RFF Barter System

The value of items that can increase worth, such as a needle and thread which can repair clothing otherwise worthless, or a shovel that can create a garden otherwise a weed patch, will balloon. The rich will of course whine endlessly, and try to convince anyone who will listen that their goods will return in value, which it will not. Moneys will be used as a medium of exchange, as will jewels and art, in some settings, for a brief period of time. This will occur until those being offered these at bargain prices realize the shift has happened worldwide, and rescue and a return to civilization as they knew it will not occur.

Perhaps months, but more likely weeks, and only in limited settings. We advise the common man, as we have in the past, to relieve themselves of stock and jewels and paper money that will fall in value, perhaps suddenly and without warning. Better to stock up on things that will have value, candles and matches, school books and a guitar, than what the rich treasure. In that one's skill sets can be considered a bartering item, one should examine their own skill set by the following exam. If you were in the middle of a wilderness, alone, what steps would you take to survive?

Constituted as a non-profit charity status organization. Or....Constituted as a charity cooperative that does not exclude community members. Income: Sale of seed Barter points. Fund raising events. Rental income from asset properties. Barter points usage commission.

Expenses. The expenses can include salaries of employees, postage, printing, telephone, office supplies, transportation, etc. We can reduce expenses by paying for some labor costs in barter points. The business aspects. We need to know about taxes, business insurance, bookkeeping, zoning, licenses, etc. We can get that information from government representatives, accountants, attorneys, other barter-club directors, and other experts. The format of the organization.

A barter club. We maintain ongoing accounts for our members, to keep track of their debits and credits, probably in the form of "units" which are based on a hourly labor index(10 points for each hour of standard labor, 20 points per hour of skilled labor, 30 points per hour of professional services). We can sell barter points to new members to have them participate initially as we should not allow deficit spending. A clearinghouse. We simply keep a list of the members (and their goods or services); we do not set up the trades, or accept any responsibility for the outcome (except to remove members who violate rules). When members want to make a trade, they can use one of these procedures: They call us. We look at our list of members. We find someone who has what the caller wants, and we give that phone number to the caller. They refer to a directory of members.

The directory has a list of members, their phone numbers, and their goods and services. This directory could be posted on the internet and be distributed in physical paper form. A brokerage. We have a list of people who barter; when someone calls to request a particular item or service, we arrange the deal, and we charge a commission. Acquiring new members. We can consider these options: We can invite friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We can invite members of a group to which we belong: our church, social club (e.g., Rotary Club), volunteer organization, senior citizens group, retirement community, social service agency, school club, or government-funded program. We can use newspaper ads, fliers, notes on bulletin boards, announcements in local Usenet newsgroups, listings in local directories on the World Wide Web, a listing in the phone directory, radio ads, television ads, press releases, etc. We can call individuals and businesses who have classified ads and phone listings. In our phone call, we can say, "If you want you can market your goods or service to our barter group to assist in your retirement and/or benefits package to employees."

Our explanation of bartering. In brochures, press releases, and conversations, we can explain various aspects of bartering: The benefits. Give a personalized presentation by referring to individual needs; for example, the person might want to save money, or to share, or to meet people, or to help people, or to have fun, or to get a specific item or service (e.g., home repair). The process. People are accustomed to using money; bartering might be an alien topic, so we need to give details regarding the club and its operation. "Resource identification." We need to explain that everyone has barterable goods and skills: garden produce, unwanted possessions, babysitting, unskilled labor (e.g., yardwork, housecleaning), the products from hobbies, etc.. Our office. We should set aside space in our rental facility for operating space. Barter System Units or direct trades. We can use either system: Direct trades. In this system, we trade one item directly for another.

Main advantage: It doesn't require much paperwork; we simply keep records of the members, their phone numbers, and their "needs" and "wants." Then, when someone calls us to set up a trade, we look through our records to find someone who might be interested.

Main disadvantage: The system relies on a "double coincidence," i.e., a situation in which I have what you want, and you have what I want. But, for example, if you want my computer-programming skills, but I don't want your pottery, we can't make a trade.

Units. Units are a type of "money" which the members exchange among themselves; based on time units independent of dollar fluctuations.