What is a fair exchange worth: valuing a service or a thing
How to set value by scope, three worked examples and when to settle the difference with a top-up.
Start with what you would otherwise pay
A fair exchange starts with a number, not a feeling. For a service, ask what you would pay someone else for it, or what you usually charge. For a thing, look at second-hand prices of similar items in the same condition, not the price of a new one.
You do not need an exact figure. A reasonable range, say 80 to 120 euros, that you can explain to the other side is enough.
Scope makes the value, not time
An hour of your work and an hour of theirs need not be worth the same. Compare results: 12 edited photos, one web page, 10 hours of tutoring. A result can be checked; an hour can be stretched.
Write in your offer what is included and what is not: rounds of edits, format, delivery, travel.
Three examples
Product photos for a website fix: a photographer would ask 150 euros for 12 photos, the website fix is worth about 120 euros. The 30-euro difference is settled with a top-up.
A bike for a scooter: a bike in good condition sells second-hand for about 80 euros, a scooter for about 60. The swap is fair with a 20-euro top-up or a small accessory added.
Tutoring for a logo: 10 hours of tutoring at 15 euros is 150 euros, a simple logo with two rounds of edits is about the same. No top-up needed.
Settle the difference with a top-up
When the values do not match, a top-up is a normal tool, not a loss. On Vymenit.sk a top-up is paid by card and waits in escrow until both sides confirm the exchange. The platform keeps 5% of the top-up.
Only a member with payouts switched on in their settings can receive a top-up. If the other side is to receive it, check that before you agree.
When you cannot agree on the value
Look at what other members on Vymenit.sk ask for similar work and which category they are in. If you still disagree, shrink the scope to one smaller part and try whether working together suits you. Next time you will have something to compare with.
An open offer that says "send your own proposal" is not a weakness. The other side tells you what they can give and you decide whether it is enough.
Write the value into the deal
The agreed value, scope and any top-up belong in the deal proposal, not in a spoken promise. While you are still agreeing terms, send a change as a counter-proposal so both of you can see the new version. Once you have both agreed to it, it no longer changes.