Okay CC'ers,

I am curious to see if any of you barter your cakes/cookies in exchange for a professional service. At my local hair salon, I now get a haircut and highlights for free all the time , in exchange for doing my hairstylist's 2 children's bday cakes each year - I love it!

I would like to hear of your bartering or discounts, if any!

I have a lady that sells makeup to me and we do this all the time ... nothing wrong with bartering between businesses... it's been done for decades

I trade services with my hairdresser too!!! She cuts my families hair and colors mine (shhh don't tell) and I go to her house once a month and pick up her dog, groom it, and return it to her.


My first cake "sell" I traded a girl her sons b-day cake for a bike for my son. You guessed it her son got a new bike for his b-day.

I haven't done that yet, but certainly wouldn't be against it!

My family decided a few years ago that there would be no more gifts at Christmas. I am the youngest of 3 kids and I'm 30 now, so there's nothing anyone really needs as we all have our own families.

Instead, we exchange "services". My sister is a chef and makes everyone a gorgeous selection of frozen soups to enjoy for the winter, my mother knits us all hats & mits, my brother has an amazing cottage up in Northern Ontario that we each enjoy for a week in the summer, my dad is a wine-maker and gives us bottles and bottles...and I give everyone a gift certificate for 3 birthday cakes or a wedding cake that year. They LOVE to be able to give their friends the wedding cake as their gift!

Wow, the trading cakes for haircuts must be popular, LOL. I do that too. I traded a huge yu-gi-oh cake to my friend in exchange she cuts my families hair. (she is also a good friend) I am in the process of making her a Harley birthday cake for tomorrow (it's her birthday).

I wish I knew other people to trade services with, it works out great!

I do the hair thing too! It usually costs me about $160.00 for my hair and now I just make cakes for her and I get it for free! What a great thing we all have going for us eh!

I love to barter...that's how I got Barbie's hair done at the beautician.

antonia74 -

I think that is a wonderful idea!

Wish I had a regular stylist I could exchange services with!

Wow, I need to jump on the bandwagon here... I just might have to search for some people to trade with!

Dang, I need to approach my hairdresser.

My best cake barter was a huge wedding cake for a man's daugher in exchange for several intense weekends of doing some structural work in our house (opening up a load-bearing wall between the dining and living rooms), constructing a fish room for my 180 gallon saltwater coral tank, and redoing my kitchen cabinets and tile. Tell me who came out ahead in that deal! LOL

Me and my sister do the same thing, I make her birthday cakes, and any other special occasions. And I get free scrapbooking supplies from her! She sells Creative Memories. It is an ongoing deal, this month I didn't have to make my motorcycle payment to her, because I did 2 cakes for her.

I have done this for help at trade shows ( I give cake credit they can use anytime or any type of cake), I also did it to get someone to redo my site for me. My bride actually asked me about it and I had been needing it updated. So yea I am all about that!