---
key: mechanic/economy-exchange--t091
type: mechanic
id: economy-exchange--t091
lang: en
title: 'Barter, negotiation and deal evaluation'
summary: >-
  Barter compares subjective item utility and improves offers through
  concessions and conditions.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/economy-exchange--t091/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t091.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t091.md
aliases:
  - Barter and deal evaluation
tags:
  - Economy and exchange
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-96be186d8ada50a0
  - source-b36b38ceb4ac23e1
sources:
  - id: source-96be186d8ada50a0
    title: 'Factorio: Content'
    url: 'https://www.factorio.com/game/content'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-b36b38ceb4ac23e1
    title: Borderlands 2
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: economy-exchange
    id: t091
    title: Economy and exchange
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/economy-exchange/#t091'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Barter and deal evaluation
    description: >-
      Barter compares subjective item utility and improves offers through
      concessions and conditions.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/borderlands2-trade-manual.webp
      width: 352
      height: 204
      game: Borderlands 2
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/'
      originalUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/#page=13'
      credit: >-
        Gearbox Software / 2K; screenshot extracted from official PC manual, PDF
        page 13
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Screenshot supplied in the
        official guide; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Two players’ offers before confirmation
      alt: Two players’ offers before confirmation
      markers:
        - x: 40
          'y': 26
          label: Items offered by the player
        - x: 55
          'y': 26
          label: Items received by the player
        - x: 41
          'y': 73
          label: Trade confirmation
    tips:
      - Show both sides and reset agreement when an offer changes.
    examples:
      - title: Borderlands 2
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/economy-exchange
---
# Barter, negotiation and deal evaluation

id: economy-exchange--t091
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/economy-exchange--t091
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/economy-exchange--t091/

Barter compares subjective item utility and improves offers through concessions and conditions.

## At a glance

![Two players’ offers before confirmation](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/borderlands2-trade-manual.webp)

[Borderlands 2](https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Screenshot supplied in the official guide; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Items offered by the player
2. Items received by the player
3. Trade confirmation

- Show both sides and reset agreement when an offer changes.

- [Borderlands 2](https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/)

## How it works

Barter compares subjective item utility and improves offers through concessions and conditions.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t091-variants"></a>

- Needs change the value of an individual item. <a id="t091-v1"></a>
- Bundles connect several reciprocal concessions. <a id="t091-v2"></a>
- Deferred payment moves part of the price forward. <a id="t091-v3"></a>
- Walking away preserves another potential partner. <a id="t091-v4"></a>

## Design example

A smith trades a tool for rare ore and a promise to deliver fuel before winter.

Prototype check: Test that immediate exchange, promises and unfulfilled conditions remain distinguishable.

## Context and limits

Economic rules connect production, allocation, commitments and exchange; prices should communicate scarcity and available alternatives. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Factorio: Content](https://www.factorio.com/game/content) (id: source-96be186d8ada50a0)
- [Borderlands 2](https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/) (id: source-b36b38ceb4ac23e1)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors