Different Rental Methods in Elazığ
Fethi Ahmet Taş, the owner of a 40-square-meter shop in the central Nailbey Neighborhood of Elazığ, adopted an unconventional method to rent out his shop. Having previously rented out his shop for 400 loaves of bread, Taş managed to attract attention by offering three different options in his rental ad this time.
The notice he hung on the window of his workplace stated that the monthly rent was 2 grams of 24 carat gold, 100 liters of diesel fuel or 50 thousand liras per year in advance. After this notice, the citizens in the area could not hide their astonishment. Taş stated that he had now returned to the barter system and that he requested diesel fuel or gold for use.
‘I’m Back to the Barter System’
Fethi Ahmet Taş, who is trying to rent out his shop, said, “I had previously rented it for 400 loaves of bread. 400 loaves of bread are always 400 loaves of bread and the weight is known. Now I am thinking of renting it out like this. May it be auspicious for the friend who will rent my shop. There are those who call and ask, but they are surprised. They question how such a thing is done as a trade and they are seeing this situation for the first time. We used to do business by barter, now I have returned to barter. In addition to bartering with paper money, we can also make deals with fuel, gold or bread. There is nothing different here.”
Taş, who stated that the new generation was criticized for not knowing the barter method, said, “But 100 or 200 years ago, everyone was doing business by barter. This method changed after the monetary system emerged. In fact, barter is the most logical system. My shop is approximately 40 square meters. Just as I can touch the walls of the shop, I would like to touch a material by barter. I wanted 100 liters of diesel for myself. The price of 100 liters of diesel is almost the same everywhere in Turkey; maybe it changes by a lira, but in the end, the shop and diesel also have a purpose. From this perspective, barter made sense. “If the prices of diesel or gold fall, the rent will also fall.”
