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SimplyBRG
04-27-2009, 04:49 PM
Dibspace is a new bartering website that I join a few weeks ago. They use dibbits as an online currency that allows members to trade services or products. So instead of being paid money, you are paid in dibbits that you can then use to buy other services or products. I think this is a great way to get more business and supplement your income in this tough economy.

They started in Seattle but they have now branched out accross the US. There is no fee to join.

vangogh
04-28-2009, 12:35 AM
Interesting idea. We've talked here before about bartering (maybe it was on the old forum). I've usually not been a fan of bartering, but I think a site like Dibspace could help with some my objections. When it's come up in the past I never felt the trade was fair. Most people would offer me what would be $100 of their services for several thousand dollars of mine.

This sounds like a way to make the trade more equitable through the use of an imaginary currency. I can even think how if your good at negotiating you could bend the system toward getting the better of most trades.

Another of my objections is that with bartering you don't often get something you really want in return. I once had a woman offer to trade drum lessons for my services. Nothing against drumming, but it's not something I would go out and pay for so no matter how equitable the exchange might be value wise it would still be me giving away services for free since I wasn't getting anything I wanted in return.

By setting up a site with the intermediate currency you can easily overcome the not getting something you really want since the barter now goes beyond two parties.

Feel free to post a link to the site if you want.

nighthawk
04-28-2009, 11:23 AM
By setting up a site with the intermediate currency you can easily overcome the not getting something you really want since the barter now goes beyond two parties.


I think thats the key to success in this idea - with bartering you are relying on two people meeting who both require each others services, and both value them equally. With this system you dont need to worry about that, additionally by making it easier to find people requiring your service, supply/demand kicks in and helps inflate the value of your trade (or not as the case me be).

SimplyBRG
04-28-2009, 11:53 AM
https://dibspace.com/

The site also tracks your trades and gives you a statement at the end of the year for tax purposes.

It is also good marketing for your business. I have had two people sign up at SimplyBRG.com from that site without bartering anything with them. They just saw my ad and joined my site.

KristineS
04-28-2009, 12:43 PM
Hmm, that's kind of a cool idea. It will be interesting to see what happens with this site. I can see some uses for it, but I guess the real test will come when it expands beyond one area.

One thing I do have to wonder is how they'll enforce their transactions. Right now it appears they just reimburse whomever complains and move on. That might be workable on a small scale, but I'm not so sure it will work on a larger scale.

SimplyBRG
04-28-2009, 03:48 PM
I am also a bit concerned about security or the site. It is a little strange working with dibbits instead of dollars. Someone could hack the site and give themselve $1M dibbits. Or the someone from the inside could cheat the system. They are playing the roll of the store front and the banker and I don't know if that bank is very secure. But for now, on a small scale it is fun to use.