How LETS Facilitates Trading at Garage/Yard Sales

By Tom J. Kennedy (Ottawa LETS Member No. 17)

The Ottawa LETS community is a growing network of people who display integrity and honour in the action of exchanging goods and/or services. Members of the Ottawa LETS community assemble in local community centres and/or other locations where the public can have ease of access. The Ottawa LETS community invites the public-at-large to visit their Trade Fairs and engage in trading with "eco$." Trades and be made with exclusively with eco$ or with a combination of "eco$" and "federal$."

Eco$ is the name of the "community currency" which is traded by Ottawa LETS' members. An "eco$" is an "interest-free" currency equivalent in value to a regular "federal$" which is an "interest-bearing" currency. The "eco$" is likely to be accepted only by people who are listed on the Ottawa LETS database. Currently, exchanges at these Trade Fairs are negotiated and then the buyer records the trade on a paper kept at the table of the vendor.

At the end of the Trade Fair the system operator (sysop) for the Ottawa LETS records these trades by transferring them to the accounts of respective members by using the LETS software. Every two months the members of the Ottawa LETS receive a Statement (similar to the bank statement you receive for your federal$) of their LETS account showing an opening and closing balance and a listing of each transaction as a credit or a debit.

Any member of any local community could likewise become a member of the Ottawa LETS. The cost to join the Ottawa LETS is 10 (federal$) + 5 (eco$). As a new member you are granted a free listing in the Ottawa LETS Directory of any goods and/or services that you have to "offer" as well as any that you might "want."

Being a member of the Ottawa LETS would facilitate trading of items which you have for display at any yard/garage sale. Members of the Ottawa LETS would be invited to such yard/garage sales and you could likewise be invited to be a vendor at their future Trade Fairs. By agreeing to become a member of the Ottawa LETS and completing the application form you are immedaitely qualified to engage in trading. Therefore, you could make a trade with someone who may want your item BUT they may not have the federal$ to purchase your item.

Such a trade is simply recorded on a paper called a "Low-Tech Trading Form" and then transferred to your Ottawa LETS account to show on your next Statement. To learn more about the growth of the LETS concept both locally and globally you are invited to visit these URL's:
www.cyberclass.net/bartable.htm    and  www.cyberclass.net/lets.htm

To learn more about the Ottawa LETS visit this URL: www.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca/lets

Why not join the Ottawa LETS today and increase your chances of selling your items? Keep in mind that you can bring any unsold items for display at future Ottawa LETS' Trade Fairs. For more details contact:

Tom J. Kennedy, P.O. Box 9333, Ottawa, Ontario  K1G 3V1
Tel: 1.613.746.9702   Fax: 1.613.747.6666  Email: tom@cyberclass.net  Website: www.cyberclass.net