Sunday, March 29, 2009

Generating Bartering Opps

3/31/09 - This picture has to do with bartering in a round about way. It's my most recent bartering example. Bare with me we have to cross the street and head over a few blocks toward the corner store before we get to the destination.
The day before I snapped this pic my bbgf gave a shout out that she had some donated food.
It's food that makes it's way outta a mega mart then down to a church org before ending up with another person who then sends what's left toward my bbgf. By then it's pretty well expired and more than spoiled. What you see here is fancy Batard Bread that was just soft enough not to need a saw to slice it. After a few days in the dehydrator I ended up with two half gallon mason jars of dried bread suitable for stuffing. Should go well with Sunday dinner baked chicken.
Also dehydrated was a quarts worth of parsley from the same score as the donated bread. I vacuum sealed that up in a mason jar to go back to my bbgf. She is pressed for time what with having a zillion children & that she home schools.
So here's the short cut - since she cut me in on this score my barter was labor/skill/equipment (dehydrated parsley packaged for long term storage).

Below is my orginal post ...


On my last post a frequent visitor Patrice Farmer, asked about how I found my bb or barter buddy as we call ourselves. While my most frequent and reliable partner in bartering was found by a chance conversation while I was inspecting a piano she was freecycling I have since worked out a simple system to grown my own personal bartering network. A combination of old fashioned techniques coupled with modern aged cutting edge sophistication practiced in the urban environment.

Ask.
Yeah, just ask baby.
Simple huh?
No? Actually it isn't as for every 10 people that I approach with a bartering prop only usually 3 or 4 are interested - of that percentage 1 pans out maybe. But that one can often lead to more as they tell a friend who tells a friend that they traded sugar for fresh eggs or one set of skills for another.
Here's a no none sense direct conversation to start you off in a face to face scenario.
"I do allot of trading or bartering with many people in the community. Coworkers, neighbors, people like us. If you interested here's one of my cards perhaps we could do some business".
If your doing a ftf hand out one of those pre made index cards listing items that you have to offer and the items that you need with your contact info.
Keep these handy as you never know when a bartering opp passes before you.

Get your word out on the net. The more you advertise ...
Craig's list has a bartering section post a want and give.
Yahoo groups - if your area doesn't have one consider starting a local bartering group for your city.
Church bulletins - if the Pastor's not keen on it ask if you can leave a few index cards.
Home schoolers - these peeps already think outside the box and tend to be your target audience in that they are eco friendly frugal parents who value a good score. Think about all that school curriculum that they have to buy.

Create your own bartering opps event such as a clothes bartering party. Instead of selling cosmetics or plastic dishes bring all your unused clothes and a snack to pass and trade until you can't trade any more. Reserve a room @ your local community center and open it up to everyone you know.
Belong to a Mommies group? Booster club? Civic org?
Trade outgrown children's clothes, maternity ware, toys, really endless. Take this concept and run with it. Items such as sport gear, gardening items, & office attire.

Hopefully in our current economic climate more people will consider bartering with more than a passing interest.

~~ pelenaka ~~






10 comments:

  1. Great ideas! I think that your methods will make more people more comfortable with the concept of bartering. A lot of people just don't know where to start.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks to you I had the courage to ask to barter some chickens for honey. Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now that would be a very good score!
    Depending on how many eggs or hens you could part with I'd imagine that those items could be a very worthy bartering commodity.
    Keep me posted I might want a motivasional fee, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  4. TY Martian Chick!
    Ya know I use to be shy about approaching people concerning alternative methods such as bartering but then I realized that reaching my goals is more important. One such goal was to be as fugal as possible inorder to pay off debts. That goal has for the time being turned in to our family living on one income under 25k.
    Ya can bet I'm not shy any more!

    ReplyDelete
  5. for more resources about bartering, go to www.favorpals.com. there you can trade your services. it is so simple and easy to use. i like it a lot and have had pretty good transactions take place.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great ideas! I have enjoyed your blog for over a year now. My oldest son will be off to college this fall, so I am really motivated to put in practice frugality and thinking outside the box.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you Stella.
    When your Son heads out to school make sure you take a walk around campus for foraging opps. Sometimes hidden amoung the landscape can be some great organic pickings!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thbis comment below was sent in my Chili -

    Should I admit that my friend is going to ship me pomegranates after I move? And another will ship me fresh citrus? I, of course, will be shipping them jellies made with fresh berries and fruit from the Midwest.

    Yeah, I know: postage costs. But, we plan to do flat rate boxes to keep the cost down as much as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Some other notes about bartering and barter exchange.

    Barter Lets You Become More Efficient
    Substitute imports with higher quality, locally provided goods or services at wholesale price.
    Decrease wastage and develop new consumer habits.
    Get more out of your employees with employee rewards and buying programmes
    Take overstocked, last season or end-of-line items off-market while earning full retail value.
    Realise full market value for non-recoverable, non-recyclable, limited commodities or otherwise unsold stock or time.
    Access interest free credit and repay borrowings with new sales.

    Every business owner struggles with the dilemma of what to do with excess products. Traditionally this inventory is discounted, sold at a loss, donated or destroyed. Barter offers a new way to recover full market value for these commodities without impacting the brand or cash-paying customers. By selling “off-market” to Barter members a business retains full control over product placement and pricing. Barter matches sellers with buyers from across the globe – providing a new outlet to move those products.

    There is a good history of barter, barter exchanges, community currencies, commodity money and excess capacity trade at the Ormita Commerce Network website www.ormita.com under about us and history. I also saw a timeline of barter there somewhere but cannot quite remember where. If anyone sees it please let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I posted the above comment despite that fact that the poster's profile is blocked and that the basic gist of his or her comment is to advertise the mentioned website because the points that are brought up are valid.
    Surfed over to the site mentioned didn't sign up since what was offered wasn't in my needs columm & my gives didn't seem to apply.
    Now if someone was local & is in any of the skilled trades like wiring an old house ...

    ReplyDelete

Thanks, good to know there are other's with this interest