Barter is Beautiful - 10 Tips to Get Started

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Amanda Warren

"If you don't ask, you don't get." - former co-worker

Birds were swooping down to stick twigs and cigarette butts in my tangled bouffant.

One biz that doesn’t seem to suffer during a depression is hair styling – even if more people are taking shears to their heads. But, even barbers need the cutting edge during an undeniable downturn.

I'm pretty geeked to have used barter for something I don't like to spend money on - beauty stuffs. Hair in particular. Guys - you can use this example to barter for things that you like. Why spend money on an "extras" if you can offer something great in return and everyone wins?

What's Fair in Bartering?

Amanda Warren

I have a difficult question and I'd like your help. Admittedly, I am no economist - I know what sounds good and I dream of Atlantis utopias, but I'm downright ignorant with macro economics. I guess bartering is more micro and it comes easy because all you have to do is think about your skills, talents and goods and work up a trade agreement with another party and everyone is happy. Right?

When I talked to a small business owner I worked for, she had nothing but sour sentiments for talk of blossoming barter economies. Greece is using it out of necessity and with encouraging results. Others are going out of their way to choose it for personal reasons. The news vid below, favorably shows New York businesses bartering, and says there are over 1500 bartering websites.

Her business was sinking for many reasons, and she needed good PR, so I suggested barter. Instead of pure cash or credit, she had consumable items that weren't moving which she paid wholesale for - why not trade some to a beginning social media relations expert for a service that would normally cost a lot of dough?

Alternative Markets, Barter Systems, and Local Co-ops are the Lifeboats That Will Save Us

Interview with Brandon Smith, founder of Alt-Market.com

Eric Blair

More and more people are becoming aware of the complete system failure we're experiencing in the United States and around the globe. As the true nature of the control system is revealed, people tend to feel as Howard Beale did in Network when he said, "first, you've got to get mad...and scream, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" 

But once that anger at being lied to for so long subsides, then we must get on with the business of taking action to make the world more just and hopeful for our children.  Many people will take to the streets to protest certain aspects of the current system. Others will do everything in their power to inform or warn their peers of the coming iceberg. Those are good and necessary functions, but they won't stop the Titanic from sinking.

It seems the broken system will continue to take on water despite the best efforts to affect change within it.  That's why some are suggesting to jump ship now before they run out of lifeboats.  By jump ship, I mean function outside of the system as much as possible.  The faulty economic system is only propped up by our belief and support of it.  When we operate outside of it using alternative markets, barter systems, local cooperatives, and competing currencies, we not only provide a lifeboat to many frightened passengers, but the paddles as well.

Below is my email interview with alternative market activist and founder of Alt-Market.com, Brandon Smith.  He explains the need and benefits of using alternative markets as a form of protest and survival:

EB:  What was your motivation for starting Alt-Market?

Decentralize or Die!

Brandon Smith, Contributor

The single most often broached argument that Liberty Movement writers, analysts, and strategists are confronted with by skeptics alongside well meaning but cynical newcomers is the assertion that while we happen to be very effective at pointing out the dangers of globalism and centralization, we rarely seem to take the initiative to offer “solutions” to the problem.

This same argument is also used by establishment shills as a way to distract the public’s attentions from the very real despotic enterprises of their elitist employers. It is an often used disinformation tactic; demand that those who expose the truth of a criminal enterprise also offer an all encompassing solution to the complex dilemma. When the truth-tellers cannot present a neatly packaged miracle on a gold plated platter, the shills claim that their exposures of wrongdoing are meaningless, because they can do nothing about it anyway. And thus, the cycle continues… 

Co-ops are now employing more people than corporations

J.G. Vibes

As I have been covering in my shows and articles over the past few months, the economic and societal changes that are taking place all over the globe are much less of a collapse as is often described, but more of a transition. It is true that an old way of life and all of its trappings are disintegrating into obsolescence, but this is only the beginning of the story.

There have been a few who have pointed this out, but until now our assertions have been based purely on speculation from researching history and wishful thinking. Not to discount the importance of historical knowledge, but it was difficult to find signs that could be pointed out to show where exactly this transition may be leading. 

Decentralized Network of “Time Banks” Keep Spain’s Jobless Afloat

Tough economic times brings back barter systems

J.G. Vibes

Just over a month ago I wrote an article titled Decentralized currencies thrive in Greece during Eurozone crisis, which discussed some of the creative ways that people were finding to trade with eachother in the absence of a reliable currency.

As the dominos begin to fall, and the devaluing of the Euro and US dollar becomes sharper, more and more areas will be affected in the same way that Greece has. As this process takes place we will be able to witness different strategies that communities can use to bring safety, comfort and sustainability to one another in a self-sufficient way.

8 Easy Steps to Building Your Barter Network

Barter economy - Wikimedia image

Brandon Smith
Alt-Market

The trading of goods without the use of paper currency is not a difficult concept. People all across the country do it everyday. Barter, in its simplest sense, is not dead, and never will be. However, the organized use of barter as an alternative to the mainstream economy; THAT is something America has all but forgotten. One serious problem that I consistently seem to run into is the assumption that barter needs “backers”, meaning, many people believe the existing methodology of business must be the driver for barter to become “big” again. For decades, barter organizations of every shape and size have been so focused on pursuing a centralized corporate profit model that they forget the foundation of success in barter is the strength of the individual participants. This is why we have seen so many false starts and failures in localized commerce initiatives. It is the same reason why many existing barter groups remain in a sort of stasis, unable to grow, frustrating organizers and members alike. Liberty Dollar, for instance, was so centralized that a single federal raid was all that was needed to dismantle Bernard von NotHaus’ accomplishments and his years of effort.

Bitcoin Triples Again

Image Source: Bitcoinme.com

Jack Hough
Smart Money

The online currency has minted off-line millionaires. But for how long?

The world's fastest-gaining currency has tripled in price again. Last week, SmartMoney reported that the Bitcoin had exploded from an exchange rate near zero to more than $10 in about a year, making it one of the top-returning assets of any kind. On Wednesday the currency topped $30.

If returns like those seem otherworldly, perhaps its because Bitcoin is a world unto itself. To recap, it's is a purely online currency with no intrinsic value; its worth is based solely on the willingness of holders and merchants to accept it in trade. In that respect, it's not so different from fiat currencies like the dollar or Euro, but whereas governments back such money, Bitcoins lack central control.

In another way, the appeal of the Bitcoin echoes the appeal of gold. Instead of a central bank, a computer algorithm dictates their supply. Today there are six million Bitcoins, a number that will grow at a steadily slowing rate until it approaches 21 million, but no more. As with gold, some see such limited supply as built-in protection against inflation that could result from runaway government budget deficits. Gold, of course, has been a store of value for thousands of years and has at least some industrial use, whereas Bitcoins are brand new and exist only on the Internet.

For some early adopters, Bitcoins have turned from a hobby into a windfall. MtGox.com, the main exchange for users swapping Bitcoins for dollars and other currencies, charges buyers and sellers a fee of 0.65% for its brokerage service. (The name stands for Magic the Gathering Online Exchange, but the Bitcoin dabbler who bought the domain didn't bother to change it.) As recently as a few months ago, the site generated just pennies a day in income. By Wednesday it was making more than $40,000 a day.

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RELATED ARTICLE:
Bitcoin: Decentralized Underground Barter Economy

RELATED VIDEO:
Max Keiser: Bitcoin is the Resistance Currency


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Federal government seeking to make forms of bartering illegal after court ruling

Kenneth Schortgen Jr
Examiner

The Federal government is trying to establish bartering private currency of any type as an illegal enterprise in a false interpretation of the court's recent conviction of Liberty Dollar's owner Bernard Von NotHaus.

In a case where the government used conspiracy and counterfeit charges against NotHaus to establish that he intended to mint and illegally replace US currency with a private one using silver coins, the US Attorney is now parlaying the conviction to say that this ruling sets a precedent against any private barter transactions which use any form of currency besides established Federal Reserve Notes.

The Federal government also is seeking on April 4th to take receipt of the $7 Million dollars in silver 'Liberty Dollars' that were minted and sold by Von NotHaus.

The idea for using private currency for barter transactions is not new, and in fact is currently being done in a few cities around the country.  In Detroit for example, a group of businesses created their own barter currency known as 'Detroit Cheers', and several businesses agreed to the use of local currencies in leiu of federal reserve notes.

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RELATED ARTICLE:
Monetary Reform Begins with Competing Currencies

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