As the Internet continues to evolve to match our modern day lives it can at times be hard to keep up with all of the new forms of e-commerce methodology. With such rapid change it is often quite comforting to find that such old-world ideas as buy, sell, and in the case of baadel.com—trade—are as fresh today as they were centuries ago.
A few years back, after successful stints in the world of business, advertising, and brand management, Misbah Agha and his brother began a family business in the world of importing and exporting that would prove rewarding. However, not one to sit still and rest on his previous successes too long, Misbah decided recently to begin with his next venture. Still under the same family umbrella of businesses, and yet simultaneously all his own, the new start-up baadel.com, looks to be a fun venture offering a service as the first of its kind in Kuwait. That Misbah has done everything himself, from the product testing and research, coding and design, and marketing, all serves as signs of how passionate he is about the project.
Inspired by a casual drive down the coastal road a few years back, at a time when economies the world over were struggling, Misbah wondered about all the goods that we have that we never use. Call it a harkening back to the time when people could just simply make a trade of what they had for what they wanted, baadel—an Arabic word that means trade—seeks to be the non-monetary solution to that thing that you are looking for, or that thing that you are simply trying to get rid of.
The company bills itself as Kuwait’s first barter website and is a free to use non-monetary website that is simply there just to offer a service for you. So how does it work for the average user?
For starters, you can either cruise around the site and see what is available until you see something that piques your interest, or log in using email or Facebook and post your item for trade. When you search, you can both ask for it (post what you want and what you are willing to trade) and put an equivalent value of what you think your own item is worth, or just post what you have. This way, somebody is able to figure out exactly what you are looking to get for your item. You also have the ability to open up your parameters by saying if you are willing to trade for other things, or solely looking for one specific item. Then, once you have found somebody that you have decided you want to make a trade with, you just swap each other’s information and meet wherever offline is convenient for you.
As of now, the site has launched only for use in Kuwait. However, with eventual plans to grow throughout the GCC region and beyond, Misbah sees the future as bright. He figures that in today’s day of consumerism there are enough people out there who always want to upgrade or get a new toy, and equally there are enough people with a number of items in their homes that are just collecting dust. Why not make the best of the situation and get your next new item with money you spent on something already. Sounds great to me!
Go online to www.baadel.com to trade your goods! You can also find them on Instagram or Facebook @baadelcom
