Euros discarded as impoverished Greeks resort to bartering

[Scythe13]

I get what you're saying CF. Having done sales as my main jobs, I love bartering, and will push people well and negotiate well. The problem with that, it allows bidding wars and the price people get for their products goes right down. Benefit to me, but not to the person I'm buying from. I'll also sell as high as possible, because that's what get's more profit. Really, unless people have the nerve to stand out a deal, bartering can be as ruthless, if not more ruthless, than the system we have now.

Why do some market stalls last many years, some become supermarkets, some get crushed by opposition selling the same products? Simple economics. It's the same system that we're in now. If you want something cheap, go to the supermarkets and purchase at the end of the day. Why doesn't everyone do that? Because as a nation/species, we're idiots.

We shop at Tesco, Morrisons, and the alike. They don't have the best prices, but people pay extra because of the 'benefits' of buying from a supermarket. Well, that's totally BS!!! We do it because we're lazy and dumb, as a nation. It's cheaper to grow your own carrots, peas, potatoes, etc. But we prefer others to do the work for us.

Does a barter market guarantee a better product at a better price? Only if you can shaft the person selling the item to you and get the best price from them!

Bartering is ruthless and it's a skill in it's own.