Filmed in Middlebury, Vermont, the series chronicles the daily activities of G. Stone Motors, a GMC and Ford car dealership that employs the barter system in selling its automobiles.

The business is operated by its founder, Gardner Stone, his son and daughter, Todd and Darcy, and General Manager Travis Romano.

The series features the shop's daily interaction with its customers, who bring in a variety of items that can be resold in order to receive a down payment on the vehicle they are leasing or purchasing.

[6] Production for Family Trade began when Lionsgate executive Eli Frankel approached the dealership in early 2011[13] proposing the idea of filming a reality show.

"[14] The Stones initially thought the pitch was a hoax, though once they recognized the validity of the offer, Gardner agreed to do the show provided the deals aired were truly representative of how the business operates.

[8] David Schiff, GSN's senior vice president for programming and development, expressed excitement at the prospect of working with the Stone family: "Gardner is a great businessman, and he really goes by his gut.

[5] After three test audiences gave positive reviews of the pilot,[13] GSN proceeded to order eight episodes of the series on August 9, 2012.

[22] Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times considered Family Trade to be a "game-changer" for GSN due to the network's history of primarily airing game shows.

"[36] The day after the series premiere, Michael Tyminski of Manhattan Digest gave a negative review of the show, calling it "incredibly bland," and stating that it appeared to lack much of the family drama that had previously been advertised.