One advantage of BarterQuest is that the site supports searching for trades both internationally and locally. How local should your search be? As with many things in life, there is often a trade-off  (no pun intended).

There are obviously certain situations which compel you to find a trading partner who lives around the corner. The item may be large (a piano comes to mind) and local pick-up is the only practical alternative or delivery costs to more distant locations would be significant, or the service requires someone to be physically present (acupuncture anyone?). But in many other cases whether your trading partner is your neighbor or further away is largely a matter of personal preference.

So why state the obvious? Because certain barter sites are limited to local alternatives and some users have been trained to assume that local is better. Community is good and there can be a natural comfort level in dealing with another person who lives nearby. But that comfort can be illusory and may come with a price. Stated simply, barter is a more efficient way to get what you want when there are more trading alternatives. The more alternatives there are, the more likely you will get the “best” trade, the one that will be the most responsive to your trading criteria and will provide you with the greatest value. That is why BarterQuest supports the exchange of all types of goods, services, and real estate: to open up the possibilities. And that is why you shouldn’t hesitate to caste your geographical net as widely as your comfort zone allows. As a result, your possibilities could essentially become endless.

Besides, it can be pretty cool (excuse the terminology; I am not that young) to trade with people from around the world. Maybe you can barter for the use of their house or apartment. At the very least, you can begin a dialogue with someone who lives in a different culture and may value things quite differently than you do…this could lead to very interesting and wholly unexpected trading opportunities.

My conclusion? Trade locally if you must as the result of factors related to delivery or if you want to maximize your sense of community. Trade without geography as an important limiting factor if you want to increase your trading alternatives and optimize the quality of your trades.