Without getting too much on my soap-box I have to say that I think it is totally ridiculous that many/most barter exchanges have rules against trading for firearms.  The best I can tell these rules are based on either a bias against the second amendment, or fear based on ignorance of the law.   Seeing that it seems unlikely that the barter exchanges will see the light any time soon all the firearms I’ve bartered for have been direct trades.

Here’s how it’s done:
As with all direct trades the first step is to find a willing trade partner.  In my case, I have a well established web development company.  Seeing that most gun shops need a website, all I had to do was contact enough gun shops offering a trade and eventually I’d find someone who wanted to barter with me.  Once I found a few trade partners, I wrote up contracts to develop websites for them and how much the projects were worth.  The gun shops provided me with a credit in their shop for that amount.  That was all there was to it.  I purchased the firearms exactly the way I would for cash.  I did the background checks and I sat through the “waiting period” and eventually I picked up my shiny new guns.  Perfectly legal.  Perfectly easy.

I haven’t done this, but it’s also easy to trade for firearms from joe-citizen that does not run his/her own gun shop.  In those cases you agree to your trade, then you and your trade partner take the weapon to a federally licensed dealer who conducts the paperwork for you for a small fee.  If barter exchanges were to allow firearms trade, all they would need to do is stipulate that trades aren’t finalized until after the paperwork is completed by a licensed dealer.  Even interstate trades would not be a problem.  Laws about firearms vary from state to state however the dealer will spot any problems along the way so neither the traders or the exchange need to be experts in the industry.

The truth of the matter is that the joke is on the trade exchanges.  They are excluding themselves from profiting from a large group of honorable and perfectly legal transactions.  Maybe I should set up a barter exchange that specializes in firearms trading.  What do you think?

Dear barter exchange Big Wigs-

If you are trying to figure out what your new  smart phone app should do, here it is:

• GPS enabled Restaurant/hotel look-up for barter exchange members
• member search (GPS enabled)
• authorize transactions (with email confirmation)
• wireless transactions between two phones, aka “paperless scrip” (blue-tooth)
• one-touch call or email your broker
• one-touch call the closest broker in your exchange (GPS enabled)
• streamlined posting of  items to the exchange’s on-line store using your camera phone
• one touch scrip purchase to be mailed to my office

Don’t forget that you should build this for Android phones and Iphones.