Bartering: A New Strategy in a Bad Economy

By Liz Healey

In the poor economy, people are having trouble getting their hands on cash, and some are trying to decrease what they pay for with credit.   One strategy to deal with this problem is to barter goods and services.  I can remember seeing a listing on Craig’s list this summer for someone who wanted to barter and I thought they were probably a crazy hippy from Ithaca.  However, listings for bartering have doubled in the last five months on Swapthing.com and doubled in the last year on Craig’s List.  If you are looking for spin-off on ebay, here are a few tips if you are looking to barter online:

1.       Be specific

You can barter anything, goods and services so let people know what you have and what you will trade for.  You can list things such as electronics, books,  or furniture.  An example in the article I read included an attorney who would prepare a healthcare proxy in return for services of a painter. 

2.       List Details

If you are specific it will move the process along faster.  Consider list the distance you would travel and shipping costs.  If you add pictures you are more likely to get responses.

3.       Assign a Value

You may want to estimate what you think you item or service is worth.  Some sites like Barter Bee and Barter Bucks use points to estimate the value.  If you price your items reasonably they usually sell fast. 

4.       Consider Taxes

Bartering is taxable even though you most likely will not have a receipt and it can be hard for the IRS to track such transactions.  But don’t forget that if you make a profit from the transaction it is taxable.

5.       Get Creative

It is more common to trade things like DVDs and CDs.  However, at sites like Know Your Trade, people are trading things such as houses and vacations, furniture, horseback riding lessons and salon services.