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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Make A Profit When You Swap Or Trade It

By Beryl Dalton


There's an old saying that relate's one man's trash to another man's treasure. This is the underlying truth of bartering. An item you may have needed in the past but now have no use for may be exactly what a neighbor is looking for. When you swap or trade it, you get something concrete in return. So what if it's another person's trash? Obviously they don't know a treasure when they see one. This kind of transaction is much better than getting boring old cash.

For instance, fresh home-raised eggs are a valuable commodity. Especially if they are allowed free range, hens may produce more eggs than your family needs at certain times of the year. Selling eggs for cash can help pay for the feed that laying hens require, but this 'hen-fruit' can also be used for barter. A dozen free-range eggs are worth up to four dollars a dozen at farmer's markets everywhere.

Say you have a neighbor with a thumb so green that people slow down driving by to admire her perennials and bulbs. Go knock on the door and see if you can exchange eggs for root divisions, bulbs, or cuttings. You may get free planting advice and make a new friend as well.

Sure, you're not getting cash for your eggs by swapping for plants. However, you also aren't paying the local garden center high prices for new ornaments for your home and garden. Take the money you save on plants and buy the next bag of chicken feed. Pretty soon, you may be trading eggs all over the neighborhood for many different things you can use.

You may be able to find an established 'swap meet' in your area. People come to these informal gatherings to trade everything from cars and trucks to homemade crafts, garden produce, and yes, fresh eggs. The fun here is never knowing what you may find. People also trade services. You may be able to offer that perfectly good dishwasher your wife changed out because of the color in exchange for a set of new snow tires.

You can also find opportunities for trading in local classified ads. People often advertise something for sale and also indicate that they are willing to trade their item for something else they want. Perhaps you have the very thing they're looking for.

Shopping is fun, but those with little ready cash may be shut out of the commercial marketplace. However, almost everyone has more things than they can use. Kids grow up and move away, or people downsize after retirement, and suddenly the attic, closets, and garage are bulging. Sure, you can have a yard sale, but bartering is more challenging and probably will net you a far greater return.

People who are good at negotiating may like to barter just for the fun of it. They may start with a few dozen eggs to trade and work up to who knows what before the day is over. This kind of thrill can't be found at the mall or a conventional retail store.




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