I did one time years ago and ended up with a Dresser TD8 dozer. I ended up doing some small repairs on it and turning it for my money +. I'm currently doing some A/C work for my neighbor who has a small construction company...........but he also is a rancher. I was thinking about doing a partial trade out for a cow..............yes, I said a COW. It would be strictly for butchering and the wife seems ok with it as long as she never "meets/meats" the cow.
Good Idea.
Call me what you like but she'd be meeting the cow or one like it. On night at the supper table we where eating away and mom says that Currly tasted pretty good my sister was pretty buddy's with curtly the bull. Needless to say 3 of use are died of laughter and sis was flying off the handle.
You don't want a cow unless you want to turn it all into hamburger. And thats a lot of hamburger. Also, check with the local processor you plan to use to both check out the schedule and cost. A whole beef is to much meat for anything less than a family of 15. It will get old long before it gets eaten, and do you have two freezers to use to store all your beef?
I'm doing it now at the quarry. What's the point of him writing me a check for my work and then me giving him the money back for rock I need.
I traded a nice size project for a local landowner/developer that also owns a flooring and furniture store. When the wife and I build our new house we pretty much have all the hardwoods and tile paid for. Wife is hoping some of the credit is left over for furniture.. Friend of mine raises grass fed cattle and we ordered a 1/4 cow several years ago. Wife and I didn't care for the gameyness of the steaks but the hamburger was fantastic.
In years past I had to do that to get paid once in awhile. One customer owed me and had a burned out excavator. I got some components from the excavator for what was owed and rebuild and sold them for a decent profit. When I was starting out I would at times trade overtime for tools that I needed. You do need to be careful about trading though. I have dealt with people that seem to think later on that you still owe them, for the rest of their life.
I knew one guy who would trade work like this, but he wanted you to give him "a deal" on the underlying assumed rate and then he would also assume "a deal" on his rate and then the two would offset. He was very honest and trustworthy but I would say "unclear on the concept". The deal/deal thing just made figuring the value of the trade unnecessarily complicated.
Years ago I used to repair a local farmer's equipment and in exchange he kept my freezer full of beef and pork.
The barter system is my jam. ... things I’ve gotten in trade for work: 7.3 f250 ‘71 chevelle Bobcat t180 Mountain bike 5.9 Dodge Ram 35 series mini excavator I’m usually cash poor... but I got the skills to haggle for stuff. Works out great... I’m working part time for now until the kids are older so I knock out side projects for random stuff I need
I don't want to talk about it.
The best part is it keeps the government out of your pocket. Traded trucking for over 100 loads of black dirt, not by choice it was the only way to get paid.
Now you got to, you know how us inquiring minds are! I trade a lot of work for all kinds of stuff, works out great. A farmer friend of mine makes excellent summer sausage and brats and pepperoni, he keeps me stalked up and I jump when he calls, same with my neighbor who is great at catching salmon and smoking it!
I installed a ceder shake roof on a friends house years ago. He paid me cash and all the pork I wanted from his home grown supply. Him and his boys had a herd of purebred Durocs. 4H and FFA projects.
Me neither.
The company I'm at used to take land for payment. They have property all over the place. Worked with a fella who was a brick layer. Did a chimney and some work on a fella's house years ago, and the guy gave him a bunch of waterfront. It wasn't worth much then, but in the last few years, he has sold it for $80,000 for 1 acre building lots. Said he sold all 12 lots. Took a while, but that's a good payday for some brick work.
I traded fixing this chick's car Oh wait no I didn't
Cow is good. More cow is better. I like cow. I wish I had a trade option for beef ....
I'd trade moving dirt for land depending on the circumstances.
One of the key materials here for building is sandstone. Our asphalt plant has a sandstone pit, but it is really coarse. Ok for fill, but every year they bring the jaw crusher in, probably doing it now actually, and put up a pile for the summer. The lower end of the property, can't be accessed from the plant yard, but it has nice fine sandstone. Problem is that it is in a residential area. We sneak some material out every now and then, but then the neighbors complain. They are always on the look out for property with clean sandstone so it doesn't always have to come from the plant. Digging out of the pit is cheaper than the crushed stuff. Some of the land they were traded years ago were used for gravel, but most gravel is crushed on government owned land now. Our quarry is on a 99 year lease, and I think one of the larger gravel pits is on crown land as well. I used to put the neighbors winter wood in for ice cream when I was a kid.
I don't have the resources or equipment or expertise a lot of you guys have but I've certainly traded more than made money, often times getting a crappy end of the deal, even though I've been happy with it. I need to figure out how to trade for some trucks or cows like vetech or 673moto! I've traded work at the neighbors for essentially as many fresh eggs as we can eat for a bunch of landscaping work (this was a good deal), I've also got a few nice chunks of Cherry wood from them as well (and money). I've traded use of my land for essentially free honey forever (he's said he's going to give me a 5 gallon bucket! but I haven't seen it yet). I've traded various couple hour jobs for big rocks and logs of different varieties (this is the one I kind of feel hosed on, most people are happy to get rid of logs, maybe not so much rocks but logs are basically free), but I've always agreed to those options. I think trading is cool. I'd love to trade for land, that sounds incredible!
I don't know. We buy 1/2 beef & a pig at a time, split them with my son. It works well for us.
Barter card was a thing years ago. No money transactions, just traded accumulated points. At the time before puters it kept big brothers eyes off you.
We ate an entire 1300lb cow in 5 months. Me, my wife and 4 teenage boys. My dad is a retired butcher so we do all that ourselves. It takes between 3 and 4lbs of burger to make tacos or hamburger helper or spaghetti depending on how many of the boys are home that night
I have 4 different scrap yards as customers... I am always bartering lol. Got a complete IMT 8k boom with hydraulic outriggers, 2006 F550 lube truck with a bad 6.0, new engine for said 6.0, fork lift, all the steel a person could ever use the list goes on and on. The other thing is that scrap yards are always breaking stuff. Bet I am at at least 1 yard a week lol
A half beef split with someone else is much more reasonable size. There are cows, and there are steers. Around here, people have cows butchered for hamburger when the cow goes lame, or has other problems. Cows are old, and aren't fit for steaks. Steers (and the occasional heifer) are much younger and make good steaks.
Worst beef I ever was a first calf heifer My grandfather was a butcher, dad worked several years for a butcher after grandfather died. He looked at her, thought she'd be fine beef. Couldn't cut it with an axe. I have had several beef critters raised by people who know what their doing, they've been excellent! Dairy cows are different animals from beef.
Once cards (same as IOU's or notes) are used, it is taxable and quite possibly a federal offense for counterfeiting.
I believe he is south of the border. Quite a way south actually. Rules may be different there. Of course the modern equivalent of that all is ******* or some equivalent.
I trade my skills with other craftsmen. I have accumulated a few points with plumbers for our new home build.
As a teenager,I backfilled a hollow in a farmers field with a D6.My father ended up with 2 cows……… Those 2 cows turned into over 100 head of Aberdeen Angus beef in a few years as he seemed to develope an urge to become a farmer! They were a total pain in the arse. Some years later,I fell into the same trap with a little D8 job and ended up with 7 bullocks.They were a pain in the arse too. Never again. I also agree with John C comments. People seem to think you still owe them,so I do absolutely no trading whatsoever.
The local "farm store" had evolved from a day when nearly everything came to town by rail. By the fourth generation of one family's ownership it had changed a lot! the then owner wanted to barter for everything. He was not one to place a value on an item, he'd say: "Just take it, we'll figure it out later." I did NOT like that! Eventually he closed the place. He advertised 50% off. My son & I went in, filled a large tote. The owner said he was too busy to price everything right then, we left him with a list. Getting home, I instructed my son to leave the tote full, do not use anything. I reminded the store owner several times over the next few weeks I still had a tote full of tools & hardware I was waiting for a price. He finally did. Boxes of deck screws I had been paying $22. for were $24 after 50% off, chain binders I had bought for $40 were $50 at 50% off. A carbide rotary hammer bit was $240 at 50% off. Somehow, 50% off was a bit more than full price. I returned the whole tote full. There had been used tools, I really wanted, but he wouldn't name a price, wouldn't accept offers. He'd say: "Just take it, I'll want something sometime."
You know George too!
George, Ted, Bill, Tom, Mike and on and on.
Ya'll need to vet your trading partners better..
Willie, I was going to say I understand why he went out of business, until you mentioned his higher 50% off prices. Hilarious.
Crummy said "You know George too! " If any of you ever saw that cartoon show about the propane guy in Texas, I'd swear I knew every damn one of the characters at one time or another. Joe H
King of The Hill.
One of the best shows! I used to work with several people that would have very closely qualified for a live action movie.
Just now while I was checking out this thread a neighbor and his wife pulled down the driveway to deliver 4 thirty packs of Old Milwaukee, my grog of choice these days,It is the beer that made Milwaukee famous I did some work for cheap on both their vehicles and helped him butcher and cut up a downed dairy cow for burger for a local farmer (he's a butcher by trade). When I retired I informed every one that I would no longer be accepting 30 packs for work anymore and cash will be appreciated, but extra beer is always a bonus
I traded some electrical repairs on the meat grinder for steak from our local butcher. Good deal for me. He always picks out the best steaks for me even though I haven’t fixed anything for him since he got a new grinder. Cam