Not just a catchy slogan. It's how the world did business for centuries. Long before money was the route of all evil and the main method or getting things that you needed, people around the globe simply bartered and traded for things, using their skills, gold, silver, precious stones, livestock and even people as a form of currency to get what they wanted.
Swapping, or bartering, is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, when the currency is unstable and devalued by hyperinflation.
In US history the pilgrims traded with the Indians for food. (lets not mention the rest of that story). The Romans had it down to a fine art, they traded there advanced skills and technological knowledge for things they wanted from many countries around the world, such as silver from Britain, silks from China, cotton from Egypt and even exotic wild animals from Africa.
So the concept is nothing new, but it has been all but been forgotten over the centuries as money has became the be all and end all of world commerce. But times are changing and the world is in an economic slump, we all feel it, now simply buying what you want is not that simple for many people.
Swapping is the increasingly prevalent informal bartering system in which participants in Internet communities trade items of comparable value on a trust basis using the Internet. The most notable disadvantage to electronic barter is inherent in Internet commerce, that of trust. How can consumers have confidence that they will receive what they bargained, or paid, for? Although the Internet based consumer market has by its continued existence and growth demonstrated that it works, there is never a guarantee of satisfaction in consumer to consumer transactions. There is no absolute defense against fraud. However, it can be argued that when a person barters there is less incentive to deliberately mislead. Neither party is paid; each party receives something that would only then have to be converted to cash.
Swapping compliments the environmental movement that has gained traction in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The expenditure of resources involved in the manufacture and distribution of new products is concomitantly reduced by trading existing products. A global market for barter mitigates waste and acts as a counterpoint to the disposable economy. Consumer and small business websites promote bartering as a green alternative to buying and selling.
Two things are true, even in times like this: 1. Everyone have some kind of skill. 2. Everyone has items or junk they dont want anymore. This could be the time to empty the garage or see what you can get for your un-tapped skills unsing an online swapping website. Some sites are free to join and free to use and the online swapping community is growing all the time.
Ever heard the expression One mans trash is another mans treasure?
I am the CEO of IMC Media Group, a web development and internet marketing company. I fell into the bartering by accident a few years ago by doing a site for a tattoo store and they also wanted some search engine marketing done. I had some old tattoos and wanted to get them updated so I bartered tattoo time for the search engine optimization.
Since then I have traded for:
Pool resurfacing and maintenance, a custom granite kitchen, martial arts training plus equipment, landscaping, tattoo removal, new tattoos, teeth whitening, car repairs, free daycare for his son even a luxury vacation in the Caribbean for his family . . . with a private chef!
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