Estimated reading time: 18 minutes
Bartering is a means of swapping goods and services without using money. It’s an old-fashioned way to save money and make use of your skills and assets, especially in times of recession and depression. In uncertain times, people can still get what they need, even without cash.
You might want to swap babysitting with a friend, or trade your extra garden veggies for someone else’s free-range eggs. Or maybe you need help with a house project, but you can offer to repair someone else’s car in exchange.
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These are all things or services you can barter or swap. But you don’t have to stop with just your best friends or neighbors. Here are 40 sites and apps that allow you to barter and trade instead of spending money.
1. Barter Bay
Barter Bay helps you buy, sell, and trade locally. As a bonus for using BarterBay, when you sign up for an account and post items, you earn bbCoins which can be traded in for free gift cards to popular sites like Amazon.com.
2. Barter Bucks Banc
Cars, motorcycles, boats, services, and goods, and anything else you can imagine can be swapped out on Barter Bucks Banc. Watch their introductory video and check out the guidelines to be sure you’re creating safe, easy trades.
3. Barterbu
Make trading simple with Barterbu, and easy trading app. You can download the app for both iOs and Android, then make your trades.
4. BarterQuest
BarterQuest gives you the option to trade everything from goods, services, and even real estate. You can search by what people have, search for what people want, or simply browse by category. Read their barter stories to get ideas of how to barter and trade.
5. BizX
BizX is a swap company for small businesses. Rather than spending hard-earned cash to attract new customers, you can sign up for BizX to be listed in their directory. Other businesses and customers pay you in BizX dollars, and you can use your BizX dollars for services and supplies that you need.
6. BookMooch
BookMooch uses an easy point system to swap books. You list the books you want to give away and send them to the people who want them. In return, you receive points that you can use to ‘purchase’ the books that other people want to give away. This is a great way to grow – or change – your own personal library.
7. Couchsurfing
Host a traveler, be a traveler, or host a meetup in your city to meet travelers and share your travel stories. Just create a profile and sign up for this unique experience.
8. Craigslist
Craigslist has plenty of classified ads for items for sale, but there are also sections for barter and trade. You can search by city to find the nearest items or services you need or post your items for free. Create wanted ads if you cannot find what you are looking for on their pages.
9. Facebook Groups
There’s a Facebook group for everything! Check your local Facebook Yard Sale pages, neighborhood pages, or do a search for local barter and trade groups. If you can’t find one, make one! Facebook Marketplace allows you to see who you are trading with before you meet up to trade.
10. Freecycle
Freecyle is the Craigslist of freebies. You list your unwanted items for free and connect with the people who want them. You can search the lists for free things you need. No cash changes hands – everything is free and individual groups are set up according to location so you can find the free stuff that is near you. Signup for their newsletter to be informed of new stuff in your area.
11. Game Trading Zone
If you want to check out new video games and movies, you may want to create a free account at Game Trading Zone. You can swap out your games and movies for new (used) ones.
12. Go Swap
If you are in the market for a new (permanent) home, you might want to try Go Swap. You can trade properties or other large items from land to houses to campers.
13. Home Exchange
If you’re looking for a place to stay, try Home Exchange. You list your home and earn points when people stay at your place. Then you can use those points to stay at other people’s homes on the network. There is a yearly fee which includes some perks such as insurance.
14. Intervac Home Exchange
Make new friends and enjoy traveling to new places through Home Exchange. Swaps are direct and no money changes hands. Representatives from around the world will work with you to make sure you have an excellent experience.
15. Listia
Listia uses its own virtual currency. You list and sell your own items for Listia’s currency, then you can spend it on their website. Get free Inx just for signing up for an account.
16. Love Home Swap
Love Home Swap is another site where you can trade homes to stay in. ID verification, peer reviews, annual fees, and a support team help keep this site safe to use.
17. MatchTrade
MatchTrade is an easy way to trade your old stuff for new stuff. You list the items you want to trade and look for items you want. Local pickup is an option for faster trading. It takes just seconds to post an item. The app is available for both Google Trade and the Apple app Store.
18. PaperBack Swap
PaperBack Swap is an easy way to trade books. They have paperbacks, hardback books, audiobooks, and even textbooks. List the books you want to trade, and when a book is requested, you pay the postage to mail the book to the recipient. Once the book is sent, then you are free to choose a book and the shipping to you is free. The book is yours to keep! You can always swap it out again for something new.
19. Play’N’Swap
Play’N’Swap lets you make direct trades with other members for video games or you can simply make cash offers for their stuff if you prefer.
20. Rehash
Rehash is a free site for swapping clothes. You list the clothes you want to swap and other visitors to the site will make you offers. When you accept and ship what they want, then you get to choose the clothes that you want. It’s great for the environment and helps you make new friends, too.
21. Shared Earth
This unique website connects people that have unused gardening space or gardening tools with people who want to garden. Use Facebook to create an account and fill out your profile. Then you can browse gardens or gardeners near you to find a great fit. You’ll be able to make your garden dreams – or someone else’s – a reality.
22. Simbi
Simbi is a website that offers swaps for services. You can directly swap one service for another, such as piano lessons, bike repairs, or whatever skill you’ve got or need. You can also swap your services for Simbi points. Simbi points are Simbi’s own form of currency. You can bank those points you earned so that you can purchase the services that you want at a later time.
23. Sit4Sit
Create your own network of babysitting at Sit4Sit. The site is free, and it keeps track of the time everyone in your personal network spends babysitting for each other. Just sign up and have your friends and family join you.
24. SkillsBarter
SkillsBarter is a free website that allows you to trade knowledge and skills with others. It’s free and a great resource for networking.
25. Swap.com
Unlike the name may suggest, Swap is similar to thredUP. Sell your clothes on commission so you can buy more!
26. SwapaCD
SwapaCD is an easy way to get more tunes. List the CD’s you went to swap and send them to whoever wants them. For every CD you send, you can request one for yourself.
27. SwapaDVD
SwapaDVD is similar to SwapaCD. List your DVDs, and send them to the people who want them. There is a 49 cent fee to request DVDs, but once you pay the fee, the DVD is mailed to you and is yours to keep. You can keep it forever or swap it again.
28. SwapMeSports
Need sports equipment? You can donate, buy, sell, and swap it at SwapMeSports. 10% of the membership fee is donated to charity so you can feel good about your membership.
29. Swappiness
Swappiness allows you to log in and add items you want to swap. Drag and drop your items onto others’ items to make an offer. Don’t forget to check out the word cloud of interesting items people have or are searching for.
30. SwapRight
You can easily barter services with SwapRight. You just post what you have to offer or look through other offers to find what you need. You’ll save money and get what you need from home improvement, computer help, professional services, and even childcare.
31. SwapStyle
Swap out your style on SwapStyle. You can trade all things fashion at this swap marketplace. It’s free to sign up.
32. SwitchPlanet
Trade your video games, DVDs, CDs, and books at SwitchPlanet.
33. thredUP
ThredUp is a great place to purchase used clothes. While it isn’t a barter site, it’s worth mentioning for its great deals. You can search by brand, size, color, or type. Save your searches and sizes for your future needs. thredUp occasionally accepts clothing to sell on commission.
34. TradeFirst
Similar to BizX, TradeFirst lets you use their own currency to buy, sell, and gain new customers. TradeFirst.com is all about businesses helping other businesses.
35. TradeStuff
Need to trade stuff? TradeStuff is an app that offers secure bartering and trading. They offer dispute resolution, staked collateral, and use feedback to make the site safe and secure.
36. Trusted House Sitters
If you like pets, you can trade house and pet sitting services for a place to stay all around the world. For a single annual fee, you can look for a pet and home sitter to stay in your home while you are away or find the vacation you’ve been dreaming about in exchange for caring for someone else’s pets and home.
37. Vinted
Vinted is a buy-and-sell site for pre-worn (used) clothes. It’s an easy way to declutter your wardrobe and discover great new-used finds for your own closet.
38. Wana and Komae Babysitting Swap App
Swap babysitting in your neighborhood with the Wana and Komae babysitting swap app. This app will help you trade babysitting with your friends and family without having to pay a sitter.
39. Zimride
Need a ride? Zimride makes it easy and safe to rideshare or carpool to your local university or job and helps you get to know your co-workers or fellow students.
40. Zwaggle
If you're pregnant or just had a baby, then you probably have a very long list of items you need: baby toys, clothes, furniture, monitors, and all sort of other things. But if you're done having children, then you probably have a closet full of items you no longer need. Zwaggle brings these two types of people together. Get points for giving things away and use those points to get new things.
Final Thoughts
There are all kinds of items and services you can trade or share. With these websites, you can swap, barter, share, or borrow just about anything you can think of. Many of these sites will also help you connect locally with your neighbors or folks who are likeminded about swapping and sharing to save money.
If you can’t find what you need, don’t be afraid to start a swap group or create a new listing on sites like Facebook and Craigslist. You never know who is out there that has what you need or needs what you have!
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