اشترك في قائمة البريدية

Swap Or Trade It For Fun And Profit

By Beryl Dalton


There's an old saying that relate's one man's trash to another man's treasure. This is the underlying truth of bartering. An item you may have needed in the past but now have no use for may be exactly what a neighbor is looking for. When you swap or trade it, you get something concrete in return. So what if it's another person's trash? Obviously they don't know a treasure when they see one. This kind of transaction is much better than getting boring old cash.

For instance, fresh home-raised eggs are a valuable commodity. Especially if they are allowed free range, hens may produce more eggs than your family needs at certain times of the year. Selling eggs for cash can help pay for the feed that laying hens require, but this 'hen-fruit' can also be used for barter. A dozen free-range eggs are worth up to four dollars a dozen at farmer's markets everywhere.

To take this example further: you may have a neighbor with a garden full of perennials, the showplace of the neighborhood. Instead of going to the garden center and buying potted plants or bulbs, knock on the neighbor's door and see if it might be possible to barter a dozen fresh eggs for a few iris roots, a volunteer foxglove, or half an overgrown clump of daffodils. The neighbor may suggest other plants you would love to take home, as well as offering planting advice.

Sure, you're not getting cash for your eggs by swapping for plants. However, you also aren't paying the local garden center high prices for new ornaments for your home and garden. Take the money you save on plants and buy the next bag of chicken feed. Pretty soon, you may be trading eggs all over the neighborhood for many different things you can use.

There are designated 'swap meets' where people trade everything from cars and trucks to clothing. These can be really fun, since you never know what you'll find. People also exchange services, like house painting, lawn mowing, or carpentry. The whole idea of getting away from boring old money is intriguing.

Local classified ad magazines, many of which will publish an ad for free, often have entries that say: will trade for (whatever) in good condition. If you have a whatever on hand, you're golden.

This is great for those who may not have a lot of ready cash but still like the thrill of getting something new and different. After all, shopping is addictive because it's fun, even more than because what you get.

People who live on small incomes, who prefer to get by without a nine-to-five job, or just like the idea of barter rather than money exchange love trading. Canny traders can often get more than retail for items that people want; not everyone knows values well enough to judge correctly. People may not even mind paying a little more to enjoy the down-home atmosphere that goes with face-to-face bargaining.




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