How
To Barter For Transportation
By James
Stout, Former writer for BarterNews
We can barter for ownership or leasing
of a car or truck.
- We
barter for a vehicle whenever we "trade in" our own old
vehicle (plus cash) for another vehicle.
- We
might receive a vehicle as a "job benefit" (i.e., a
barter deal in which we are exchanging a portion of our
work for this vehicle instead of the equivalent amount
of money). This type of benefit is common for executives
(in government or business), and for people who are
employed by car dealerships.
- We can
barter directly for the vehicle -- paying with
barter-club units, or with our goods or services. For
example, a car dealer (or a private owner) might be
willing to accept payment in the form of a boat,
machinery, advertising (e.g., radio ads for the
dealership) landscaping, business supplies, or anything
else which would be useful. (If we are paying with
units, we might be able to get a loan from the barter
club.)
- If we
are already making payments on a vehicle, we can trade
that vehicle (with its remaining debt) for a
less-expensive vehicle which is paid off. Or we can sell
our current vehicle for cash, and buy another one with
units; we will still have a debt, but it will be in the
form of units, not cash.
We can barter for repairs and
maintenance. This can be done through a one-to-one trade, or
through a barter club. In one club's directory, there are 95
listings of companies which provide and maintain vehicles.
The listings were in these categories: auto body repair,
brakes and alignment, customizing, detailing, mufflers,
painting, parts and accessories, radiators, radio and stereo
repairs, rentals/leasing, repairs and service, sales (new
and used), towing, transmissions, upholstery, washing and
polishing, and wheel alignments.
We can barter for fuel.
- We can
make a deal with a gas-station owner. For example, one
dentist provided services to a gas-station owner in
exchange for a few hundred gallons of gas.
- To get
more mileage from our fuel, we can barter for a tune-up,
a new carburetor, or other gas-saving improvements in
our vehicle.
- We
barter whenever we use a self -service gas pumps. Our
labor (i.e., pumping our own gas) is a form of bartering
-- for an extra bit of gas per dollar.
We can barter for air transportation.
- Plane
tickets are available through some barter clubs. For
example, Republic Airlines has been a member of a barter
club in Spokane, Washington; at one time, it was
conducting $80,000 worth of trades per year -- offering
airline seats to the club's members, to earn units to
pay for hotel rooms for flight crews.
- We can
barter for the plane itself. For example, the Exchange
Enterprises office in Salt Lake City paid $40,000 worth
of the club's units to buy an airplane.
We can "car-pool." Car-pooling can be
an easy barter: "I'll drive today, and you will drive
tomorrow." If only one person has a car, though, try another
deal: the other person might buy some of the gas in exchange
for the privilege of riding. We can consider these ideas
regarding car-pooling:
- For
local trips, we can put ads on bulletin boards or in
classified ads. For example, if we want to create a
car-pool to go to work each day, we would put a notice
on bulletin boards at the office (or in the company
newsletter), and we would use word-of-mouth to tell
co-workers about our interest in car-pooling.
- If we
will be car-pooling over a longer distance, again we can
use a newspaper ad (in categories such as Travel or
Opportunities), and we can also use bulletin boards
throughout our community. Some universities have
bulletin boards which are solely for car-pooling; the
students want to go home for holidays and weekends, and
they need (or they offer) transportation.
-
Consider the benefits of car-pooling. We save money. And
we gain companionship, conversation, assistance with the
driving (so that we will not become fatigued), faster
progress (because one person can sleep while the other
person drives), safety (because a criminal might be less
likely to attack a car which has more than one person in
it), and some assistance with map-reading and
navigation.
-
Consider the problems. We might have difficulty in
coordinating our schedules (particularly if the person
is asking for a round trip, such that we have to
coordinate both the departure and the return). Our rider
might cause problems -- perhaps small problems such as
boring conversation and irritating personal habits, or
big problems such as an intent to rob us and hurt us. We
also need to consider the legal ramifications: possible
lawsuits (particularly if our rider is injured in an
accident), and our car insurance (which might not cover
us if the other person is driving when an accident
occurs). In addition, if our car-pooling grants us a
profit (in cash or barter), our car might then be
considered a "taxi" and thus susceptible to the laws
regarding taxis (whether we are driving locally or
across state lines).
Boats, too, can be acquired by
bartering. Columbus acquired his three ships (the Nina,
Pinta, and Santa Maria) by bartering, when Queen Isabella
and King Ferdinand said, "We will give you the ships if you
will give us the bounty which you obtain." In our modern
era, boats are bartered through classified ads such as
these:
- "Will
trade 18' boat in exchange for video camera."
- "Will
trade ski boat for down payment on a waterfront condo."
We can find other ways to travel for
free.
- We can
get a job in which we will be able to travel. In some
occupations, traveling is part of the job -- in
business, the military, politics, airlines, the travel
industry, the arts (e.g., when a musician is "on tour"),
etc. Unfortunately, some of those trips are strictly
work-related, with no time for sightseeing and other
pleasures.
- We can
be a trip coordinator. Even if we are not
travel-industry professionals, we can coordinate trips
for groups. We advertise the trip in a newspaper, and
then we plan the agenda, and the hotel and restaurant
reservations. In exchange for our work, we receive free
transportation, meals, and lodging during the trip.
We can barter for other
types of transportation. One barter-club directory had
listings for motorcycles (parts, sales, and accessories),
recreational vehicles (parts and rentals), aircraft (sales,
rentals, repairs), airline (charter), truck rentals and
leasing, bicycles, boat repairs, car rentals, sailing
lessons, and flight instruction. At one time, World Tradex
Corporation said that its barterable items included a
Greyhound bus, and "helicopters (used) ready for shipment." |
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