One of the things I mentioned above was the idea of bartering services and more. It is hard to get a good estimate of how many x-dubs there are online that hang out at ex-dub sites but I've seen estimates range from a low of 5,000 to over 20,000. Regardless, in this growing community of people, there is a diversity of resources, knowledge and potential for economic benefits.
I'm already working out economic exchanges with several online friends and I'm thinking that lots of us may benefit from the same opportunity. To that end, I wanted to see what kind of interest there is in establishing a bartering exchange for all of us.
Bartering is of course trading something in exchange for something else without money being involved. There are several extensive worldwide networks already established that I encourage anyone to take a look at and use if they want. I think we can also do trades and exchanges in our own circle of friends and contacts.
If you like the idea, you may enjoy reading through just a few of the several websites dedicated to bartering:
. http://www.barternet.net/what.html
. http://www.pioneerthinking.com/barter.html
. http://www.ncbarter.com/home.html
You can find everything here from exchanging vacation homes to trading your services and skills for something else. In the past I've done things like install security systems in houses for getting to use their time-share condo for a week, to setting up offshore and tax free corporations in exchange for other services.
Currently, one of my occupations is professional book buying for major book wholesale companies. This means I know how to buy new books much cheaper than consumers can even get used books for. In the past, I've helped my friends buy new college textbooks for half price, savings them several hundred dollars a semester and have inside connections with the publishing industry to get books published, etc. If you wanted to get your book published as a regular paperback (the same as you see at any bookstore) and say sell it on the Internet, I can show you how you can save lots of money by doing everything yourself and spending only a few hundred dollars to get published and then make your books on demand for a few dollars each. I have helped a few people in doing this, and they make several thousand dollars a year from web based sales of their book. As with anything though, if your book is a stinker...you are not going to make that much money but at least you wouldn't be out the typical rates of $4,000-$16,000 charged by vanity press publishers.
I can also setup offshore foundations and corporations for individuals and within a few months, get them a line of credit to do business with. If you wanted to immediately qualify say for $100,000 in personal credit from American Express through this business, I can arrange for that as well. I also can arrange for getting you second passports (these are completely legal and are issued by governments) which have considerable economic advantages in making you a tax free individual along with several other benefits.
In addition to this, I can show you how to make yourself completely judgement proof, which protects you from any lawsuits resulting from accidents, business, or divorces, etc.
So, what do you have to trade?
Skipper
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings." - William Shakespeare