Barter Shelf Log

November 18, 2011 ~  Empty Civil Life Growler To Kevin K. on Jan. 19th for 6 pack of home brew “Catcher in the Rye.”  It was Kevin’s first all grain batch.  We consumed the bottles and re-started the bartering.

November 19, 2011 ~ Empty Civil Life Growler to Jeff S. on November 26 for The Ultimate Water Blaster!  COME ON DOWN IF YOU NEED AN ULTIMATE WATER BLASTER!  GREAT FOR CLEANING OUT GUTTERS! 

January 22, 2012 ~ In a much needed trade.  Lisa, a Civil Life regular, came through with a French Press for the ULTIMATE WATER BLASTER!  The contemporary design and color choice provides serving with fashion. It says so right there on the box!  We have high hopes for our next barter!  Surely there is someone with a used DeLorean that needs a fashionable coffee press.

April 15, 2012 (or somewhere close) ~ Kevin, you may recognize him from our first barter.  Came in on a Friday night with a nice phone combination worth 80 to 90 dollars (estimated). This was a perplexing decision for us because we have no phone number.  So now we were in the crossroads of owning a phone and no actual phone number.  This would be confusing to customers.  So many people ask, “Why don’t you have a phone?”  To which, I normally reply, “We actually can’t afford a phone number.”  Really astute business minded individuals often tell me that well if I had a phone, I could get more business and that not having a phone and not taking credit cards is actually hurting me.  They could be right, but actually they aren’t.  Having a phone is expensive and the way information moves now is much differently than it did just 5 years ago and many many people are ditching their home phone lines.  I also save myself and my staff from many unsolicited phone calls from sales staff trying to sell us so many things we know we don’t need.  Thus lies the dilemma of accepting the phone in a barter.  But we did it because it was a monetary increase in value and we waited.

May 18, 2012 (or thereabouts) ~ FOR THIS! Amanda is a great regular here at ye ole pub.  She actually had no use for a phone of this nature (no home phone) but she did have something she no longer needed. As we have seen, bartering hasn’t been the windfall or flurry of activity but slowly we are getting somewhere with it. Observe Amanda having a chat on the phone (which isn’t connected. Read above).  Quite the actress!  Amanda had in her possession a food torch used for creme brûlée from a fancy place by the name of William Sonoma.  It also comes with 4 ramekins.  Which is now property of the Civil Life barter shelf.  Stay tuned! 

So come on down, bring something you think we will want and help us  finally get something we can use!

UPDATE: Our barter shelf is on a bit of a vacation.  We are repositioning it in the pub so that we can improve the chances that our bartering really begins to take off.  We had hoped a flurry of activity in our bartering program but currently are getting a bit more of a trickle.  I suppose maybe that is why bartering mostly went away when printed coins and cash were readily available.  Have no fear.  We will not give up.  

But in the mean time if you need a creme brûlée torch, we definitely have one for you.
Cheers,
Jake

UPDATE AGAIN! December 2013 - Matt traded for the creme brûlée torch!  We now have an individual serve coffee maker which surely will go fast.