經常有閑置的東西不知該怎么處理？上易物(barter)網站唄！時下物價飛漲，以物換物的交易方式又重新受到人們的關注。這樣既環保又省錢，說不定還能順便交到朋友呢。
Of the rash of bartering sites that appeared in 2006, only a few survive. But their patrons believe money-less exchange is the way forward for a green lifestyle.
2006年時易物網站如雨后春筍般涌現，而如今這些網站已經所剩無幾了。但易物網站的忠實顧客們卻堅信這種免費交換才是人們所向往的綠色生活方式。
In 2006, Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald, who bartered his way from a single red paper clip to a house, through a series of online trades became a much-told tale.
2006年，加拿大博主凱爾?麥克唐納德的易物故事被傳為佳話，他以一枚紅色曲別針，經過數次網上交易，最后換了套別墅。
Shanghai native Li Huizhu has swapped coupons and show tickets given by the nursery school where she teaches, and cosmetics gifted by friends and colleagues, for more than 500 items of everyday use. This has helped her accumulate all the shampoo and soaps her family has needed over the two years that she has been bartering.
上海人李慧珠（音譯）用自己任教的幼兒園發的代金券和戲票，以及同事朋友送的化妝品換來500多件日用品。在過去2年里，她家里的洗發水和香皂都是通過這種方式換來的。
"Everything, except for money, is exchangeable on the bartering website. All you do is upload a picture of the items you don't want, write a few words about it, leave your contact information and then, just wait and see what happens," says Li.
李女士說：“在易物網上，除了錢什么都可以用來交換。你只要把閑置的東西拍個照片掛到網上，附幾行說明，再留下聯系方式，接下來就等著看結果吧。”
"The only rule to follow is to be honest with what you deal. Don't brag about or hide anything. And keep in mind the item's utility for the other side," Li adds.
她還說：“易物時唯一要遵循的原則是堅守誠信，對于交換物品不要夸大或有所隱瞞。還要考慮到物品對他人的實用性。”
But Sun Yumin, one of the founders of a Shanghai-based bartering website, and Li's friend, believes successful bartering calls for "a special talent" - a combination of a salesman's persuasiveness and a collector's shrewdness.
作為上海某易物網的創始人之一，李女士的朋友孫玉敏（音譯）認為成功易物需要具備特殊才能——要兼具銷售員的好口才和收藏家的精明。
"Bartering is based on trust. There is never a guarantee of satisfaction. And conflicts occur frequently, especially when it comes to electronic gadgets," Sun says.
孫玉敏表示：“以物換物要基于信任，因為無法承諾絕對滿意。矛盾隨時可能產生，特別是對于那些電子類產品。”
To minimize troubles, the swapping of goods is usually done face-to-face, so that the items can be examined personally before a deal is sealed.
為了減少糾紛，易物族們通常選擇當面交易，這樣可以現場驗貨。
These personal meetings also lead to unlikely friendships.
這種單獨會面也有可能令你收獲意外的友誼。
"Girls and boys my son's age come to me for help with telling fakes from originals, and secondhand from new. I feel young and happy hanging out with them," Li says.
李女士說：“好多同我兒子一樣大的男孩女孩經常要我幫忙，鑒別真偽，區分新品還是舊貨。我覺得和他們呆在一起，人都年輕了，也很開心。”
According to Sun, 70 percent of the website's members are young white-collar workers, with retired or middle-aged computer literate people comprising the rest.
據孫玉敏說，70%的換客是年輕白領，剩下的則是喜愛上網的中年以及退休人士。
The most popular items are discount shopping cards, bakery coupons and show tickets that have a precise value.
最受換客們歡迎的是商場打折卡，蛋糕店抵金券和戲票這類有明確價值的物件。
Hundreds of bartering websites cropped up in 2007, when the legend of Kyle MacDonald swept through the country.
2007年時，凱爾?麥克唐納德的傳奇故事傳遍中國，數百家易物網站在2007年遍地開花。
But most were unable to turn in a profit and shut down. Since they provide a free service to those users, some sites make money only through advertisements posted by other online stores, and that is often just enough to offset its basic costs.
但大都因為效益不佳而關門大吉。由于這些網站為用戶提供免費服務，有的網站只能靠其它網店投放的廣告費來賺錢，而這些通常只夠支付網站的基本運營費用。
The only reason for its survival, Sun says, is that it is free. That leaves little scope for any expansion, in spite of its increasing popularity.
而少數易物網站之所以能夠存活下來正是因為免費服務這點，盡管這些網站的人氣與日俱增，但很難擴大經營規模。
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（來源：21世紀英語 編輯：Julie）
