The barter system dead or alive !

[huntersforge]

Been thinking lately , Does anybody use the barter system any more , Obviously youre not going to barter with Tescos or Bp but for other stuff . I know I do whenever the opportunity arises .
eg.
Plumber/gasfitter down the road services my central heating in exchange for me clipping his hedges every year .
My mate butchers the deer I shoot in exchange for half the venison .

 

[Tengu]

At the car boot I swapped some saftey boots my dad didnt want for two sports jumpers, footie shorts and a modelling book.

 

[jamie18thmo]

My wife and I used to do sell our honey at Farmer's Markets and we'd barter it for lambs liver, ostrich meat, vegges etc. I thinks it's great to swap goods/services and I still do whenever I can.
Cheers,
J

 

[WolfCub]

I've swapped meat with a local fishmonger regularly. Also bartered it for aquarium gear and bits and bobs. Cut up venison etc for friends.

Layed a hedge round a paddock in return for some tools. I like swapping and sharing products, items and skills. Sometimes immediate exchange other times favours given and returned over months or years.

The benifits can often go beyond the actual items worth.

 

[Toddy]

Constantly.
I kind of work two systems, the barter system and the good things network. The latter is full of stuff too good to throw away, just now it has one of those back friendly kneeling stools, four tin storage trunks, and a complete dinner service, in it.......someone, somewhere will be looking for just those things........and it's amazing what turns up just when I need it

The barter system is usually me doing something and being paid in goods or swapping resources and materials for something someone else has made. Infinitely practical.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Singeblister]

I have started asking for discount at all sorts of places and a lot of the time you get 10% off not much but better in my pocket anyone going into brookbanks ( canoe shop ) they usualy give it without a problem.
Not really bartering with items to trade but still bartering

 

[Bernie Garland]

At the car boot I swapped some saftey boots my dad didnt want for two sports jumpers, footie shorts and a modelling book.

Any chance of a pic of you in the footie shorts doing a pose from the modelling book.Sports jumper on of course

Bernie

 

[a12jpm]

Alive and well in my field. I supply companies with office furniture and very often I bump into someone who is looking for a chair for their computer etc etc. More often than not i tend to do swaps for goods or services - plumbers need chairs too sometimes.

Unless of course the tax man is on this forum then all of the previous is not true!!!

 

[dommyracer]

Not so much these days, but when I ran a pub I could get plumbing, electrics, joinery, haircuts, clean windows and pretty much everything else you can think of for the cost of a few pints.

 

[Mike Ameling]

Simple answer ... yes.

Every couple years or so here in the U S, the IRS tax men try to "crack down" on people engaged in bartering. Their "position" is that both parties involved must pay tax on the "income" they received for the items they swapped. (Yeah, tax on both sides of the swap - double taxation.) The sticking point is how to catch it happening, and how to assess that value for tax purposes.

But occasionally they run into somebody willing to fight their declaration - pointing out that any barter is an ... equal exchange of values ... so there is no actual "income" (or increase of value) generated. Such cases quickly and quietly get dismissed and covered up from public view - because any publicity of it would lead to more people practicing it. Hmmm ... they never seem to go after all those big corporations that do "bartering" deals to the tune of millions of dollars a day. I wonder why?

The big problem with bartering is how to come up with a "medium of exchange" when what you have does not meet the needs of what you want from another person. So then you have to work out some sort of 3 or 4 way swapping. And any "barter clubs" that get set up to handle such swapping tend to get caught in the "banking" laws (operating a bank keeping track of "values/points" without proper permission and regulation).

Fun stuff to barter. The only hard part is finding a person who has something you want, but also wants what you have to offer.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[In Wood]

We have a trade agreament with our neighbours.
we supply them fresh free range eggs, in return we get wine and veg.
I also do odd jobs to help out and refuse payment in cash, just say "You will be able to help me in return some time"
I have a sack of damsons on the way from one of these jobs and will be making some jams and gin.
works well.

 

[Dave Budd]

As much as I can I do.

The landlord won't have it, nor will the supermarket etc, but lots of other things I do.

Mostly it's little things like a dog sitter for a bit of sharpening or a lot of sharpening for a slap up meal at a very posh restaurant. But I also trade with other crafts people a lot; mostly becuase we both need what the other makes, but neither of us can afford to buy it! So I will swap a selection of tools for a fantastic basket, or I will swap a tool/knife for tuition (for example if I run a course and hire an instructor in).

Even my dog was bartered for. I got him from a timber framer I know. He wanted £130 for the dog and when I suggested a trade he picked out a knife that was a bit more (not enough for me to worry though, lovely dog!). So he gave me a 50lb log of seasoned yew and the dog in exchange for the knife I later made him. By hte time I had made the knife the puppy had lost his milk teeth and I inlayed one into the handle for him Everyone was very happy with the deal

 

[dwardo]

IT services and the odd tool/bow/leather work, in return i have had everything from beer(my currency of choice), gardening, woodland access, ticket to OZ years ago.
Works well in my opinion and the tax man doesnt get a cut so even better

 

[spiritofold]

There was something in the papers recently about a pub that was swapping beer for locally grown produce. If it had been near mear i'd have been slaughtered all week

Andy >>>>>--------------------------------<>

 

[firestarter31]

I forage for fungi and exchange for eggs and veg from my wifes uncle ,sweet deal , unfortunatly rather restricted by the seasons!

 

[sam_acw]

Sad that goverments always want a slice of the pie - I've seen various things done in an exchange situation before. Someone practices their Polish and helps someone practice their English in turn.
It is a great system - I remember reading an article about a German psychologist who lived without money for several years - not sure how true as it was in a language textbook!

 

[BorderReiver]

Sad that goverments always want a slice of the pie - I've seen various things done in an exchange situation before. Someone practices their Polish and helps someone practice their English in turn.
It is a great system - I remember reading an article about a German psychologist who lived without money for several years - not sure how true as it was in a language textbook!

I've been close to doing that for years.

Bartering is a great way of redistributing excess produce locally. The major problem arises when everyone has a glut of the same things at the same time.

 

[Bernie Garland]

There was something in the papers recently about a pub that was swapping beer for locally grown produce. If it had been near mear i'd have been slaughtered all week

Andy >>>>>--------------------------------<>

Same here

Bernie

 

[Bernie Garland]

I've traded a fair few knives,for various items on this forum and others,prefer it to cash sometimes.

Bernie

 

[inthewids]

I still barter, I live in Moray, Scotland, there is a Lets system set up here, trade thungs for Lets, Lets for money or vise virsa, its brilliant but can only work with a small community, i have traded many things through it, i think there are similar set ups elsewhere.