Barter and Gifts in the Age of Steem

in #steem6 years ago (edited)

Wikimedia CC by DanielPenfield.jpg

Four cans of lima beans. A wedding band. Wrenches. Costume jewelry. A flashlight. A Janis Joplin recording and a guitar with two broken strings.

Those were some of the items acquired by toll collectors on the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1970s. When drivers did not have 50 cents to pay the bridge toll, they turned over items of personal property instead. These items later sold at an auction, some fetching more than 50 cents while others were worth less.

Can you imagine paying a highway or bridge toll today by handing over your alarm clock or half a can of gasoline? Today, most highways and bridges in the U.S. don’t even have humans in the toll booths anymore; cars use electronic tags or bridges use license scanning technology. If you speed through without paying, they take a picture of your car’s license plate and send the owner a fat bill in the mail.

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Image from Lohud.com

Reading about bridge history, I was struck by these toll collectors’ practice of accepting personal property offerings when people did not have the money to pay a toll. It certainly was a different world. Today, everything has a bottom line value. Even if you’re buying, selling, or trading a used car or a used iPhone, the first thing you do is look online and see what the market rate is for that type of product.

Bartering is the practice of trading for goods or services without money. Bargaining is half the fun at any street market, anywhere in the world, since you usually can get things more cheaply than the first price quoted. And in many types of marketplaces, deals are made that involve a trade or exchange rather than a sale.

Seed4Songpixabay.jpg
CC0 from Pixabay.

I see it every time I’m at a local farmer’s market: the baker trades a bag of rolls for some apples and the fruit seller hands a basket of berries to the beekeeper for a jar of honey. I even saw a young dentist there one day, handing out his business cards, and presumably he might agree to trade a tooth cleaning in exchange for several weeks’ worth of salad greens (though I’m just guessing there). Meanwhile, the hummus lady is 10x the hustler of these other vendors; they sit around and let their produce do the talking, while she’s handing out free samples and filling her purse with cash.

The gift economy is one step beyond barter and the two can work interchangeably. On a rainy day at the farmers market, the “will play for tips” musician was striking out on donations. A guy like me walked by, enjoyed the guitar picking, and felt bad for the musician. But I was out of small bills, so I looked in my wallet and decided the guitar picker could use $10 more than I could.

He saw me putting it in the jar and stopped playing for a moment, rummaging through his bag to give me a signed copy of his CD. One gift for another, the first given with no expectations. If I’d run out of money, I’d have given him the jar of honey instead, which might have initiated a barter deal.

I appreciated his playing, but didn’t plan to listen to his recorded music. So I had a quick idea. The rain was scattering customers and putting out the hummus lady’s fire. I looped around behind the guitar picker and made my way to the hummus booth, turning down the free samples. I pointed to some garlic hummus and the lady quoted a price.

Hummus CC Vera Wu David Li.jpg
Hummus and other goodies from a farmers market vendor. Creative Commons via Flickr by Vera Wu and David Li.

Instead, I pulled out the music CD, offering it to her in exchange. She laughed, shook her head, and then realized she’d have to load up all this food in the rain and take it back to the refrigerator from where it came…no longer as fresh or desirable for the next market. So she took the CD and let me have some garlic hummus, throwing in a free bag of flatbread also. No, I couldn’t let her one-up me with a gift, so I whipped out my wallet and bought some dolmas and tahini, plus some “must have” olives she sold me on.

I left with a heavier bag and lighter wallet than I’d intended. In the final analysis, the hummus lady hustled me for a cash sale. I didn’t mind, since her food is really tasty. But at least our cash transaction began with a barter and then a gift.

The government doesn’t like barter and gifts, since they’re harder to track and to tax than sales. In most ways, our digital world has made things easier for governments because there’s an electronic record of everything. But the Internet enables people to find each other more efficiently for exchange transactions, too.

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of posters for barter events.

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CardBarter.jpg

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There is barter online, from ad-swapping to sharing subscribers to brands buying off social media influencers and then promoting them. And technology has made it easier to find matches when one needs to buy or sell something person-to-person.

But dealing in physical items is a hassle. Bartering them creates a two-way exchange, so it can double that hassle. When dealing with bulky items that are hard to ship, you’re restricted to finding someone locally who wants your item. For example, on a recent visit to the Barteronly.com site, I can see someone listing a bicycle trailer, the kind people use to pull their kids or pampered pets behind as they ride a bicycle. In exchange, the “seller” is interested in possible items that include office furniture or horse riding lessons for his/her kid.

Long distance delivery costs for used office furniture might cost more than the furniture (and for the bicycle trailer also, perhaps) unless we’re talking about high end items. And horse riding lessons would need to be near home, presumably. So the only potential partners for such a barter deal would be local people who, at the same time, are interested in that item and have something the partner desires in return. Those limit the potential a great deal.

Indeed, that’s what happens, even when technology brings people together. Bunz, an app for iOS and Android that also has an online site at Bunz.com, develops around local communities. While more than one million items are available for exchange on Bunz, it works best when there is a large enough group of users in one location (e.g. Toronto) where they can interact and make in-person exchanges. Combine Craigslist, a Facebook group, and some regional scale, and a barter community can have more success than a flea market.

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A barter event in Toronto. Bunz.com

Some governments do not consider cryptocurrency to be a currency, so using it to pay for goods or services may be considered an exchange of goods. STEEM is free, secure, and nearly instant to send for any simple transaction. From Steemgigs to a growing number of local businesses, you can exchange it with anyone who accepts STEEM for a good or service. It also makes gift-giving very simple. Many times, when a member of Steemit has needed something or is undertaking a project that helps this community in some way, I have donated STEEM or SBD (but only when I know the person already).

When you build up some Steem Power and can make meaningful votes on others’ posts, voting is another way of giving a gift. The value comes from using your Steem Power influence to allocate a small part of the daily reward pool to that post.

If and when you receive a gift from anyone, there should be no expectation of any return. The reward is helping someone else have a better day.

SteemHand.png
Image by @penguinpablo. Link at bottom of post.

However, even when I give away STEEM gifts, I’m not sure my motivations are good. Most of the people who receive gifts go out and work harder. They share Steemit with friends and bring in more people. And most of the people I vote for regularly have been chosen because they are top quality community builders and curators, helping to build the Steem ecosystem and bring in others who post high quality content. In the end, that growth helps my bottom line also. For example, this week I gave a gift of 250 Steem to @africaunchained to use as Steem Power so that curation initiative can help more people succeed on Steemit...but doesn't that also help me?

Are my gifts motivated by altruism or by self-interest? Are they investments or gifts? In the end, perhaps the answer does not matter. Each possibility can be equally true, since our interests can align here on Steem/it. I think the important thing is to ignore the self-interest part and think about helping others when we make a gift. Then it’s more likely that we’re doing so for the best reasons.

Most images above are public posters for various barter events, unless otherwise indicated. Top image is Creative Commons via Wikimedia by DanielPenfield. Steem video courtesy of @the-alien. Steem hand image by @pneguinpablo from this post: https://steemit.com/giving-steem/@benjojo/giving-steem-logo-competition#@penguinpablo/re-benjojo-giving-steem-logo-competition-20170616t114744102z

Source for bridge barter information: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-can-t-pay-toll-4-cans-of-10903488.php

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First of all, I agree with Steem that transaction volume is very large. Steemit has a different quality. And this quality will increase the value of Steem. Steemit has a very respectful environment for gifts. You are absolutely right in this. Here quality ideas are valued ideas. I am very happy to be here. I hope someday I will come to a good time. I'm excited to give support. I invite a new friend here every day. And one day Steemit will be the best quality platform.
@donkeypong

collaborate with someone who needs help @donkeypong

Wow, I was just thinking about this in depth because a friend asked me if i would write his website in exchange for letting me tag along on the food tours he gives around the city. I was so happy and excited, because while I love trades, so many people seem to undervalue writing, thinking they can just write whatever themselves and it will be just as good. And you are right about why it isn't more popular--the government doesn't promote it because it is harder to tax. Ugh, that everything revolves around money is so freaking frustrating.

Also, I do not think there is anything wrong with the type of generosity you are talking about with regard to yourself. You give and you get something (naturally) in return, no matter what it is (sometimes what you get in return is feeling good about giving, you know?). You're not going around expecting something tangible really. It's just part of the giving process?

Anyway, thanks for such an engaging post. Put a lot of cool thoughts into my head.

Wonderful example and thanks for sharing. Good luck to you with that work too!

Beautiful article. Absolutely loved it.

It touches the core elements of human experience. From the social point of veiw, on one hand we create and produce, on the other hand we appreciate and use. While guitar picker benefited financially with your donation, that action of gifting goes beyond financial benefit, as it shows an appreication of his art. If everybody practiced philanthropy, there would be no starvation or poverty on this planet and those who give would benefit most.

Our human experience makes us inter-dependent on each other, hence barter is a necessity. While as you point out barter today could be inefficient compared to cash, it is still essensial part of our social experience. We give/exchange gifts during holidays, birthdays, and on vairous occasions. We echange food we our neighbors. Gifting and giving is part of what makes us humans.

While blockchain technologies have great potential in improving the efficiency of bartering or transacting, Steem definitely has the upper hand since it is also a social platform.

We have a lot of the elements right here, for sure.

collaborate with someone who needs help

Agorism is a beautiful thing. The more transactions we can make outside the control of governments, the more free we will be as individuals. Most laws and regulations related to voluntary exchange between consenting adults are stupid and immoral.

I am a PI and brew my own mead, and I do residential security assessments. It is my goal to barter and trade those skills as much as possible. Here in Virginia too, I can buy and sell firearms without any government authority's permission. All I need to see is a valid driver's license to cover myself.

That is how things should be (other than having to see a valid license). Steemit allows us to barter and exchange services and goods just as Craigslist, and this place has the added benefit of also allowing us to build a community of friends to support.

Thanks for the wonderful post. It was a great read with a very valuable lesson within it.

@donkeypong - An interesting comparison of Steem exchange with the barter of the real world. I enjoyed reading about the barter (even toll booths accepted items instead of cash was interesting to note!)
The barter experiment involving the street musician and the hummus lady was great. Had not realized such exchanges were possible.
It is true that, by donating SBD or Steem, ultimately you also may benefit because the resultant chain of events may lead to increase in Steem price and/or growth of Steemit. However, that is no different than gift giving in the real world. The 'value' created by gift giving, even if it is just goodwill, ultimately helps us in some way.
Thanks. Very interesting read. Upvoted full
Regards,

@vm2904

the way barter for the present is very troublesome, we will first guess the price match.
the toll guard may already be full of unexpected goods.

at present, SBD or Steem can be a valuable tool to reward people, not complicated and very easy to use.
that is actually the use of steem power, sharing happiness.
great article @donkeypong

That's true. Trading goods or services can be cumbersome, but it's much simpler with Steem.

hi mr please follow me İ need this very much and i love you

I think the important thing is to ignore the self-interest part and think about helping others when we make a gift. Then it’s more likely that we’re doing so for the best reasons.

Giving for the right reason is when you don't expect anything in return or when it is done selflessly
Your steem give-away to community builders sir, is a very laudable initiative and your desire to help growth on this platform is very commendable and I know it stems from a sincere heart. This is an opportunity to say thank you.

In most ways, our digital world has made things easier for governments because there’s an electronic record of everything. But the Internet enables people to find each other more efficiently for exchange transactions, too.

Thank God for internet. It has become the best way to transact all kinds of businesses. It makes it easier and less burden-some
Using steem as a means of gifting is very OK, considering the swiftness and the value.
Thank you sir for sharing

Trade by barter is still very much practiced in my area, especially in the remotest villages. It is cumbersome trading that way but using steem as a means of gifting is the bomb.
Thank you sir for what you are doing for the community. Posterity will reward you

a very interesting post @donkeypong. It is an inspiration that rich people are not all miserly but many are also generous as @dongkepong convey in this post. That's a very remarkable occurrence, because there are still people as good as he who is willing to help others mengguuunakan collectibles. Thank you have shared this very interesting life science.

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