Being raised in the South Texas Region one of the first and foremost skills that are taught to the young is getting the most out of your money or talents.

These are life learning lessons that teach the value of the dollars you have or the skills that you have learned along the path way to being a successful negotiator.

Being successful at negotiating means getting what you are after, whether that is food for the family or clothes or trees and/or other plants to improve your yard or to increase your Bonsai tables.

Another aspect that is taught is the Barter System.

Bartering is the exchange of your talents or skills for items of equal worth.

The first Question asked is what is it worth?

The traders (both Parties) have a idea on the worth of what they feel the item in question is worth to them and that starts the ground work for the negotiating.

For this Article I will use fictitious names of traders.

Trader #1 Queen Mary

Trader #2 LonelyBonsaist

Trader #3 Ficusisms

Trader #4 Yewless

Trader #5 Clayplayer

Trader #6 Potter

Now the lesson in trading/bartering begins….

#1 Trader Queen Mary has a ficus that she is not in love with and wishes to exchange this item with something else she wants, she exchanges the worth that was set at $25.00 (factual) in exchange for the item(s) that she wants.

She contacts other traders to find items she may be interested in.

She finds a trader willing to make an exchange of pots for the ficus.

#5 Trader Clayplayer and #1 Trader Queen Mary reach an agreed upon value and the exchange is made to the mutual agreement of both Traders.

What is learned in this action is the value of worth. What each felt the exchanged items were worth to themselves and to another.

The next lesson is the bartering of skills that you have developed over your lifetime of learning.

#1 Trader Queen Mary has spent many years working with Judges and Lawyers and has developed the skill of building reputations of clients to better reflect the core of the individuals, to bring to the surface outstanding aspects of themselves to show a Public persona that will be better received by the general public.

#1 Trader Queen Mary is willing to exchange her skills to another Trader to in exchange for future discounts in products.

#1 Trader Queen Mary contacts #4 Trader Yewless in regards to a skill that she has noticed in #5 Trader Clayplayer.

The skill that #1 Trader Queen Mary sees is in the details of a (to her) porcelain Bonsai Pot, that is small and delicate appearing but has a durability in what it can be used for.

The skill that #4 Trader, Yewless has is in marketing and selling a product.

#1 Trader, Queen Mary connects the other 2 Traders to work out an exchange of skills to the mutual benefits of all 3 Traders.

What is learned in this action is the skills acquired and exchanged.

The next lesson is on an even exchange of bartering.

#1 Trader Queen Mary has some old Bonsai Magazines and she contacts other Traders to find one that has something she may want.

#1 Trader Queen Mary has found #6 Trader Potter who has a product they have that she is interested in.

The items are agreed to and an even exchange is made.

What is learned in this action is to exchange items of less value to yourself for the benefit of receiving an item you do enjoy, to the mutual benefit of both Traders.

The Value of Time

Time is a most precious commodity and the exchange of time can be valued from cheap to expensive when exchanging or bartering it.

A 4- 8 hours drive to some would be out of the question on placing a value in exchanging of items.

For this lesson it places at issue the cost of the time involved.

#1 Trader Queen Mary needs some stock trees.

There are 2 Traders that have the stock she wants but both involve a long drive.

#1 Trader Queen Mary must weigh the cost of each place and factor in the monetary aspects of the trip in terms of actual cash being expended as well as the time for the driving and the expected products to be acquired.

#1 Trader Queen Mary decides that the trip is well worth the time involved and will enjoy the countryside and all the different species she will encounter. She marks the route with plenty of places to visit along the way and plans on which places she will look over for new stock on another planned future trip.

For this trip #1 Queen Mary is going to spend a day with a friend who has some fantastic tropicals as well as visit a new nursery which has plenty of Natives that she has been wanting.

#1 Queen Mary goes to see what #3 Trader Ficusisms has.

Many plants that she sees and places in a pile for negotiations at the end of the tour of this jungle…A few she knows will require some serious skills to acquire them from #3Trader Ficusisms.

The Negotiations for the stock was completed and #1 Trader Queen Mary was happy. The hubby and #3Trader Ficusisms both had looks on their faces that I will leave unsaid….

You really did not think I would give away my secrets did you?