subject: Hard times bring barter back into vogue in Britain posted: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:10:56 +0100
[Don't forget to do your research, I had a quick look at Bartercard,
but then I found some forums on the net which weren't so flattering
as the Bartercard website... - Stu]
Hard times bring barter back into vogue in Britain
Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:54am BST
By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - When it comes to being in vogue in Britain, barter
is -- as they say -- the new black.
Rising inflation, a credit squeeze, crumbling stock markets and a
slowing economy with job losses looming have prompted an explosion of
cyber markets where consumers can get what they want without spending
any of their precious and dwindling cash.
Swap shops for everything from clothes to books to toys and games are
springing up all over the world wide web -- and some have developed
their own virtual currencies.
"Our business is going up and up," Jonathan Attwood, director of the
SwapitShop.com barter Website for young people, told Reuters. "Last
month alone we had more than 40,000 new subscribers, and our members
are now trading more than a quarter of a million of pounds worth of
goods every month."
Attwood reckons some 5.9 billion pounds ($10.35 billion) are tied up
in unused games, music and toys lying around in kids' bedrooms, and
through barter sites like his, "savvy kids are unlocking one of
Britain's biggest hidden resources."
Adults too, with an estimated 2.4 billion unworn items hanging in
wardrobes across Britain, are getting wise to cyber bartering.
As food and fuel price inflation takes ever larger chunks out of
tightening family budgets, bartering has swiftly turned from an idea
prompted by a desire to be environmentally aware or join the vintage
fashion trend, into a basic necessity.
IT'S COOL TO SWAP, NOT SHOP
Andy Lenney founded the Bigwardrobe.com clothes swapping site four
months ago and admits the "timing could not have been better" with
150 new people a day signing up to trade clothes they no longer want
for others' eye-catching cast-offs.
"Clothes swapping is no longer the preserve of the tree huggers, it's
cool to be green and recycle, and it's fashionable to be thrifty," he
said. "The credit crunch has been a massive help for us."
Attwood, whose site has its own currency "swapits," says a simple
shortage of cash is driving his business.
When times are hard, he says, people feel good about using something
old to get something new, and with barter there is no guilt about
reckless spending.
"Kids are natural traders anyway, and now they are getting less
pocket money and their parents are less willing to buy things for
them," he said. "Swapping is the natural solution."
Andrew Bathgate, who launched ReadItSwapIt.com for book lovers to
trade old for new for nothing, tells a similar tale.
Barely three months ago, his site was seeing steady business of
around 7,000 book swap requests a month. The number has now shot up
15,000 a month, with a cash-free book swap taking place every three
minutes.
"Books can be an expensive hobby ... and at times of cost cutting
people may not have the spare cash," he told Reuters.
"We've seen people taking advantage of swapping more and more -- not
only are more people joining but people are also swapping almost
twice as frequently as they were a year ago."
The bartering business is also spreading beyond physical commodities
into services and specialist trades.
On the Barter Swap UK Website, Fiona, a qualified teacher in Devon,
southwest England, is offering tutoring for children up to age 11 in
return for someone to lay wooden flooring in her conservatory, while
Catherine, also in Devon, is offering the use of a holiday home in
Austria to anyone who will transport her furniture there.
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