From AshevilleLETS
Some questions adapted from a FAQ by Warwick Rowell.
How do I start trading?
LETS works best through your participation. Rather than waiting for someone to contact you about your listings, your LETS will best meet your needs if you use it actively, rather than passively. Contact someone perhaps who is requesting some good or service that you can offer. It may be something that you did not even consider listing in your offers in the trading sheet, something that you never considered before. Whatever it is the person you phone will be glad to make a new LETS contact.
This will give you a taste of trading, and show you how it is done. If that person is interested in your assistance, make sure that you clearly establish exactly how many LETS credits you propose to charge. This may result in some friendly "haggling", but do not proceed until a mutually agreeable "price" has been set. Make sure that both parties to the transaction have the Member Name and amount before completing the check receipt, or calling in the transaction.
How do I benefit?
LETS will have the greatest economic use to you if you look at where you currently spend money. Have you built a personal relationship with the people involved, or is it only a commercial transaction? If you can recruit to the system individuals with whom you normally spend dollars, you will find that being able to buy the same goods and services in part for LETS will have a big effect on increasing your savings and disposable income. For instance, if you can buy local food and groceries for LETS it will have a big impact upon your spending patterns and you may save Dollars.
Try to develop the LETS habit by using LETS first, Dollars second, only if you have to! LETS gives people a chance to meet their neighbors in a new way, enriches your community life and provides you with a community support network of great strength and durability.
How much are LETS credits worth?
Most transactions in LETS are for goods and services that would be called personal arrangements, social arrangements, hobbies or pass-times. For these, people are free to set their own value scale, which can vary wildly between times of the day, depending upon the amount of free-time one has, or the nature of other pressures or demands they may have on their time.
As a result, in LETS, you may find a wider range of pricing than you would in a conventional market system. Prices for such items are negotiated freely between the two people engaging in the transaction, and there is rarely a "set take-it-or-leave-it" price as one finds in a conventional money purchase.
Because people attach their own value to what they charge, many of the inequalities that exist within the normal economy are not found in LETS. The gap in hourly wage rates between professional and laboring work, between the work of men and women, and between tasks that would be normally considered voluntary or unpaid, and those that are paid for, are narrowed or do not exist. Generally, a person's purchasing power in LETS is equal to the purchasing power of anyone else, although the demand for their services may vary widely.
Can I charge part cash?
Yes. If in providing a service you will have to pay Dollars for providing part of what is requested (eg. for paint, gas, your tax (if you are a craftsperson or professional exercising their regular occupation)) you can ask for Dollars to cover this needed component. Make sure that the other person understands why you are charging Dollars, as this helps make sure that they feel what you are charging is fair.
Do I need credits to start buying?
No. You do not have to be in credit before making your first buying transaction. In this way your LETS account is very different from a conventional bank account! If you wish to purchase a good or service from a LETS member, you can do so straight away, as when you go into debit, someone else will go into credit. The system will in this way stay balanced at zero.
It is by spending that "new LETS credits" enter the system, creating more wealth in the local trading community. As the LETS credit cannot leave the system, eventually they will come back to you in the form of someone who wants what you provide. A debit (also called a commitment, as it signifies your commitment to return goods or services to the system) is this a "money back guarantee". This is very different from money.
What happens if I leave the area?
It is a good idea to inform the Organizing Group immediately if you are planning to move. This helps make sure that they can send any future trading sheets or newsletters to the correct address.
If you are moving out of the region, you have a number of options.
Firstly, you can keep your account open, in case you visit the area and want to do some trading, or if you are prepared to provide services to your LETS members who visit your new place of residence.
Secondly, you can close your account. This can be best achieved by returning your balance to zero. The Organizing Group can help show you how this may be done.
Can someone "rip-off" the system?
No. Surprisingly LETS credits provide one of the only theft-proof, non-rip-off-able currency systems possible in the world. Its simple rules operate in a fashion entirely different from conventional money, which can be stolen. LETS credits operate in a fashion wholly different.
Consider, for instance, the question of debt. If I borrow 100 dollars from you, then I effectively have $100 of your money which you cannot spend until I pay back. This is inconvenient to you, and, as a measure of this inconvenience you charge me interest (I may have to pay back $110 eventually).
In LETS if my account is 100 credits in commitment, it means I have already paid someone 100 LETS credits! No-one is inconvenienced, and so there is no interest. I can discharge my commitment whenever it is most convenient to me to do so.
If I start with no credits, how can I trade?
No problem. All LETS credits are created by trading. Everyone's account starts at zero, but you can spend right away from your account because LETS are interest free. You just earn credits by doing work for other people whenever you want to. So you can start spending immediately. Your account can go into debit but no interest is charged.
What exactly is a LETS credit?
There are no physical tokens; the units you create only exist as figures recorded in the LETS accounts. They are simply a way of measuring the value of services given. So when you receive a service, write a credit note for the agreed number of units. And price your own goods and services in local units.
Am I supposed to find a direct exchange?
Not at all. The reason for having an account is to enable you to earn LETS credits from any member, and spend them as and when you like with anyone else in the network.
Do I have to trade when someone calls me?
There's no pressure; it is entirely up to you whether to respond to a particular request. Before you buy, make sure you are clear about the price and standard of workmanship offered.
I don't feel I have anything to offer
That is many people's reaction! One great advantage of LETS is that it helps people realize they do have things to offer. Whether they are professionally trained or not, their time, energy or resources will be of value to someone. Just a few examples are shopping, answering the telephone, house-sitting, selling or lending clothes, home equipment or tools. Start by asking yourself what you enjoy doing. Or sit down with a friend and tell each other what you are good at. For ideas, take a look at the Inspiration List which contains hundreds of examples of things traded through LETS.
I still need cash
LETS can always be used along with cash. Ask for the cash required to cover the cost of materials, gas, or other cash costs, or for a proportion in cash (eg 25%). Only the LETS part is recorded on your account.
What if I'm not satisfied with someone's work?
Minimize the chances of misunderstanding by agreeing clearly in advance on the price, time-scale and expected standard of work. Ask about qualifications and/or experience. You can also speak to others who have used that person's services. LETS, like any other service directory, cannot take responsibility for the quality of what is on offer, so if in doubt, check it out first. If you have a problem and are unable to reach agreement, contact a LETS arbitrator for help.
How could I participate if I have no spare time?
You can both earn credits and usefully support the system by lending out equipment and assets others might need, such as a washing machine, computer, photocopier, space for events, etc. You can sell all kinds of goods as well. Most LETS offer all kinds of things you cannot get in a store or in the yellow pages. There may be jobs around the home you don't have time to do, which are being offered by someone on LETS.
Why do members have access to so much information about each other?
The transparency of member accounts may seem a bit odd at first, but it is actually a core element of the LETS model. Because taking LETS from someone is essentially offering them a loan - you are loaning them your time with the expectation that they will repay the network by giving their time to someone else in the future - it is important that members be able to determine the credit-worthiness of their exchange partners. This transparency provides a check against abuse of the system.
But we are definitely concerned about privacy, so this openness only covers the volume and regularity of exchanges - not the nature of individual transactions or who is trading with who.
