Come on. Confess. There is a gift or two that you got for Christmas that you are never going to use, and you don't know where it was bought so you have no way to return it. I have the solution for you. Instead of allowing a perfectly useful item sit around and collect dust until you eventually donate it to Goodwill, trade it for something you do want on BarterQuest.
BarterQuest is a trading platform designed for the individual. Goods, services, and the use of real estate can be traded, from anyone to anyone, anywhere in the world. It will be the first trading site to fully exploit the advantages of the Internet and allow people like yourself to realize the possibilities of getting stuff for stuff, of excluding the middle man, of avoiding the need for money to get what you want. Anyone who has anything that may be of value to anyone else can be a successful user of our site.
The site is still in beta, but there are already many people putting up items for trade. I did a little test with an item. I have a classic brown leather Coach bag that I picked up a yard sale once for $5 that I didn't need, but it was a $5 Coach bag in good condition so I snagged it. Consumerism rearing it's ugly head. It just sits in my closet.
I typed in Coach and I was sent to page where I could see who had Coach bags and who wanted Coach bags. I clicked on the tab for those wanted Coach bags and found a couple of things that I could possibly receive if I traded my bag - an 80GB iPod, Tiffany earrings, or tattoo services. Not too shabby.
BarterQuest has the ability to help people who need or want items find what they are looking for without having to purchase them new from the store. It keeps goods that already exist from going unused and keeps goods from being created unnecessarily. It's a good idea.
I did a search for some reviews from people who have used the site, and I was unable to find any. I can imagine that with any other site where you are getting items from individuals there is always the chance of the other person not keeping up his end of the bargain or items getting "lost in the mail." Not too many of the traders are rated yet, but I'm sure as the site is around longer that will change.
If you've got a holiday gift that you aren't going to use, check out BarterQuest and see if someone else wants it and has something you could use. It's better than perfectly good items going to waste.
Image from the BarterQuest website
3 comments:
Great post. I'd never heard of Barter Quest. I'm off to check them out. But I have to ask you a question first. What kind of tattoo are you going to get? :)
I'm getting the kind that
1. doesn't hurt when you get it
2. disappears all by itself the day I become a grandmother
and
3. wouldn't send my mother to her grave
Those are my only requirements before I get a tattoo. If that BarterQuest person can do that for me, I'd probably get some sort of Celtic band around one of my ankles.
Hi Robin,
I'm one of the developers at BarterQuest. Thank you for writing a blog post about us! We're glad you find the site useful.
As you mentioned, there aren't too many users who have been rated yet. We expect this to change soon as our site grows. Thus far we have not received a single complaint from our users due to not receiving their item or by receiving items that weren't quite what they expected. Everyone seems to be satisfied with their trades, and we'll work hard to make sure it stays that way.
Again, we appreciate the mention, and we hope you continue to successfully use our site!
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