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Intro to Barter

Barter in the 21st Century

Barter is bigger and more popular than most people realize. Here are a few fun facts:

Barter on Swapsity
  • 20% of business done worldwide is conducted via barter
  • 65% of Fortune 500 companies engage in barter
  • According to Time Magazine, Collaborative Consumption is one of the "10 Ideas That Will Change the World"
  • Toronto swappers have saved $200,000 in three years at Swapsity swap events
  • The salary of Roman soldiers was once paid in salt
  • The history of barter can be traced back to 6000 BC

In a nutshell, bartering is the trading of products or services for other products or services between two or more parties.

Today, technology and peer-to-peer communities are reviving and reinventing the oldest form of commerce and enabling people to live a more collaborative lifestyle.

Benefits of Barter

The obvious advantage of barter is that it does not involve money. Swapping enables you to meet your needs in lieu of using your cash or credit card. We’ve seen Swapsity swappers trade kitchen renos for a car ($4,000 saving), organic veggies for web design and even financial consultations for custom designed maps. A swapping site like Swapsity helps turn your things, talents and time into something else of value by connecting you to swappers in your neighbourhood and across the country. Joining a swapping site is a great way to tap into a community of people interested in bartering with you.

Barter community Swapsity
Swapping makes the exchange personal. In the words of one of our members, “bartering puts a sense of warmth and humanity back into transactions that can seem colder and more distant when there is money changing hands.” People also feel connected to something bigger and get to expose themselves to new, cool and unique experiences.

Barter opens a whole new world of possibilities, as illustrated in our blog post, 12 Reasons to Swap More.

Advantages of barter


“Me” benefits of barter:

  • Keeps money in your wallet
  • Builds social connections
  • De-clutters your space
  • Makes it easy to recycle
  • Gives you access to items, services or new experiences not in your budget
  • Opens your eyes to the valuable skills you have to share

“We” benefits of barter:

  • Encourages collaborative lifestyle and strengthens communities
  • Redistributes pre-loved stuff to new homes where they can be re-loved
  • Reduces waste

Bartering with Swapsity to Enhance Your Lifestyle

Barter in your budget Swapsity believes that:

  • The swapping economy complements the cash economy and it pays to incorporate both into our daily lives

  • Everyone has a wealth of skills and talents to share (see example), and we can all benefit by supplementing our budgets with barter. We can then use the cash that we save through barter toward paying off debt.

We’re passionate about connecting people who want to swap and actively growing the swapping movement in Canada, online and offline. It’s an exciting time for us and we warmly invite you to be part of the journey.

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