Barter spreads from rural areas as economy sours

Barter, long prevalent in rural economies where residents use the same skills to provide for themselves and for others, has gained traction in the nation's largest metropolitan areas because of the poor economy. Recent articles in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times show that barter is gaining traction in wider circles.

"Every recession triggers bartering, economists say," writes Jessica Guynn for the L.A. paper. "But the Internet has given the practice unprecedented reach." Websites like CraigsList and MySpace are helping individuals trade items and services with a wider population. Actress Valerie Whitlock trades hand-made jewelry for everything from headshots to clothing. "Jewelry-making has become a creative outlet for me as well as an extra income and barter tool," she says. "It has made a huge difference in my life." (Read more)

While the L.A. story highlights individuals who barter, Mickey Meece of the New York paper looks at barter as a tool for small businesses. "These are customers who wouldn’t normally seek out their wine," Ken Lineberger, owner of the Wine Tailor winery and member of the bartering organization, Itex, says of many of his customers. “We just had a couple drive over 100 miles to buy six cases of our wine because they’re Itex members." (Read more)


Both articles point out that care must be taken to document trades made. Bartered goods are still considered taxable by the Internal Revenue Service.