What about Bartering?

[Le Bar du Vent]

I know it's done on Etsy, and given the state of things in everyone's country, the idea has been mentioned on the DaWanda forum.
I'v never done this and I suspect it's not necessarily easy to organize to everyone's satisfaction, and I was in this for the money of course... ;-)
But I'm curious, and, just like everyone on the site it seems, while I wait for sales to happen at long last, I keep browsing and drooling over other designers' items.
So what do you think?
Do you have any idea on this, any experience in it?

[Saras Texture Crafts]

I haven't, but have heard it works sucessfully for others... would be interested to see how this idea works

[Katrin]

hmmm...
Well... why not?

It's only my opinion, but if someone asks about it and he/she has something that interests me I would at least think about it.
I think it depends on the goods someone has... And asking always is for free, they can't say more than "No".

Though I don't know how the DaWanda staff would think about it. If both "traders" mark their item as "sold" DaWanda doesn't loose anything and both traders are happy.

Maybe this wouldn't work with many people, but I'm pretty sure that some folks are willing to trade their stuff with you (or others). I'd just ask...

[KnotMe]

I agree with Katrin.
We give a price to the item we make, but instead of exchanging money, we can exchange items.

It depends only on the goods / needs, i think.

[Jenny Karlsson]

I like this too.

One can always ask :)

[fugsly]

I do think this is a nice idea. For instance if someone wanted to trade a bag for some fabric or supplies it could come in handy. I could see the system going easily wrong with people feeling hard done by etc but as long as there was adequate communication it could be a fun thing to do :)

[Malay]

Ive been trading/bartering for about 5 years now and have an equal amount of trades to sales outside of dawanada. I LOVE trading, i often get amazing hand made things i wouldnt normally buy and i have never ever felt truley done out by what i have received. The key is to communicate and be HONEST, if you dont like or want what they are offering ... tell them... and ask for a custom made piece too if you can because its more special.

[Angie Vandenbogaard]

I think it's a great idea. Unfortunately, I'm still new to Dawanda, and I am still trying to figure everything out :)

[Valmade]

I've done a couple of swaps on etsy. I think it's a great idea. For me it's a great way to get new supplies in for some of my creations.

Communication is key.

[omshanti]

I barter all the time -- it's a lot of fun and I do wind up with things I wouldn't get otherwise. I doubt it happens often enough for DaWanda to get upset about it, frankly.

Best way I've found to get started is just ask someone. Most people I've talked to are pretty upfront about it -- some aren't interested in anything I have, but that's fine with me as long as they're honest about it. Most are, and I do a lot of trading.

Good luck with it!

Kate
Om Shanti Handcrafts