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/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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409470 No.409470 [Reply] [Original]

hi /diy/nosaurs question for you tonight,..

do you think its possible to set up and maintain a barter only goods exchange network?

>> No.409477

No the IRS would go after it...

>> No.409480

absolutely, the problem then becomes a question of value and of viability. Many Americans are so used to retail goods and services that they have trouble valuing their own goods, they simply accept the retailer's price, and many no longer participate in hobbies or services worth trade. Given it's in a place where shipping or transporting goods is not an issue, whether in a venue, regularly scheduled, or in a 'community' it can be done. maybe some more information about your plan?

>> No.409481
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409481

>>409477
would if i played by rules robo cop style

>> No.409487

>>409480
Ok this is all pie in the sky but what if it was set up all snes shop style where you can go to other peoples shops and set up your own as well in the shop window which initiates when you click on a shop you can view details and pictures of images as well as see their perceived value which the dealer assigns.

it would have to rely on craigslist like rules of trust however but since you have to go thru the trouble to create a character to use the product it should deter a few

>> No.409502

ah, so internet barter system. Yeah you're looking at something like craigslist, but with personal profiles? So each user sets up a profile with their items they are trying to trade and what they would like for them. these items are then searchable through tags set by the user offering it. you can view other users "shops" or profiles and their current offerings and perhaps have a forum (Private messages or comment boxes) where deals can be struck. only thing i would recommend is limiting it to (a) certain area(s) to star with such as a big city to get it going. make it clear that it's not a place to offload stolen goods and maybe have them sign a contract upon signup that you are not liable for conversations, arguments, and confrontations in-person for their swap-meets. legal jargon "click here to approve terms and condition!" something like FreeCycle.

>> No.409549

Shit, you guys are making this too complicated. Just because bartering is a 'system' doesn't mean you have to set up a website and actively maintain it. You just barter, and pay for goods with other goods...

Shit, I know an artist who traded a painting for a $350 tab at a local brewery (traded with the brewer/owner). Basically traded art for beer...

>> No.409561

>>409549
Bartering for trade or goods is perfectly legal. But by law, at least in the US, cash must also be accepted as tender. This removes the possibility of barter "only." The only way to do it is somewhere that has legal neutrality like the internet, or a foreign country.

>> No.410305

>>409470
i've dreamed of such a thing and know tons of people that do to

>> No.410331

>>409561
There isn't a law that says that... I can open a restaurant and only accept pumpkins for payment. There isn't a legal thing you could do to force me to accept money. However I would have to have the IRS accept my cash value determination for the transaction and pay them in US dollars for the tax. Most stores here accept Yen, AUS$, and US$. Yes, I'm in the US...

>> No.410333

>>409470
In the 1970's there was a newspaper and linked barter all across the US. The IRS shut it down because it was getting too big and they wanted a piece of each transaction.

>> No.411252

No. it wouldn't be simple. Assuming that you have 4000 goods in a society to trade, a simple combination equation reveals there are nearly 1.5 million possible combinations for your 4000 thousand goods. Bartering also requires time and effort spent that could be spent working at ones trade to become more successful. In other words, no. communist

>> No.411288

>>409470
Possible? Definitely. Efficient and Reasonable, depending upon the size of said network, and what kind of goods you're trading, no on the former, and possibly on the latter.

Leaving aside the notion of the IRS, the more complex your network, and the more variety of different kinds of goods, the tougher it's going to be for your "Barter Market" to function smoothly. Currency, is, after all, a "Good" in that it is simply one more object that we barter in exchange for other goods. The only difference, is that we recognize it as a "Value Regulator", in which we implicitly agree that a unit of currency is worth a certain amount. You could do the same thing with Poker Chips or Bottle Caps, as long as everyone agreed to the same value attachment to them. This is why trade in a currency-based system flows so smoothly, because it acts as a medium, instead of everyone going "My ten chickens are worth more than two pies!" while others go "My pies are worth more than three baskets of berries apiece!".

>> No.411320

The problem with barter systems is that they can be hard to regulate without assigning arbitrary values to things. The agreement is between the parties involved only, and you wouldn't really be able to administrate anything. There's a radio show called 'Trading Post' that acts as a kind of broker, people call in and state what they have for buy/sell/trade, and give contact info. It's free to use and run via advertisments. It might be a good thing to emulate if you wanted to have a similar service.

>> No.411690

Its a novel idea OP. What I mean by that is for today's times it is. Historically most of human history had a lot of barter.

Its definitely picking up especially with the economy. I pay my rent with barter. live for free. Sounds good right? Well sure other than the fact I got stuck living here and it turns out my land lady is bat shit crazy. I have gotten so ill from living around her and my crazy neighbors that I really wouldn't even be able to take on a full time job at this point. So I am stuck here.

Some times I have such serious health issues from the stress I realize I might only live another year or two at best if I can't get one of my projects to take off so I can afford to move.

What I have seen why bartering doesn't work is most people are basically dishonest at heart. For instance when I moved in here me and my land lady made an agrement about the living situation. Which changed after the first week. I am able to do only minimal work on the property because she is basically insane. But I stay here because she is at the age she can't live alone and can't afford to hire the help she needs.

I have done a lot of other barters and had a few work out. But most of the ads I have run for trying some sort of barter I could immediately see they were just looking for someone to scam. To get something for nothing.

Its hard enough getting paid for work you have actually done let alone expecting someone to honor a handshake.

Having been self employed for close to ten years now I can in all honesty say more than half the people that call me are out to screw me from the get go.

And I know it isn't just me as other tradespeople tell me stories of getting burned all the freaken time.

>> No.411711

No, but you could probably set up a barter network in conjunction with a currency.

>> No.412707

Do you plan to profit off of it? Other than ad revenue, I mean. I've seen communities of people who trade video games online, as well as barter requests on craigslist. So yes, I think it's possible.

>> No.412729

>>409470
i remember reading in Wired, i think, a company that did that. It was more like a skill set exchange type of system though