Am I the only person that is sick and tired of people trying to trade pot in the barter section of craigslist.org?  Come on people!  In my area it feels like 10 to 20% of all posts in the barter category are folks that are either looking to score some weed or looking to sell it.  Of course they usually use colloquialisms to refer to it.  They call it “215″ or “420.”  Listen pot-heads:  Even in the liberal state of California it’s illegal to sell pot.  And bartering is selling.  Just ask the IRS.  Please get a life and stop cluttering up all the good barter listings on craigslist.

Speaking of which, I spotted this listing on craigslist last week in the barter category:

I wish this was the first time I’ve heard this story…but it’s not.  Please accept this story as a warning of all the things a barter exchange should NOT do. In case you are not familiar with what a “barter exchange” is please check it out here.

I just got off the phone with a former member of an exchange I’m in.  I say former because he tells me that he told the exchange that he was closing his account over 6 months ago.  The reason I was calling him was because the exchange had recently sold me a gift certificate for his services (that he will not be honoring).

Mistake #1
The vendor says that he was led to believe that there were many members in his immediate area when in fact there were not.  I’m a firm believer that a member’s success (or lack there of) is directly related to the volume of members in their geographical area.  If you are recruiting a member that isn’t in an area with a lot of other members you have to be up front about that.

Mistake #2
The vendor says that the exchange does not police member pricing.   Over pricing is a major industry problem and I don’t see it going away any time soon.  I think the solution is for exchanges to police pricing and kick out gouging members, but honestly I don’t think most exchanges have enough staff to stay on top of this.  What I told this particular person was that if his exchange won’t watch out for over-pricing then he’d have to do it himself.

Mistake #3
The vendor says he was given poor customer service in general by the exchange.  He says they didn’t do any training with him and weren’t particularly helpful when he ran into problems.  From his point of view the only time they ever called him was after he decided to sever the relationship and even then it was just to harass him for monthly fees.

Please note that what I’m telling you is all from this former member’s point of view.  The conversation I had with him was lucid and cordial and I tend to believe what he said.  That being said I’m quite sure that his former exchange would have a different take on the events.

Every likes to be liked but when it comes to barter there is extra incentive to be lovable.  As we’ve discussed in the past, everyone has a limit as to how much barter they should engage in.  That’s even true for us barter fanatics.  What I’ve learned however is that when folks have to cut back on barter, they will often times still trade with their “favorites.”  So my advice for you is to be one of those favorites.

Contrary to what you may think, being a “best customer” does NOT mean spending the most money with that vendor.  Usually it simply means that you have a relationship beyond a financial transaction.  It’s as easy as asking how somebody’s kids are doing.  Being a best customer means showing up for appointments.  It means not grinding vendors on price.  It means valuing and following the advice of consultants that you hire.  It means being flexible about the product/service you are interested in.  It means understanding that your deals need to be advantageous to both parties.

Of course it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to live your life like this every day, however, as I mentioned earlier, there are extra perks in the barter world for being a favorite customer.