A little economic history will reveal that anything can be taken as currency, even tulips (see Denmark circa 1637). Today, there is even a digital currency called Bitcoin, invented in 2008 and used around the world. But the oldest trading system is probably bartering, where two interested parties exchange goods based on individual needs and wants. And with the Bunz Trading Zone (BTZ), the oldest trading system has entered the digital age.
The Bunz Trading Zone online marketplace is proving everything everyone owns, from the cherished to the unwanted to the truly bizarre (at press time, one Bunz member was trying to trade a set of blue plastic, er, balls to hang from a trailer hitch), has some value. Toronto’s Emily Bitze started BTZ (originally called Bumz) in 2013 when on tour with her band, Milk Lines. She didn’t have enough money for food and needed sauce for her noodles. As a bit of a joke, she set up a Facebook group looking to trade for a jar of Ragu.
BTZ operates on a no money-allowed informal rule and, at least in the beginning, no telling others about the group. The Toronto Facebook group has grown from a few hundred people to over 31,000. The group currently gets over 1,000 join requests weekly. Offshoot and unofficial Bunz groups have started up across Canada.
TTC tokens and beer cans are the most common “currency” on Bunz.com. Trades include everything from informal advice to haircuts to dead animals. One reported trade was a Davy Love (of Bristol) exchanging a pizza for the Rancho Relaxo (now closed) restaurant sign.
Bitze is known as Mother Bunz and continues to accept new member requests (you can only join with approval). She now has administrator help and a small team running the site. According to her, there is a social aspect and a sense of community that sets Bunz apart from monetary sites such as Kijiji.
“It has been interesting to see the changes in what is trending in trades and the loopholes people use to get around not exchanging cash. Popular items are consumables like olive oil, peanut butter and high-end food items. With the different waves of people joining, these trends change,” she said. “We are different, the alternative to spending cash. We are the economy of things.”
Although Bitze never got that jar of pasta sauce when starting BTZ, she has since acquired a German eight-track player.
Bunz is one of several groups addressing consumerism through trading and recycling. Freecycling is another: a network aimed at free gifting of unwanted items to increase their lifespan. Toronto has two groups at freecycle.org.
Bunz has provided a special login for Post City readers: 892701.
