosing the country you wish to find a trading partner with is important. There's likely no one who wants to send electronics across the globe. On the other hand, this makes it easier to find vacation home exchanges.
The age old practice of bartering is alive and well for those looking for a creative way to budget and lower expenses.
[Photographs copyright by Linda Dunbar. Reproduction prohibited]
