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Thursday, August 18, 2005

Barter.

Have you ever wondered what folks did before dollars, pounds, cedis, yen, shillings, and pesos made us bound to money? Likely they bartered, that is, they traded things they had for things they needed. The invention of money, which can be much more efficient, caused bartering to die down substantially. But there are still many good reasons to barter:

> You can conserve your cash for when you really need it.
> You may not have to pay sales taxes on the goods and services you receive. (helpful when trying to subvert the IMF!)
> You will support the local economy.
> You can get rid of surplus inventory (read: junk. Remember, one woman's trash is another woman's treasure.)
> You will prevent waste and encourage recycling.

Here are some sites that will provide information you can use to successfully use bartering in your business and personal life:

* The International Reciprocal Trade Association "is a non-profit organization of companies committed to promoting just and equitable standards of reciprocal trade and raising the value of reciprocal trade to businesses and communities world wide by educating, self-regulating and leading by example."

* Barter News "is the official journal of the reciprocal trade industry."

* Barter Consultants International is a for-profit organization that can help your business reduce cash spending.

* In 2000, Inc. Magazine reviewed and ranked several barter websites including bartertrust.com, isolve.com, and targetbarter.com.

* And of course, you can organize a clothes swap (or tool swap, or plant/seed swap, or . . . )

Once you start bartering, you'll have more cash on hand to send to your favorite non-profit organizations! It's win-win for everyone!

"All government -- indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act -- is founded on compromise and barter." - Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

TargetBarter
http://www.TargetBarter.com ....
My wife & I use it All The Time ...We Love It & We Save A Bundle...Trade What You Have For What You Want ! We find it Easy & Fun ! It's Free To Join ! List An Item To Trade .....
Sergio DeLuca Camden ,NJ.

Karama said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Segio! I hope you enjoyed your visit to So what can I do. Please come again soon, and spread the word!

Anonymous said...

I also use TargetBarter.com to convert stuff I no longer have any use for (electronics, CD's, etc.) into stuff I can use. TargetBarter.com is also great for converting downtime (we have paid technicians that are not always busy) into useful goods and services.

Karama said...

Sounds like TargetBarter.com is the place to be! Thanks for seconding that motion, and please visit So what can I do again soon!

Karama said...

Hi Owukori,

Yes! In fact, I did a post on Freecycle on October 19.

Thanks for visiting, So what can I do. I'm glad you like it. Please stop by again soon, and spread the word.

Karama said...

Please VOTE for So what can I do at the 2005 Black Weblog Awards by August 31. Thanks!!

Spindizzy said...

It's year 2007 now and it appears that TargetBarter.com is dead. You may want to check out this swap site that is actively growing and has an "Ebay-like" interface.

http://www.swaptreasures.com

Happy Swapping!

Anonymous said...

TARGETBARTER is a scam and ripped me off. Everything is old junk. I have a lawsuite in the works as well as criminal prosecution. Anybody having problems with them email me SAKOTU@aol.com