What
Is
a
Fair
Trade?
By James Harvey Stout (deceased). This material
is now in the public domain. The complete collection of Mr. Stout's writing
is at
http://www.james-harvey-stout.com
.
Jump to the following topics:
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We
can consider many perspectives in setting our values in bartering.
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Get
an appraisal of the other person's goods and services.
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Cover your costs.
We
can consider many perspectives in setting our values in bartering.
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We can transfer our regular dollar-salary into a barter situation. For example,
if we earn $40 per hour for our computer repairs, we exchange a two-hour
repair for our barter partner's $80 bicycle.
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We can decide that "all labor is equal; your hour equals mine in trade."
That attitude comes from people who are idealistic -- and are usually unskilled.
The difference between a minimum-wage laborer and a $100-per-hour professional
can be too obvious when they are trying to do a direct trade -- at a ratio
of one hour for about 16 hours. Some barter organizations insist on a strict
hour-for-hour trade between members. But at one barter club where a similar
rule was enforced, few professionals were willing to participate; eventually
the club's director discarded the rule and instead he allowed the members
to make their own agreements.
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We create our own subjective values. Those values are based on various factors:
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Our personal appreciation of particular goods and services. For example,
if we knit sweaters in exchange for goods and services, one doctor might
give us a checkup in trade for two sweaters. But a doctor who is particularly
fond of sweaters might notice the extraordinary quality of our work, and
thus be happy to accept one in trade.
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The emotional tone of the trade. In some deals, we are interacting with friends
(or with friendly strangers). We might place a higher value onto goods and
services which are created and delivered with love, warmth, and care. On
the basis of that friendship, or just the humanness of the encounter, we
both might reconsider our fees into the kind of easy deal which is offered
from one friend to another.
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External influences. Our judgment of value can be influenced by the media
(particularly advertisements), or by a profession's charismatic image. We
can reject those external standards in favor of our own, to decide what is
important to us.
Get
an appraisal of the other person's goods and services. Especially when
we are trading expensive merchandise, we should check with experts: store
owners, directories, catalogs, magazines, books, price guides, and
consumer-oriented web sites. Ask professionals to verify that the camera
is fully functioning, that the painting is authentic, that the motorcycle
really is worth that much. Show the power saw to a carpenter who owns a similar
model. Go to appropriate stores to compare prices on furniture, equipment,
plants, clothing, and other goods. Ask a jeweler to appraise the jewelry.
At one barter club, a car mechanic has offered to inspect vehicles before
we buy them; the mechanic can be paid via the club's units.
Cover your costs. Consider the costs of supplies
and depreciation. For instance, if I am rototilling your big garden, are
you paying for the gasoline, or am I? If you wire up my lights,
am I purchasing the materials, or am I expecting you to bring some materials
from your shop? (Usually, the person who is receiving the service
pays cash for the materials.) If you are a businessperson, consider your
overhead, the money which you have paid to your suppliers, etc. More ideas
on this subject of "covering your costs" are presented in the chapter regarding
cash flow.