I would imagine that 90% of people who run stores using osCommerce are doing it as a one-man trade or a part-time adventure. This means that there is a lot of scope for getting stuff for "free"…

At the moment I am updating one of my osCommerce shops to a new design. I needed a new logo. Of course, I could have created one myself or I could have bought an already made one, or I could have paid for someone more graphically inclined than me to make one.

Instead, I bartered my services as I was aware of someone in the osCommerce forum requiring a shipping module to be made. This guy is a good graphics whiz. Match made in heaven - I code the shipping module for him, he makes me a logo. Easy as 123. And it's already all completed. He has his mo, I have my logo. Of course, now I actually need to get on and finish up the rest of the site, but that's a job for next week.

So, the next time that you are thinking about purchasing something, see if you can get it for no cash - it only takes an email to see if they need something which you can give instead of cash. And the worst that can happen is they say "no".

Sometimes, it doesn't have to mean any work on your part. If you have a popular site, why not offer some form of banner advertising or a text link advert. And so on.

The commerce world does not always have to be about money! Think on that, over the weekend.