When we go back to our history, the barter trade started all the way back from 6000 BC introduced by tribes in Mesopotamia. It’s an old method of exchange that was used a very long time ago. People in this era used to barter goods such as weapons, food, spices, and other valuables to survive a living. It goes for a long time where people in different tribes adopted and passed this on to their generations and extended families.
Looking back, the less hassle way of having a specific need was exchange.
Now that we live in the currency era, the exchange became more organized as it was compared before. We pay using our money without having to look for things to be exchanged for—avoiding you to get things or stuff you don’t even need.
In this time of pandemic, who would have thought that the barter trade will flicker once again but online?
As hilarious as it seems, people generate their ways to accumulate stuff most especially during the time of strict lockdowns—leaving people with not choice but get on to it.
Scammers are real
In the old times, people get scammed by not getting things you’re not supposed to get and you lose nothing. Now in this generation, scammers are fluctuating everywhere—making it impossible for you to not doubt a single person. There are many types of scammers when it comes to bartering online. And when you get scammed, you also lose. Some people post wrong information until you fall for it. Some people produce fake money. Some people just tend to waste your time, and some people invest their time to get to know you and your information and scam you with their ulterior motives. Barter trade in this current setup makes it hard for people to simply put their trust and gain something. It’s a matter of how will you not get scammed with genuine intentions.
Old method and the new
During the rise of the online barter trade in the late 2020s, the start and the demand for online classes is real. We get to see a glimpse of a father who wanted to barter her pet rabbits in exchange for a cellphone for his child who will take online classes. There are several people who wants to barter their groceries with medicines since they can’t go out. And people who barter groceries for money. That is how it just goes during the later time and year in the pandemic for people who can’t access good easily or in no way means to get one in a short amount of time. Luckily, these people succeeded with that journey.
Think before you click
Since a lot of people are staying in their homes, having a lot of time to scroll—this challenge us to be media literates; meaning we can think before engaging because the internet world is vast and our country being tagged as an internment-dependent one, we can be as cautious by being careful. A lot of phishing manipulations are done not only in the modern barter trade but with us getting hooked on to the system. We tend to put our trust and just go on with the flow 24/7 and then we wake up with our goods stolen, with our money stolen, with our personal information stolen. This can be a little tricky.
New Norm
It did die down a little, but with the people living in the remote places who keeps on doing these, we have this little hope that they may solely get what they wanted without having to invest into a more serious case of action of selling or exchange. Whether be in exchange of their livestock turning it into prepaid loads, some animals in exchange of medicines and groceries and so on.
It has its advantages and disadvantages because we tend to forget that the legitimacy is quite sketchy. People do not have the certification to do this and there’s no systematic type of verification you can do. In a more remote sense, money can’t always be the root of bartering some goods.
It can be in exchange of services. You can start working in a week fixing materials or cleaning in exchange of what you need in the level of work exerted.
It’s a two-way street in thinking that in one click, it can all be gone.
In this fast-changing society, one agreement and money can be lost, goods can be stolen.
The flexibility of bartering lies on the person on how well he or she can be strategic in getting the exchange of what he or she prepared for.
