barter

4 Stories

N. Korea Offers to Settle Debt With ... Ginseng

Czechs turn down offer of root instead of cash, suggest zinc ore

(Newser) - The Czechs are pleased that North Korea is trying to settle a $10 million Cold War-era debt, but they're not so happy about the proposed terms. Pyongyang has offered to repay just 5% of the debt, and to pay in ginseng root instead of cash, the AP reports. North Korea's...

Bartering Turns Into $10B Recession-Buster

More businesses signing on to trend of exchanging services

(Newser) - The global recession has made bartering hot, but don’t go thinking it’s all a backrub for a plumbing fix. Big money—though no cash—is changing hands through the world’s largest barter service, Bartercard. The worldwide service’s transactions are valued at $2 billion this year, up...

Broke? Try Paying Like Our Ancestors, With Shells, Beans

(Newser) - Sure, the global economy might collapse spectacularly and send us all back to a barter system. But that’s inefficient, Greg Sabin writes on Mental Floss, and “almost all civilizations have come up with currencies.” A sampling of what might be in your wallet next week:
  • Shells: "
...

Bartering Makes a Comeback
 Bartering Makes a Comeback 

Bartering Makes a Comeback

(Newser) - Around the world, websites that enable users to trade goods and services for the same are thriving in the down economy, the Washington Post reports. Craigslist, for instance, says bartering on the site has doubled in the past year. One Washington man got a plumber in exchange for a ride...

4 Stories