Barter—Part 4: How Does It Compare to Cash?

Question from a reader: Would you ever perform a service for “trade dollars” when you can get an equivalent amount of “real dollars”? Answer: Of course, if there is a choice, cash is usually preferable. However, I have accepted trade dollars when I could have been paid in cash. For example, the writer who was originally referred to … Read more

Barter—Part 2: What Is the Benefit?

Question from a reader: One of the examples that you used [in Trade Exchanges] was that you had some “used plants” that you sold for half price on “trade.” However, why couldn’t you just sell them for half price, except get cash? It seems to me that cash is always better than “trade dollars,” because you … Read more

Barter—Part 1: What Is It?

A few months ago, I received an e-mail from someone who had read my post Connecting – Part III: Trade Exchanges. He asked several questions that I thought others might find interesting. In this post, I’ll discuss what barter/trade exchanges are, then in subsequent posts, I’ll answer the questions. Just about everyone has heard about … Read more