BenBiz Exchange — A Guide from Needs to Contributions

Another way to approach a need

Sometimes we need an item, a few hours of work or a place to work together. We may not have the money at that moment. Yet we may own something useful, know how to do a job or have a space we can open on a particular day.

BenBiz Exchange brings our needs together with what we can offer. Alongside products, there is room for work, spaces and time freely given. You can agree on contributions that complement one another; if it suits both sides, money can also be part of a mixed contribution.

When considering what you could offer, look beyond things you could sell. When is a space available? Which task comes easily to you? What no longer serves you but is still useful? Reading someone’s need may bring one of these to mind. What you offer, and within which limits, remains your choice.

Shelves, a free afternoon and an everyday habit

These three scenes are illustrative; they are not real member listings or completed agreements.

The people in these examples discuss a reciprocal exchange. Someone wishing to help without a return can choose the solidarity route. A project contribution whose compensation is deferred needs separately accepted terms; it is not treated as freely given.

What can I contribute?

Describe the scope and time you can actually provide. Different contributions can be combined in one offer.

• Product: An item or product you own and can offer. Make its condition, quantity and delivery method clear.
• Service / Labour: Work such as design, photography or repair. A return is expected; set out its scope and duration.
• Space: Short-term use for education, meetings, events, work, production, workshops or storage. Specify location, capacity, available dates and hours, facilities and conditions. This area is not a residential rental service.
• Time / Volunteering: Support offered without a return. It belongs to the solidarity route, within your own limits.
• Money: A pledge that can be one part of a mixed contribution. This area does not collect money or verify that it was paid. Offering only money for a product or service is a normal purchase and cannot be accepted on a member Exchange listing.

From a first listing to an agreement: the route

Reading listings requires no account. To publish a listing or make an offer, use your existing BenBiz member account with a verified email address. You do not need to belong to a circle to begin exchanging.

1. Choose your starting point. On the Exchange page, “I Have a Need” starts with what you are seeking; “I Can Contribute” starts with what you can offer. After signing in, continue in the member application’s Exchange area.
2. Write a clear listing. Add a title, description and city or region. Choose the listing’s subject from the category catalogue, or enter your own category if none fits. In “Nasıl paylaşmak istiyorsun?” (How would you like to share?), choose reciprocal exchange or solidarity without a return. Describe your product, work or space. You can publish after consenting to your display name, city or region and listing content appearing in the public showcase.
3. Shape the offer together. Open “Make an Offer” on a suitable listing. Describe your contribution, what you expect from the other person, the duration and delivery terms. You can combine contributions. An incoming offer can be accepted, declined or answered with a counteroffer.
4. Read the final terms before accepting. Reference values for economic contributions are determined before acceptance. Mutual acceptance creates an agreement record, preserves its terms and reserves the relevant physical product quantities. Publishing a listing or sending an offer alone does not create an agreement.
5. Record delivery or fulfilment. Follow the agreed handover, shipping or performance route. If both sides send products, each direction is tracked separately. The sender records shipping information and status; the recipient confirms receipt. The recipient also confirms that work or a space contribution has been fulfilled.
6. Follow progress in your account. “My Listings”, “My Offers” and “My Agreements” show different stages. Completion of one contribution does not mean the opposite direction is complete. The agreement closes once all required fulfilment confirmations are recorded and appears in the completed-exchange count in contribution references. You can open your own private contribution details in your profile; this record does not verify monetary payment.

Understanding reference values and platform shares

A reference value is declared by the listing owner. It is not a BenBiz valuation of an item, work or space. It helps people discuss different contributions. Equal figures do not require an agreement; the parties decide the conditions and acceptance.

In the current reciprocal and mixed exchange model, each side’s platform share is calculated separately at 1% of its own accepted reference total. For example, contributions accepted at TRY 1,000 and TRY 1,500 show shares of TRY 10 and TRY 15 respectively. This hypothetical calculation collects no money. Commercial and accounting implementation of these rates still awaits verification.

Solidarity without a return has zero platform commission. The “No Money Required” filter identifies listings without a monetary contribution requirement; it does not mean that shipping and every other expense are free. With shipping, each party is responsible for sending its own product.

Delivery, cancellation and finding a solution

Discuss the item’s condition, work scope, space use, dates and delivery method before accepting. The agreement keeps those terms and later actions visible; it is not a platform guarantee of product or service quality.

Before dispatch or fulfilment begins, both sides can approve cancellation and release the relevant product reservations. Once dispatch has begun, automatic cancellation and stock restoration do not apply.

If a difficulty arises, you can open a “Birlikte çözüm gerekiyor” record in the agreement. It makes the problem visible and pauses automatic completion. It does not itself constitute a legal decision, refund or guaranteed resolution.

What is available today?

Explore member needs and contributions on the public Exchange page. With your verified account, publish your own listing, make offers and counteroffers, and follow delivery or fulfilment records for accepted agreements. If no suitable listing is available, you can start by sharing your own need.

Listings are labelled “Member Exchange Listing”. Information and reference values are declared by the owner; they do not mean a product or service has passed BenBiz Store maker criteria. The representative Founding Shelf records and the earlier product-matching draft are separate working examples.

Real Store sales and payments remain closed. The Exchange area does not request card details, collect money, send automatic emails or connect to a courier service. Parties record shipping information manually. A monetary contribution remains a pledge. Ben Akçe contribution and rights tracking is a separate area in the app; you do not need to acquire Ben Akçe to exchange. Deposits, value transfers and automatic profit distribution are not available.

A few answers before you start

Your first step need not be a large offer. Clearly describing your need and the contribution you can provide, within your own limits, is a useful beginning.

• Can I take part without a product? Yes. Work, a suitable space and volunteer time without a return are also contributions. You can share a need before settling what to offer in return; economic exchange terms must be clear before acceptance.
• Will every offer be accepted? No. The other person can accept, counter or decline. A suitable match and its timing are not guaranteed.
• Must I offer something in return for voluntary support? No. Solidarity expects no return. Work offered in exchange for something is treated as a service on the reciprocal exchange route.
• What appears publicly? The display name, city or region and listing content you consent to publishing appear in the showcase. The relevant parties access offers and agreements through their own accounts.

How does Exchange connect with a Solidarity Circle?

In the community area, you can find visible members by the categories of their open contribution or need listings and open a listing from their profile. Exchange can help you agree on a practical contribution with someone you meet, or respond to a maker’s need with a product, service or space. The same question helps a shared project: What do we need, and who can provide it?

For example, one person could provide a venue for a course, another could teach, and others could help with preparation and promotion. In this illustrative example, the contributions serve a shared goal. Before starting, the circle discusses voluntary support, work expecting a return, costs and the distribution of any income.

Fair sharing does not require everyone to receive the same thing. Who will provide what, when and under which conditions will they receive a return, and what happens if the project falls short? Participants agree together. Voluntary support creates no debt; a contribution record alone creates no entitlement to future income.

A coordinator can prepare an Exchange listing from an open circle need card and track its linked listings and their status. Historical listings remain viewable after the need closes. Completing one exchange does not mean the whole need has been met; the need’s status is assessed separately.

Today, Exchange agreements in the app operate between two people. A circle’s arrangements for multiple contributors and sharing are considered separately; publishing an Exchange listing does not automatically create project membership or an income share.