RI man starts online bartering web site

LINCOLN, R.I. (WPRI/WNAC) - How would like to have anything you want without spending a dime? It sounds almost too good to be true, but it isn't!

It's called bartering. And, it's simple. If you have something someone else wants, and they have something you want, you simply trade.

Recently a Lincoln company contacted Call 12 for Action and told Susan Hogan about their bartering website, www.barterthing.com.

Here's how it works.
Sign in (by the way it's free).
Set up a profile, and describe things you can barter like, dog sitting services, housecleaning services, piano lessons. Then, describe what you're looking for!

Bob Johnson, one of the creators of barterthing.com says bartering is the oldest form of getting what you want. It's trading a product for a product, a service for a good, you name it!

"We've had members that bartered for jewelry, we have time shares listed, we have a very large database of auto parts and cars. So there's quite a wide range of things that people are bartering for," said Johnson.

Right now there's a member on the website who's offering housekeeping services and she's looking for carpentry services.

According to Johnson, what happens next is, the member who's a carpenter will go out and help her on the project, and she will come to his house and clean.

You can see more of Susan Hogan's full report on Eyewitness News Monday night at 10 p.m. of FOX Providence, and at 11 p.m. on WPRI-12.