Cash-strapped companies and people are putting a new and sometimes electronic spin on an age-old form of commerce - bartering.

As the recession has deepened and unemployment has climbed, more people are trying to husband dwindling dollars and coins by exchanging their goods and services for somebody else's. Bartering has always been around, but it rises in popularity when times get hard, such as the Great Depression.

But this time around, it's not an exchange of eggs for fence mending between neighboring farmers. It's swapping Web design services for power washing the house. And it's taking place online. 

Activity is up as much as 40 percent at companies across the nation that link businesses that barter, said Ron Whitney, executive director of the Virginia-based International Reciprocal Trade Association, which represents the formal side of bartering -- firms that help companies link up to trade goods and services.

In the Triangle, revenue was up 13 percent last year at the Cary-based Barter Business Exchange, where more than 700 North Carolina businesses barter with each other. The numbers this year are on track to top last year's total, president Maurya Lane said.

"We're slammed," Lane said. "Everybody is broke, and people are bartering like there is no tomorrow."

It's difficult to track informal, one-on-one exchanges, but local barter hunters say they are seeking trades through online sites and informally for things that they would normally pay for when banks are lending money and there's no fear of a layoff.

Craigslist, the online classified ads forum, reports that activity on its barter boards is up 100 percent in the past year. And, later this month, a Willow Spring mother of seven will launch Barter 4 Kids in Johnston County, where parents can exchange their children's used clothes and toys.

But bartering is also a tool for securing basic survival staples in tough times.

In Wake Forest, Gayle Ling is bartering just to put food on the table. Money started getting tight for Ling, the owner of Second Hand Rose, a thrift store on North Main Street, late last year. For the first time in 11 years of business, she was $500 in the hole in January. Her pantry was getting bare

"I'm not on food stamps," she said. "I could probably qualify for them."

In December, she started accepting canned and nonperishable foods for credit at her store. Two cans of vegetables translate into $1 worth of goods, for instance.

Ling said she's been able to fill her cupboards and help out her grown children, who have faced pay cuts at their own jobs. Bartering has also brought her enough food to donate to a Franklinton family whose home burned down.

Beyond cash

For Wes Ray, owner of the Durham limousine service, therightlimo.com, bartering used to be an occasional option to save money. Now, it's a way to keep his business alive and meet household expenses.

Prom season is usually Ray's busiest time of year when he typically charges a premium. This year, he's had to keep his rates low. And if he can't get cash for his services, he figures maybe he can exchange a ride for something he'd have to pay for otherwise.

He posted an offer on craigslist this month, looking to exchange a spin in one of his limos for an electrician and painter to work on his home.

"I do it now to bring in business," Ray said. "People are not spending money. If I'm not getting the money, maybe I can swap services."

Tammy Bunn, the mother of five of her own children and two stepchildren in Willow Spring, owned a barter business years ago that linked businesses that bartered.

MCGEE’S CROSSROADS — Melissa Maynard of Clayton has her hands full with a 4-year-old son and 3-month-old twin girls.

In the past, Maynard has shopped yard sales for clothes and toys for her children. But last weekend, she had another option.

Maynard took part in Barter4Kids, a program set up by Tammy Bunn of Willow Spring. The age-old practice allowed modern-day parents like Maynard to barter for goods.

The stuff Maynard brought to Barter4Kids gave her $202 in credit. So she shopped without ever having to hand over cash. It was convenient, she said.

“If you go to yard sales, it takes a lot of time,” Maynard said. “The way the economy is, it’s a lot easier to come to one spot and do it this way.”

Bartering is nothing new to Bunn. She ran a bartering exchange 15 or so years ago in South Carolina, she said. But now, with five kids of her own and two stepchildren, whose ages range from 2 to 19, Bunn saw a need.

She’s been selling clothes on e-Bay for about six years. For her, Barter4Kids fulfills a dream.

“I’ve always wanted to have my own kids’ clothing store,” Bunn said.

Barter4Kids isn’t exactly a store. Last weekend’s exchange took place in a day care center. But Bunn wants to host more events like this. She is planning an adult-clothing exchange the first weekend in June, although she’s unsure about the location.

And she wants to have another Barter4Kids event in late summer, just in time for the start of school. “I want to do that so parents can shop for their kids and not spend a fortune on school clothes,” Bunn said.

She and her husband, William, know what it’s like to shell out lots of money for a new school year. They easily spend $200 per child on school clothes at stores like Wal-Mart and Kohl’s, Bunn said. “Our plan is never to have to buy any new clothes,” she said.

Consignors at Barter4Kids pay $20 to participate. Then they bring in their stuff and shop around. Jill Adams, a mother of 5, said the exchange system works well for her and her family. She had $200 in credit, and she didn’t plan to spend it all. Any leftover credit carries over to the next exchange.

“I’ve already signed up for the one before school,” Adams said.

Susan Peyton, of the Cleveland community, hadn’t signed up for last weekend’s exchange in advance. But she stopped in after seeing a sign outside the day care. She ended up leaving with a handful of clothes for her 12-year-old son. Since she hadn’t paid the fee, she signed up as a consignor for the next event and got a discount on the clothes. Walk-ins exchanged the only cash at the event.

“I used to have yard sales all the time,” Peyton said. “But I don’t have a lot of time to do that anymore.” Barter4Kids is a good idea for Peyton, she said, because she has no family members nearby to give her son hand-me-downs.

Bunn said she donated items to four families who are struggling. For the next exchange, she’s asking sponsors — companies that advertise on her Web site, www.barter4kids.com — to fill a book bag with school supplies to give to a child.