Bartering

The value of any item is ultimately based on what the seller and buyer want from the deal. I’ve been exploring this concept recently in some interesting interactions with friends and neighbors.

It all started about 8 weeks ago when I had to decide if I should put a new batch of whine on before I left for my late January US trip. I decided not to do it and eventually drank up the rest of my stock in February. I now have 40 or so empty glass bottles collecting dust.

Our jaunt to Bahrain at the end of February gave me plenty of opportunity to enjoy the real thing but eventually I was going to need a little something to tide me over until I left.

So the bartering began.

I traded 0.4 kg of smoked, streaky bacon for two bottles of white (haram for haram, my friend said; “haram” means “forbidden” in Arabic).

 

I exchanged 9 GBP in coins (can’t turn coins in at currency exchanges) and a pound of organic butter for a bottle of sid (always good to have a bit of that stashed away).

 

I gave away all of the potted plants on my porch for two more bottles of whine; they haven’t arrived yet so I don’t know whether they will be white or red. But of course, that doesn’t matter, does it?

 

And I traded my 12 stick-in-the-ground weave poles (assembled, decorated with tape) for 12 stick-in-the-ground bottom pieces and three more bottles of white.

 

I probably don't need all this whine but now that I'm on a roll, it's become more about the principle. What else do I have that is of sufficient value that it is worth a bottle or two of whine?

 

Before my kitchen stuff gets packed on Saturday, I think I'll bake a loaf of banana bread (with real butter). That should be worth another two or three bottles, don't you think?