Will Work For Food - Bartering!

[Rachael]

Getting By Today

I saw this on Nightline last night and was intrigued. It seems that bartering is making a comeback, and at this pub one can barter produce or fish for a pint.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5816755

It reminded me of stories my dad told about how his family got by in the Depression; trading a day's work for a square meal or the time that my grand dad paid a man by giving him a violin bow so he could fiddle for his meals. I still have the violin, and don't miss the bow knowing it went to keep a man and his family from starving.

 

[Rick Blaine]

I hope I am wrong

... but I think you are going to see much more that will remind you of the Thirties in the near future. I am thinking about a serious winter garden this year as we can get away with it down here.

At least our wardrobes are appropriate, eh?

 

[KittyT]

I'd just like to state for the record that I will gladly bake cookies in exchange for booze.

 

[Rick Blaine]

I'd just like to state for the record that I will gladly bake cookies in exchange for booze.

That's the spirit!

 

[pigeon toe]

I'll second that one KittyT!

I've always loved the idea of bartering. When I was involved in the zinester community I would do a lot of trading of my own zines for other zines. The fact that trading was encouraged was a good motivator to write and produce something tangible so that I could get more stuff to read!

I've always had a lot of creative friends (musicians, artists, mechanics, sew-ers, etc.), and I wish there were more ways we could get together and benefit from each other's skills.

Everyone has something to offer, and I think it would build a much stronger community if we took advantage of sharing, giving, teaching and learning from one another.

 

[Joie DeVive]

... but I think you are going to see much more that will remind you of the Thirties in the near future. I am thinking about a serious winter garden this year as we can get away with it down here.

I'm keeping an eye on this as well. The sharp fall in oil prices despite Ike and the turmoil in Nigeria suggests that the speculators are betting on bleaker times ahead.

If you can pick up some extra flour, sugar, dried beans and canned goods, it probably wouldn't hurt.

At least a lot of us here know how to mend and make our own clothes.

 

[Rachael]

I'm currently trading a suit for a new bar. My brother in law just retired after 35 years as a carpenter so we're putting him to use. Now if I can just perfect the cookie recipe I can swing by the local liquor store.

 

[dhermann1]

I really wonder if hard times will bring back a more civil atmosphere in our society. There are so many isolating factors today. Many suburbs don't even have sidewalks to enable people to walk down the street! Face to face contact, people even going outdoors at all, is becoming rare.
I think factors like this will impede the development of this kind of barter. On the other hand, maybe the Internet will facilitate it. Anyone want to start a website called Eswap? Actually, I suppose Craigslist already fills that bill.
Also, how many people today actually produce a physical item that's barterable? How would you barter for the kind of office services many people do these days?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

barter.net

 

[KittyT]

I think factors like this will impede the development of this kind of barter. On the other hand, maybe the Internet will facilitate it. Anyone want to start a website called Eswap?

Well there's a yahoogroup called freecycle, usually one for most major cities. Many people who get something for free from the group play it forward and return by posting something of their own to the group in return.

 

[Foofoogal]

I really wonder if hard times will bring back a more civil atmosphere in our society.

I want to put this story I saw today here as I feel it appropriate to the conversation. Please remove if not.
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2008/09/17/pearland_journal/opinion/9-18_pj_tom_storm_column.txt

Oh, how I want to believe this.

I know an old lady whose family had a store during depression era. she told me stories of how they would save flour and coffee and such for special customers behind the counter. Maybe being nice now will pay off later. lol

 

[Lady Day]

Well being unemployed, what a friend and I are doing is getting together and teaching each other computer programs we dont know.

Im teaching him Flash, hes teaching me more Dreamweaver and more HTML.

Varying our skill set in the ever narrowing marketplace. Thats gotta be a good trade, right?

LD

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

Interesting story! Not a bad idea, either. I'm not quite sure why bartering went out of style; it's really quite useful. Sometimes more useful than an exchange of money, especially with inflation.

... but I think you are going to see much more that will remind you of the Thirties in the near future. I am thinking about a serious winter garden this year as we can get away with it down here.

At least our wardrobes are appropriate, eh?

I fear you're right. But hey - doesn't it seem so much more tolerable if you're dressing like a genuine Depression-era guy or gal down on their luck?

 

[Paisley]

I really wonder if hard times will bring back a more civil atmosphere in our society. There are so many isolating factors today. Many suburbs don't even have sidewalks to enable people to walk down the street! Face to face contact, people even going outdoors at all, is becoming rare.

A coworker asked me how she should let me know when she wants something done right away. Um, in person...voice mail...e-mail...all are fine.[huh]

I think factors like this will impede the development of this kind of barter. On the other hand, maybe the Internet will facilitate it. Anyone want to start a website called Eswap? Actually, I suppose Craigslist already fills that bill.
Also, how many people today actually produce a physical item that's barterable? How would you barter for the kind of office services many people do these days?

Service for service. Word processing for accounting, for example. I think there's a web site for that, too.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

The IRS usually goes after websites that specialize in bartering because, guess what - they consider it taxable. There were several bartering "clubs", clearinghouses and the like in the 80s and 90s that shut down over it. I believe there's still a special 1099 form for bartering proceeds.

 

[reetpleat]

I'll second that one KittyT!

I've always loved the idea of bartering. When I was involved in the zinester community I would do a lot of trading of my own zines for other zines. The fact that trading was encouraged was a good motivator to write and produce something tangible so that I could get more stuff to read!

I've always had a lot of creative friends (musicians, artists, mechanics, sew-ers, etc.), and I wish there were more ways we could get together and benefit from each other's skills.

Everyone has something to offer, and I think it would build a much stronger community if we took advantage of sharing, giving, teaching and learning from one another.

Craigslist has a barter section which is pretty cool. But it quickly filled with massage therapists, website designers, and other such careers,(respectable but perhaps not so in demand) all looking to barter for auto repair, carpentry work etc. (more tangible occupations)

I guess there are always some manual craftsmen who need websites or massage or similar, but the proportion was way out of whack.

Sadly, the community, at least in Seattle has decided that it should not include services and will only allow items to be bartered for items. The rest wre flagged.

Whereas, I think most items can just be sold and then you can buy what you want. But bartering services is where the real benefit would be.

 

[reetpleat]

Interesting story! Not a bad idea, either. I'm not quite sure why bartering went out of style; it's really quite useful. Sometimes more useful than an exchange of money, especially with inflation.



I fear you're right. But hey - doesn't it seem so much more tolerable if you're dressing like a genuine Depression-era guy or gal down on their luck?

And while technically, you must declare it to the man, I would think it is a way to gain value without having to pay taxes on it.

 

[Josephine]

If you can pick up some extra flour, sugar, dried beans and canned goods, it probably wouldn't hurt.

There are numerous forums and parts of larger forums dedicated to this, ranging from survivalist holed up in the mountains with AK-47s who think the government is taking over everything to Mormons whose prophets have told them to store up a years worth of food to everyone in between with all their various reasons (me).

 

[Joie DeVive]

There are numerous forums and parts of larger forums dedicated to this, ranging from survivalist holed up in the mountains with AK-47s who think the government is taking over everything to Mormons whose prophets have told them to store up a years worth of food to everyone in between with all their various reasons (me).

Interestingly enough, I heard an economist say that non-perishable food storage actually is a surprisingly good investment right now. I believe he said that food prices had gone up something like 16% last year (but don't quote me on that, I'm not that sure). With interest in the bank dismally low, and returns on many investments lower than that, he suggested that buying now and consuming later actually was a good investment! [huh]

 

[kamikat]

I'm a hairdresser and started working from home when my first son was born. Over the years, my clientele has evolved into mostly stay-at-home moms and their families. Being a SAHM myself, I know money can be tight for a single income family. I always suggest barter to a new client. It's a great deal for us, since neither hubby or I are handy around the house. We've gotten plumbing work, gutters cleaned, ect in exchange for doing hair cuts, color or perms.