what is barter 
barter is an act of trading goods or services between two or more parties without the use of money or a monetary medium such as a credit card in essence bartering involves the provision of one good or service by one party in return for another good or service from another party a simple example of a barter arrangement is a carpenter who builds a fence for a farmer instead of the farmer paying the builder 1 000 in cash for labor and materials the farmer could instead recompense the carpenter with 1 000 worth of crops or foodstuffs investopedia sydney saporitoprinciples of barteringbartering is based on a simple concept two individuals negotiate to determine the relative value of their goods and services and offer them to one another in an even exchange it is the oldest form of commerce dating back to a time before hard currency even existed while the current senior generation bartered with the limited goods they had on hand i e produce and livestock or services they could personally render i e carpentry and tailoring to someone they knew today most americans have access to a nearly unlimited source of potential bartering partners through the internet virtually any item or service can be bartered if the parties involved agree to the terms of the trade individuals companies and countries can all benefit from such cashless exchanges particularly if they are lacking hard currency to obtain goods and services while it is mostly associated with commerce during ancient times bartering has been reinvented in this era through the internet benefits of barteringbartering allows individuals to trade items that they own but are not using for items that they need while keeping their cash on hand for expenses that cannot be paid through bartering such as a mortgage medical bills and utilities bartering can have a psychological benefit because it can create a deeper personal relationship between trading partners than a typical monetized transaction bartering can also help people build professional networks and market their businesses in an economic crunch bartering can be a great way to get the goods and services you need without having to pull money out of your pocket on a broader level bartering can result in the optimal allocation of resources by exchanging goods in quantities that represent similar values bartering can also help economies achieve equilibrium which occurs when demand equals supply 