Swapping and Bargaining Instead of Buying
Swap Don't Buy
Instead of spending more money one something that you may need or want, you may be able to swap or bargain something that you already have in order to get what you want.
It's not an uncommon practice to give your friend your child's old baby clothes or toys when he/she is expecting a child. The same goes for services- you help me, and 'll help you. Just because the object may not be of any existing value to you, it may be of value to someone else.
It's a thousand year old practice of bargaining, and it's becoming popular again. Even though we have paper and coin money, it's hard to come by, so swapping something that you're not using anymore for something that you can use, can be quite valuable and useful.
You can swap your stuff, skills, and talents for something else. Swap lawn services for a new deck, or jewelry for a vehicle.
Common things that people swap and bargain for include:
- Pet supplies
- Home supplies
- Bedding
- Furniture
- Health and beauty supplies
- Musical instruments
- Memorabilia
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Jewelry
- Purses/handbags
- Cameras
- Video games
- Video game consoles
- Sporting goods (equipment, clothes, etc)
- Computers and laptops
- iPods and MP3 players
- Tablets
- Books
- Comic books
- Sports cards
- Watches
- Antiques
- Vehicles
- Baby clothes
- Baby supplies (stroller, car seat, etc.)
- Children's toys
- Boats
- Vehicles
You'll also find that people will bargain their services for merchandise or the services of someone else.
You'll find that swap parties are becoming quite popular, where you bring your gently used clothes and all of your friends and family do the same. At the get-together, you swap clothes, accessories, shoes, and anything in-between.
If you're not sure where to get started, or you don't have anyone that you think would be interested, you can check swapping websites, such as swap.com, swap-online.com, and swapstyle.com