What is Barter?
[[File:Maori bartering a crayfish - Drawings illustrative of Captain Cook's First Voyage (1769), f.11 - BL Add MS 15508.jpg|thumb|300px|In 1769 a [[Maori people|Maori]] gave an [[England|English]] sailor a [[crayfish]] and got a piece of European clothing for it]] '''Barter''' is trading one thing for another without using [[money]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barter|title=Barter|publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|access-date=2007-01-06|archive-date=2007-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012235854/http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barter|url-status=dead}}</ref> Usually the things that are [[trade]]d are [[Value|worth]] the same amount of money, but no money is used in the [[trade]]. Barter is useful when two people each have something the other wants, so they agree on an amount of stuff and then swap it. This can also happen with services, for example a [[plumber]] can fix a tap in a [[winery]] and be given a crate of [[wine]]. Barter and [[money]] have been practiced longer than [[history]] has, so there is little historic evidence of the change. However, the usual idea is that barter came earlier and money arose to solve a problem: One person may not want what the other person has. For instance, Bob needs a new pair of shoes and John has those shoes. But Bob has eggs and John needs milk. This is where money becomes useful because anything can be traded for a set amount of money. Bob could pay John for the shoes and John could go to the store and buy some milk. == References == <references/> {{stub}} [[Category:Commerce]] [[Category:Money]] [[Category:Simple living]]