I live along coastal Louisiana and earlier this year I did a survey for a client who is retired and lives very comfortable. Several years ago he bought a shrimp boat and now goes shrimping for a hobby. I had heard about him because he gives about 50% if what he catches away to neighbors, friends and family. We never met until he came into my office to discuss his survey.
Right before I was to send him a bill he called and wanted to know if we could barter all or part of the bill. He would supply me shrimp until he could no longer operate his boat. He is in his mid 70's and extremely fit. I agreed to cut the bill roughly in half. Today I get a call from him to come pick up some shrimp from his house but also told me he wouldn't be there.
When I get to his house there is a 80qt. ice chest with my name on it full of fresh caught 21-25 shrimp. It took all I had to lift the chest into the back of my truck. For those who don't know, shrimp are graded by the number of shrimp to a pound, so these would be 21-25 shrimp to the pound which are very large. To make it even better he removed the heads so they are ready to eat or freeze.
Looks like I will destroy some shrimp this long weekend.
That's awesome! I've bartered but never for anything that good! Shrimp Boil at Lamon's!!!!!!!
Many years ago there was a "Wizard of ID" cartoon in which the king asked the painter, "How much to paint the castle?"
The painter replied "100 cases of beer."
The king asked, "You work for beer?"
The painter said, "It saves a lot of trips to the store."
Right after that I did a survey for an lawyer and commented about the cartoon.
He sent me 100 cases of imported beer! (The $2 per bottle stuff.)
I considered his bill paid.
Its not Bubba Gump Shrimp is it?
Nope they are Atchafalaya/Fourleague Bay-Oyster Bayou shrimp. They were swimming yesterday.
A number of years ago, I did some subdivision work for a guy who owned a boat in Alaska. Every so often he still visits my office with a case or two of the best canned salmon I can imagine. Not your store bought stuff. It must be a fisherman thing.
Bartering, eh? It was a long time ago and she was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice to me for quite a spell. She was already being verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice to me, though, so I'm not sure if that really counts.
Holy Cow, post: 374140, member: 50 wrote: Bartering, eh? It was a long time ago and she was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice to me for quite a spell. She was already being verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice to me, though, so I'm not sure if that really counts.
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Still laughing..................................... Thanks for that, Radar.
Lamon Miller, post: 374113, member: 553 wrote: Nope they are Atchafalaya/Fourleague Bay-Oyster Bayou shrimp. They were swimming yesterday.
Fresh, caught today, market shrimp have been great here lately
16-20 ct $3.99/#
Make a nice remoulade using a spicy strong Dijon mustard. Rolands import a good one.
Lamon, my wife says it sounds like time for some of that NOLA barbecued shrimp. Years ago, when I lived just outside Houston, we used to drive down to Kema and get shrimp straight off the boats. $1.00 per pound, unpeeled and ungraded. When you're young and broke that makes for a feast. Enjpy my friend.
Andy
We swapped a large ALTA survey for a proposed auto lot for a Ford Ranger back in 1998. To satisfy income and sales tax laws, we paid full price plus tax for the truck and then they wrote an equivalent check for the survey plus sales tax (Texas being a state where boundary surveys are taxable). I would think that if you are regularly engaged in barter, the feds and/or state taxing entities are going to be interested at some point.
I know a few businesses around here (though not any surveying businesses) that are members of some trade bureaus. Basically, they are groups that accept "credit" in the bureau as payment for their services. The idea being that A member of the group can accept "group credit" for building a fence and then take that credit and get their oil changed at another business in the group. Sales tax still has to be paid and that isn't handled by the group. But I guess many of the members will offer discounted rates for their goods/services within the group. It is a neat ideas. Sort of an interest free credit card. I would imagine that there is a membership fee or some sort of "per transaction" cost. But still a neat idea.
As for the shrimp, If I had that much, I'd definitely be packaging them up in smaller "one meal" freezer bags and storing them. Of course, I would have to keep enough aside for a big shrimp feed for me and my friends! I'm thinking that some should be on skewers over open flame with butter and garlic brushed on while cooking. My gal makes a fantastic pan seared shrimp where she somehow manages to get the spices in the pan to stick right on to those shrimp just right (nice and spicy, just how I like it). And I'd probably have to dig up a nice cocktail sauce recipe so I could just boil some up for dipping into the cocktail sauce (along with my homemade horseradish mustard and probably a carolina-style sauce of vinegar, pepper sauce, and citrus that I found how to make online).
It's only a quarter past nine and I'm craving shrimp!
Most any thing, service and commodity is worth something to somebody.
I've traded surveying for beef, pork, pies, cakes, mechanic work, bicycles, go carts and vacation pleasures.
Make invoices and trade them for invoices so HUD, IRS and whoever can follow the paper trail to be satisfied it was done dollar for dollar.
Follow up with payments from each other to provide that tinder was exchanged for the products.
My kind of payment! With some old bay seasoning, melted butter and cocktail sauce and an ice cold tasty adult beverage to wash em down... heaven. The only way I know to make it better is to wrap em in bacon.
Some years ago I did some work for one of the local wineries. With my wife's approval, instead of money I got a truck bed full of very nice wine. At the time it went for about $60 a bottle. Unfortunately I'm down to a case left but it is probably at the end of it self life anyway.
Cut to the chase. Trade surveying for land.
Andy Nold, post: 374256, member: 7 wrote: We swapped a large ALTA survey for a proposed auto lot for a Ford Ranger back in 1998. To satisfy income and sales tax laws, we paid full price plus tax for the truck and then they wrote an equivalent check for the survey plus sales tax (Texas being a state where boundary surveys are taxable). I would think that if you are regularly engaged in barter, the feds and/or state taxing entities are going to be interested at some point.
"...the feds and/or state taxing entities are going to be interested at some point."
That may be true, but they can't force me to "sell" anything...