Illustration by Nick Edwards
Barter is a system of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. (Wikipedia
This used to be the way of doing business in ancient times when there was no money. And it seems that it has become popular over the last years, especially since the economy crashed in 2008 and people have less money but also pay more attention to where their money goes.
Non profits have always been on the lookout for exchange possibilities. With limited budgets, they often need to find creative solutions to get the things and services they want.
Businesses also try to include the exchange of services into their way of doing business. This is often even part of their corporate social responsibilty strategy.
And there are many websites and Facebook pages that allow people to barter something they have for something they want (see for example a comparative list of barter services in France).
Yesterday I visited an event which made a very creative use of bartering.
Troc ‘n’ Brol is set up so that artists can expose their pieces and people can find an original work of art without having to spend a fortune but by offering something valuable or original in return. )
You browse the works, bid via post it notes and at the end of the evening each artists chooses the most interesting bid that wins the artwork.
It was a fun evening full of interesting art and people.
And 3 of my bids won me wonderful pieces of artwork! It was all a matter of making a creative enough proposal!
Want to know how to make such creative proposal? Sign up for a creative training or workshop in 2013.