I have bartered service-for-service and product-for-product and a mix of the two in the past. I bartered for the same reason everyone else does. I’m short on cash and long on skills.

On the surface, bartering seems like a win-win. I get what I need for nothing but the work of my hands and my bartering partner gets the same.

Dig deeper. Under that well-meaning surface, a barter is never truly equal. It also devalues the work of everyone involved by putting a $0 price tag on anything that’s bartered.

There’s also a scarcity mindset that’s involved when bartering—that is, the mindset that believes that there isn’t enough for me, that I’m powerless to do anything about the amount of money I have now and will ever have. I’ll let Dave Navarro handle that one (see Breaking out of the scarcity mindset after you’re done reading this post).

What about having a bartering agreement written up and signed by both parties?

Well, I’ve done that too. And it works slightly better than just a handshake (virtual or otherwise)  agreement. At least here, both parties know exactly what to expect and when the agreement is complete, which limits the unfairness.

But it’s still bartering.

Because of the gut-wrenching thing I’ve experienced with this last barter agreement, and based on the advice of someone who’s been doing this thing longer than I, I have come to the conclusion that all bartering sucks and I will not barter with anyone anymore.

Sure, some of this is colored by my recent experience, and I have had a few good bartering experiences, but I think it’s one of those things that will hinder your chances at success if you’re running a business.

I’m sticking to it. No more bartering for me.

Bartering ends up being unequal, and someone ends up short.

Unfortunately the way it works out is someone (or both) feels like they got the short end of the stick. Because perspective is crazy that way.

Or one person does their thing and the other one never follows through.

Major suckage on both ends.

Here’s what happened recently: Because I have a nasty perfectionist streak and because I offered to do something I wasn’t 100% experienced in, I worked over double the initial time agreement, and found myself doing extra things that weren’t mentioned in the beginning. I was most definitely the receiver of the short end.

Bartering takes money completely out of the equation, and relies on both parties giving something away for free.

In this way, bartering devalues the work of all the people involved.

Even if you’re bartering based on equivalent value and it’s written down digitally or otherwise,  it still devalues each party’s work.

In a barter, my work and your work is essentially free. And no one values free. Even if it’s an equivalent exchange.

If you insist you value free stuff, take a look at how many ebooks and white papers you’ve downloaded. Have you read them all? You probably even have things you’ve bought for cheap (i.e. a $15 ebook) that you haven’t even bothered to open.

I am convinced that if I had been paid the full amount I usually charge to do everything I did for this particular barter, this whole thing would have gone more smoothly.

I would have had a contract that spelled out my responsibilities and once those were complete, I’d be done. Any more work would have to cost more money. And possibly I would have a bit more respect from that bartering partner because it would be a professional arrangement spelled out clearly.

I’m also convinced that if I paid for what my bartering partner has offered, even if she paid for my services and I turned around and handed her that same amount of money back to pay for her services, the energy around this whole agreement would be better. Cleaner. Happier.

The exchange of money is sort of magical.

I’m not big on the whole “universal energy” thing or karma or whatever, but there’s something almost magical when money is involved in a transaction.

The person paying values a thing and the person who made/did the thing more than she would if she got it for free.

The person getting money in exchange for their thing is properly compensated for the hard work she did.

Both people are satisfied with the transaction, no one’s hurt, and no one can take advantage of the other.

No matter how you may rail against it, money is important when determining value.

I have no patience for people who say that money’s not important. It is. We left the bartering society behind a long time ago and  money is what we have to work with.

The exchange of money, like it or not, is a reflection of how much you value yourself, your work and the person you’re buying from.

I value my work and my time. And I value the people I work with.

In requesting payment for my work and paying others for their work, there’s some energy thing that happens. It’s a good energy thing. And I prefer it to the uncertain muddy stuff I’ve been slogging through the past few months.

Twitter version: Bartering will suck the life out of you, keep you broke and heap bad mojo on you. So don’t do it. Pay for what you want.

Feel free to leave your comments below. Have you ever had a barter that went sour? What about good experiences?

photo credit: Andres Rueda