Spending Down, Bartering Up

As consumers become more careful with their spending and looking for ways to save cash, some are turning to bartering. Bartering can be a good way to get rid of things you don’t use anymore and getting things you want. If you look, you can find just about anything you want on the many bartering sites online. But, BE CAREFUL. With bartering becoming more popular, there is sure to be more scamming going on. Use only trusted named sites or sites you have researched. Look for references when available.

The first thing to do is to find the right spot to barter your goods or skills and there are many specialty sites for just that. There are sites for jobs, housing, DVDs, CDs, video games, clothing, etc. Check out the different kinds of bartering links on our uscity.net internet business directory by clicking here.

Once you find the site(s) that are a good match, be sure to provide enough information for both what you are seeking and what you are offering. For example, if you want to unload all those novels sitting in the library gathering dust, don’t just say “books” - list the titles, genre and the authors of the books. Remember that people will be looking for a favorite author or a certain type of book. To be found in a search, the more words you have – the easier it will be to find your items or services. Pictures are always a good idea too. Ads with photos often get more attention than just words.

To be on the safe side, for the more expensive swaps, you may want a simple contract drawn up. You should also consider how far are you willing to travel or who will pay for shipping. Don't forget to get references when trading for services, especially someone who may coming into your home.

Bartering is not only good for the pocketbook, but can also help save our environment by recycling items no longer used.

One drawback to bartering is time. It not only takes time to post your items, but there will be phone calls and/or emails to answer and the time of getting your stuff out of your house or getting what you want into your home. Of course, if you have been laid off or lost your job, this might be just the thing for you.

To help our uscity.net users, we have some newly listed barter/trade sites in our Barter category.