How to Barter
Consider your professional services., Identify skills associated with your hobbies., Brainstorm to discover your less obvious skills., Offer less specialized tasks that others may not be able or willing to do themselves., Find items you want to get...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consider your professional services.
The most obvious bartering choice is a service you already provide as a job, or have provided in the past.
Everything from dental work to carpentry can be offered in bartering.
Let potential bartering partners know you have professional experience in the area, and they will likely find your offer more appealing.
If you run a business, consider offering your standard services in exchange for designing brochures, preparing taxes, or filling another business need.
This can be a great way to attract customers who wouldn't otherwise hire you or purchase your goods, without losing value. -
Step 2: Identify skills associated with your hobbies.
If you enjoy cooking or baking, you can offer people a home-cooked meal or pie.
Art and craft items are sometimes in high demand, especially if you offer to create a piece customized to the bartering partner.
If you can't think of a good or service created by your hobby, ask a close friend for suggestions: you might not realize that tinkering with your car or writing poetry in your spare time has given you valuable skills.
Think about hobbies related to home upkeep, such as gardening or D.I.Y. home repair. , Many people pick up skills in their job, hobbies, or everyday life that they don't necessarily realize.
Write down a list of every task you do on a regular basis.
Look through each item on this list and identify what skills and specialized knowledge you have that allows you to perform these tasks quickly and skillfully.
Many people have trouble with mathematical tasks, such as preparing their taxes or keeping good accounts of their business or household expenditures.
Quick, accurate multiplication and division may be all you need to offer some basic services.
Other skills include home organization, computer troubleshooting, translation (if you are bilingual), or copy editing. , Many bartering trades involve pet sitting, garden weeding, errand running, house cleaning, and other services that some people can perform more easily than others.
If you enjoy any of these common tasks, or if you can do them quickly, consider offering these services.
These tasks can be a hardship for people with no transportation, health or mobility problems, or a busy schedule.
If you have special skills or experience in any of these, mention them in bartering discussions.
Stretching a grocery budget or caring for an exotic pet might be something you take for granted, but they might be exactly what someone is looking for. , Poke around your place from a bartering perspective; there may be little things that would be hard to sell but easy to barter in small trades.
Unwanted books and clothing, an extra toaster or other appliance, or even unopened wine bottles or food items can be exchanged in small trades.
If you barter small items frequently, try searching for free or cheap items at garage sales, which you may be able to barter later.
If you grow food or raise animals for eggs or meat, you may be able to barter away some of the results. , If you can arrange a house swap while you go on vacation, you can save a lot of money on hotel rooms.
Alternatively, you can rent out a spare room in a bartering deal instead of charging money, or just let a traveler crash on your couch for a few days.
People may also be interested in borrowing a car, or arranging for you to drive them somewhere.
If you have access to a table saw, lawn mower, or other expensive tools, you could lend them to bartering partners.
This type of bartering can be a little riskier, since you are giving someone access to valuable items that you want back.
Depending on your comfort level, you may only want to do this type of bartering with friends, or with people a mutual friend can vouch for. -
Step 3: Brainstorm to discover your less obvious skills.
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Step 4: Offer less specialized tasks that others may not be able or willing to do themselves.
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Step 5: Find items you want to get rid of.
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Step 6: Lend people the use of your house
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Step 7: or other expensive items.
Detailed Guide
The most obvious bartering choice is a service you already provide as a job, or have provided in the past.
Everything from dental work to carpentry can be offered in bartering.
Let potential bartering partners know you have professional experience in the area, and they will likely find your offer more appealing.
If you run a business, consider offering your standard services in exchange for designing brochures, preparing taxes, or filling another business need.
This can be a great way to attract customers who wouldn't otherwise hire you or purchase your goods, without losing value.
If you enjoy cooking or baking, you can offer people a home-cooked meal or pie.
Art and craft items are sometimes in high demand, especially if you offer to create a piece customized to the bartering partner.
If you can't think of a good or service created by your hobby, ask a close friend for suggestions: you might not realize that tinkering with your car or writing poetry in your spare time has given you valuable skills.
Think about hobbies related to home upkeep, such as gardening or D.I.Y. home repair. , Many people pick up skills in their job, hobbies, or everyday life that they don't necessarily realize.
Write down a list of every task you do on a regular basis.
Look through each item on this list and identify what skills and specialized knowledge you have that allows you to perform these tasks quickly and skillfully.
Many people have trouble with mathematical tasks, such as preparing their taxes or keeping good accounts of their business or household expenditures.
Quick, accurate multiplication and division may be all you need to offer some basic services.
Other skills include home organization, computer troubleshooting, translation (if you are bilingual), or copy editing. , Many bartering trades involve pet sitting, garden weeding, errand running, house cleaning, and other services that some people can perform more easily than others.
If you enjoy any of these common tasks, or if you can do them quickly, consider offering these services.
These tasks can be a hardship for people with no transportation, health or mobility problems, or a busy schedule.
If you have special skills or experience in any of these, mention them in bartering discussions.
Stretching a grocery budget or caring for an exotic pet might be something you take for granted, but they might be exactly what someone is looking for. , Poke around your place from a bartering perspective; there may be little things that would be hard to sell but easy to barter in small trades.
Unwanted books and clothing, an extra toaster or other appliance, or even unopened wine bottles or food items can be exchanged in small trades.
If you barter small items frequently, try searching for free or cheap items at garage sales, which you may be able to barter later.
If you grow food or raise animals for eggs or meat, you may be able to barter away some of the results. , If you can arrange a house swap while you go on vacation, you can save a lot of money on hotel rooms.
Alternatively, you can rent out a spare room in a bartering deal instead of charging money, or just let a traveler crash on your couch for a few days.
People may also be interested in borrowing a car, or arranging for you to drive them somewhere.
If you have access to a table saw, lawn mower, or other expensive tools, you could lend them to bartering partners.
This type of bartering can be a little riskier, since you are giving someone access to valuable items that you want back.
Depending on your comfort level, you may only want to do this type of bartering with friends, or with people a mutual friend can vouch for.
About the Author
Cheryl Collins
Enthusiastic about teaching practical skills techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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