To accommodate the lively market for tulips, by 1636 several exchanges were established where buyers and sellers could acquire futures contracts (a promise to buy or sell a specified amount at a preset price). By buying and trading To accommodate the lively market for tulips, by 1636 several exchanges were established where buyers and sellers could acquire futures contracts (a promise to buy or sell a specified amount at a preset price). By buying and trading quit their jobs, borrowed money, and used their personal computers to trade volatile Internet and technology stocks, people converted their house and land into cash in order to invest in the flowers. In small towns, taverns served as the local tulip commodity exchange.