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 Introduction to the Barter System Online:
Bartering is growing in popularity today with consumers and businesses
realizing that it's a great way to budget and a creative way to lower expenses. It certainly isn't something new; bartering
has been around for a very long time. It's the way our ancestors conducted their daily business and how they survived.
If this isn't something new to you, then you understand that bartering is an economical and clever way to save money. If you're
relatively new to bartering and you'd like to learn more, then that is the exact reason to keep reading.
Over the years I've learned that many people are unsure as to what exactly, barter means. If in conversation I mentioned the
word "barter", I seemed to get a look of confusion in return. If I mentioned the word "trade" then yes, they knew exactly
what I was talking about.
We've been bartering ever since we were children and may not even realize it. Remember trading lunches as a child? Unless
one of your parents was a famous chef, we all did it. Trading alleys occurred about every other day, and how about the most
famous trade deal of all, "If you don't tell, I'll give you something".
Although we weren't aware of this at the time, our parents bartered with us on a daily basis. You could have dessert, but
only if you ate all your vegetables. If you did well on your test, you could get that new shiny red bike. Our children today
do the same; only it's gone from trading alleys, to trading those popular cards.
We didn't really have a choice but to barter when we were children, we didn't have the money to buy new things all the time.
Children certainly have a way of figuring things out when they want something badly enough. So why does this stop when we
become adults? We still have wants and needs but seem to set them aside or continue to spend money when we really don't have
to.
By educating ourselves on the right way to barter, we open ourselves up to many resources and possibilities. It's a way of
taking care of our needs and at the same time someone else's without spending money. This is done simply by offering our professional
services or items we no longer need, in return for what we do.
To start with the system of swapping and bartering, you need to be very sure of what you have to offer and what you are intending
to get out of it. If you grow your own vegetables, what do you expect to have a surplus of at harvest time? Do you keep goats,
chickens or a cow? If so, you are likely to have a regular supply of eggs, or milk, yoghurt and cheese that you could use
to exchange for goods.
You should also work out what you need to exchange your goods for. If you have a small amount of money to pay for regular
household items such as toothbrushes and tights, you may find it easier to use your cash budget to pay for these. Then you
can concentrate your swapping commodities for items such as olive oil, eggs, milk and cheese (if you dont make your own),
and rice, pasta and cous cous, essentially you will need to swap your goods in exchange for basic items you cant make yourself,
or which are difficult and time consuming to make.
Barter, at its most basic and enduring level, is the exchange of goods and services between parties without the use of cash.
Barter has been around long before cash. Modern barter is the way entrepreneurial business people get what they need, when
they need it - even if they dont have the cash - by trading their spare capacity or inventory (what they have).
Most businesses operate on the earn-save-spend model for making purchases. They earn the money. They save the money. They
spend the money. This model is effective when the business is earning enough money to cover costs, plus save a little for
growth. But what happens when the business earning enough money? Or if the business is experiencing the inevitable -
you need to grow now to earn more in the future?
Barter is a viable solution to these common problems. Almost all businesses have excess capacity (i.e. office or personnel
hours unused, tables unfilled, hotel rooms unoccupied) or excess inventory (i.e. discontinued, slow-moving, or over-produced
goods). When times are slow or you need to increase your business expenses to grow, the normal pattern is that your excess
capacity or inventory INCREASES while your cashflow decreases. Barter gives you the opportunity to turn your spare capacity
or inventory into value, by giving your business purchasing power when you need it - by trading your goods or services for
the things you need, when you need them. Barter provides a competitive edge.
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