Why Trade Stuff With Other People

By Katina Brady


For decades people have been exchanging goods or services for other goods or services instead of using money to purchase them. This practice is known as bartering. Today folks refer to this type of exchange as trading or swapping. There are a number of reasons to trade stuff with other people. In addition, there are several online sites where this can be done.

Additionally, many of the internet sites are devoted to trading particular items. Using these sites will help folks find the things they want for the items they can trade. Instead of using your cash to buy things you want or need you can barter for them. People simply swap items they have for ones that have a value that is similar.

Prior to the internet it was a bit difficult to locate the items you wanted or find someone willing to swap. Typically folks would pack up their belongings and take them to various swap meets. This type of system works well in some situations. However, a person can spend a lot of time at various meets and come away with nothing but what they brought.

There are sites that trade everything but often you will be more successful searching the sites that cater to the particular item for which you are looking. An example is the paperback book site. This is an ideal site for folks who like to read and have an abundance of books. While they can take them to a secondhand book store, when they can swap online they can do so quickly and not need to pay any money.

If you have gently used baby clothing there are sites designed to exchange for items you need. There are also sites that offer neighborhood babysitter, pet sitting, and car pooling exchanges. These sites are known as sharing cooperatives. Because they are specific to your neighborhood the families usually know each other or are acquainted with those who are interested in sharing.

For the gamer there are sites dedicated to video game and equipment trading. People can post their items to their library to let others browse through. Folks that use these sites search the libraries looking for the games or equipment they want and set up the trade. The users have the responsibility of sending the item out.

There are other game trading sites that assign a point value to all items. If someone wants one of your items and has enough points, you ship it and receive a credit of those points. You can then use the points to request an item you want. This type of bartering does work well but it may not be as much fun as other sites.

Rather than taking all your stuff to different swap meets you might want to give internet trading a try. If you have several items that are in a specific category, such as books or video games, check out those sites dedicated to trading those items. Although the sites that take everything are entertaining to visit, they do not always have what you want.




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