Barter Is Better, part one: Round Robins

"What's in the box?" asks the postman, "It smells wonderful!"

This particular Round Robin box is filled with herbs and spices. Some of them are familiar, some intriguingly exotic. Since I saw the box last, it has traveled several thousand miles.

A Round Robin is a delightful form of barter. Like other forms of swapping and non-monetary exchange, a Round Robin gives you a chance to share your "extras" in trade for what someone else wants to give away.

But a Round Robin is not really a straightforward swap. It has an element of surprise and delight that is more like an exchange of gifts.

Bundles of cinnamon sticks, heirloom vegetable seeds, cookbooks, rosemary from a faraway garden, teas from all over the world...these are just a few of the things I've gotten from Round Robins. In return, I've had a reason to collect a few extra seeds, harvest a bit extra from the herb garden, which will be valuable trade items when the boxes come round again. I love collecting these "extras", knowing that I will get to share them with my delighted faraway friends.

How does a Round Robin work? Basically it is a box which gets mailed to a short list of participants. Each person takes what they want from the box, and contributes what they have to share before mailing it to the next person on the list. The cost is no more than postage, which can be quite cheap if you ship overland instead of airmail.

Is there a downside? My friend, writer Melana Hiatt, might chuckle at that question (she runs over twenty Round Robins!). We've both had boxes that got lost in postal limbo. Or never got mailed on to the next person. Or arrived in poor condition, contents scattered and broken. But this is rare, and there are ways to help ensure that your Round Robin is a pleasure for everyone involved.

Below are some suggestions for starting and managing a Round Robin exchange, based on personal experience. Many thanks to Melana for her inspiration and advice!

Starting A Round Robin Exchange

1. Decide on a theme for your box, something you are interested in and eager to share materials for. Gardening, for example. Now choose the kind of items within that theme which you would like to exchange. You could keep it general ("seeds") or make it specific ("heirloom vegetable seeds").

2. Now you need to invite people to participate. It's a good idea to keep each Round Robin to no more than six or seven people (including yourself). These could be friends and family members who share an interest in the topic you have chosen. Or, if you belong to an email group devoted to that topic, you could post an invitation there (Warning: you may find yourself with more hopeful participants than you are able or willing to create boxes for. If this happens, ask if any of them would like to host a box). Ask each participant to contact you privately with his or her mailing address and email address.

Go To Page: 1 2