OK…what I really want to know here is who told A&E about my idea??!!!
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Exclusive-Orders-Barter-Kings-1044955.aspx
Seriously though…a friend and I came up with a similar idea about 6 weeks ago. There is a difference between our ideas though. Based on the article above it sounds like they are going to try to do the whole “trade a paperclip up to a house” type thing. I understand why they are taking that route. It’s a popular story that people love. I wouldn’t do it that way though because that doesn’t reflect the real barter sub-culture. Real traders aren’t going to limit their resources and try to trade a single item up as much as they can. Real traders are always bartering everything. I think a better framework for a show would be to show how people live every day with as little cash as possible. I’ve heard of people that depend on barter for 80 or 90% of their income. That’s what I’d be interested in seeing.
BTW…thanks to Paul for the heads up on this one!
Barterfanatic.com 