Highland Hill Farm Po. Box 517 Fountainville, PA 18923 215-345-0946

In the cold months of January when sales are slow at our nursery I always seem to drift back to the days when I first started to farm and buy properties. I never had enough cash for purchases. Luckly I was never alone. There are always people that had a shortage of cash. I realized that barter is a way to overcome cash shortages. I thought how would one live without cash? How would one deal and buy items if everyone was in the same boat? It came to me BARTER!!!

Next, I went about advertising for trades and barter and that I would exchange labor for needed items. I hen put out classified newspaper adds and posters in shopping malls. To my supprise there were plenty of trades to be made. Not many people take the time to advertise their wants. Maybe they fell it is like begging. To bad for them. But most people will respond to a barter offer if they have an immediate need for the item being offered.

We are always looking to trade nursery stock and seedlings for your surplus. Email us with your surplus materials. My email address is admin@zone5trees.c0m We may be able to make trades.

I once put an add in the paper that said, "If it free its for me". I had to stop the add because I collected so much stuff. Adds do work. The problem with this add was it was not specific enough to target what I was looking for. Over time and years I then started to swap and barter the free stuff that I got for things I really wanted. I had hundreds of broken lawn mowers and hundreds of gallons of old unwanted paint. I had enough paint to dip a house if needed. Disposal now became an issue. Thus I came up with the idea of trading and barter.

Now I did not invent this wheel but I had enough of them that it appeared I might have. So barter has become a means of swapping and exchanging my surpluses for other peoples surpluses. Since I am in the nursery bussiness I also have plants that are surplus. I may plant 1000 trees expecting to need 1000 and find that I have 500 more than what I need. So offering these trees on the web for Barter has an effective means to move dormant inventory. Besides this is a great way to meet new customers. When they have surpluses and I can move their dormant stock, we both win. Here is a sample add that I run on my web site seedlingsrus.com :

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Trades Wanted

We are always looking to trade nursery stock and seedlings for your surplus. Email us with your surplus materials. We may be able to make trades.

Construction materials and equiptment Plumbing supplies Hunting and fishing gear and items Hand tools Farm implements Farm supplies Fencing materials Palletizied stone Household items Livestock

Sometimes people take me up on my offers to trade trees and shrubs for their products. One such person is Ralph. Ralph has a farm in Ohio and raises a variety of farm animals and draft horses. He asked if I would be interested in trading trees and plants for his pigs, a Boarder Collie puppy, or his sheep. Not baaaad I thought. Never really trusting myself with sheep, I opted for the puppy and some piglets. Here is what Ralph said after our trade.....

Bill and Marjorie,

Thank you for a great time, the landscape stuff, some great conversation and for having faith in 2 people that you've never met. Your boys are real gentlemen and good guys to be around. You must be proud. Your operation is top shelf. Thank you for taking me up on my proposal and our barter deal, you were more than fair.

We wish you continued success in all your endeavors.. you are honest gutsy people... I like that! Thank you for letting us get to know you. Stay in touch. Thanks again for everything,

Ralph & Connie

Ps Check out my "Reflections" at the following website Click Here

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As you can see I identify what I want to trade for and ask for items that fit into our operations. I like to include a testimonial as it gives a link that can be verified as to the realness of my trading. I also have a newsletter that I post to my email letter so each month I can tell people what I just traded for. Here is part of my most recent email newsletter:

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During this month of January we are offering a 10% discount on our gift cards and coupons. We help make your gift bigger. Don't forget that we will also trade for your surplus inventory,building materials, sports equipment, plumbing and ag equipment. We need all kinds of materials on our farms and ranches. You can't insult me with your offers, so go ahead...call us.....This is how we just got our dog Sweep...a Boarder Collie.....2 pigs....boxes of old tools......a John Deer riding tractor......a bunch of used but in new condition windows and doors....a couple of buckets of nuts, bolts, and nails (some bent but that's ok) and a even a hind quarter of a fresh road kill deer!!

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This awakens people to the fact that I mean it, I want to trade..... Please see my web site for further interests http://www.seedlingsrus.com or http://highlandhillfarm.com

About the author:

Bill explains why he likes to trade and barter. Bill has aquired 23 farms and ranches and is in the nursery trade and a grower of trees,plants and shrubs. He has a number of web sites such as http://www.seedlingsrus.com http://www.highlandhillfarm.com and http://www.huntingrelics.com Bill's home farm is in Doylestown, Pa northeast of Phila. Pa. His tele # is 215 651 8329