The Barter Boutique's Bartering 101

Here's our top 3 tips when Bartering...

1) "Get it Listed". It is most helpful to have a website/blog/"etsy" store to showcase what you want to barter, with the price or cost listed clearly near it. This makes it simple for others to see what your products/services are so they can decide if it is something they want to barter for.

2) "Plan Ahead". Figure out what you want in return first. For example, if you see something another seller is offering for $5, you can ask them if they would like to look at your web shop and pick out $5 worth of something in return for their wares.

3) "Don't Take It Personally". You shouldn't be disappointed if someone turns you down. There are plenty of others who will like what you have to offer. The same goes for when you are asked to barter for something, and you're not interested. It's not a problem to say "no thank you at this time".

Happy Trading and hope you all have had a great Memorial Day weekend!

(from barterboutique.blogspot.com as submitted by Terry Brandfass)

Individual Suitability To Barter

Individuals are uniquely suited to becoming members of a local barter exchange as they are capable of offering services that often fall into the “ad-hoc personal needs” category.

While each product or service may not be of a high-value, they can add up to a significant amount for a business owner at the end of each month. They also provide the ability for a member to make acquisitions using trade credits that are not readily available through “typical” retail barter exchanges. Some examples are:

• Lawn-mowing & gardening
• Hair styling / coloring
• Assisting in letter writing, dealing with agencies etc
• Handyman type services
• Book-keeping and other professional services
• Computer support
• Website design
• Housework / cleaning
• Tutoring and teaching – homework, music, arts, fitness, computers
• Workshops on any subject members wish to learn about
• Home exchange for holidays
• Escorting people on errands and appointments
• Shopping or doing errands for people
• Giving time off to people caring for relatives
• Telephoning – for companionship, membership lists, advertising, language practice
• Languages – translation, conversation
• Counseling people in need
• Food – meal preparation, cooking, baked goods
• Rentals of tools and equipment
• Minor auto and bike repairs
• Gift items, household items, handmade items
• Recycled sports equipment, children’s items etc.
• Space – storage, garage, for activities
• Teaching/supervising others who wish to learn what you know

by Ormita, as submitted by Terry Brandfass of ITEX AZ

Joining A Barter Network Is Simple & Easy

Barter networks are the biggest craze in the world of online networking for today’s business professional. Bartering has been around since long before currency was made or printed for the purchase of goods and services, and it has been renewed successfully by today’s online entrepreneur.

Joining a barter network, such as ITEX, is very similar to a networking site, as they have some of the same fundamentals. By joining a barter network you can access a ton of services and businesses who want to barter for benefits and profits. All you have to do is register and pay a small fee.

A Barter network’s success is not unfounded. Barter networks are made up of thousands of resources that help you to build your business. You get not only more exposure by joining a barter network, but you also have resources from business card firms to sign companies to website design firms, all of whom arrive at the table with things to offer in exchange for something you’re offering.

On the other hand, if the thought of bartering seems daunting to you, or you don’t know just what to anticipate from participation in it, you could benefit from reading about the main elements of business barter basics, perhaps by downloading a no-cost ebook on the subject. What you learn could be sufficient to persuade you that joining a group of people who barter might be an ideal approach to improving your company’s profitability.

You can increase your profit and your business connections by bartering for goods and or services. A great way to increase awareness surrounding your business is to barter for advertising whether in print or on the television or radio. This will increase awareness of your business, bringing in more customers. Another way to set yourself apart from other businesses is to work out a trade in goods or services with a stationary company that can create custom materials like letter head. One last idea for custom materials is to partner with a printing company that can provide you with custom business cards. All of these partner companies can help you raise awareness of your business.

Joining a barter network can have an almost instantaneous positive effect on you and your business. This is because of good networking, which is often one of the highest indicators of a business’s success. If you combine networking with excellent resources and ingenuity you’ve got the formula for a great business venture.
The latest craze in online networking for business professionals is joining a barter network. Bartering existed a long time before any currency was ever printed, and was used to trade services and goods. Bartering has been successfully resurrected by online entrepreneurs.

posted by ITEX of Arizona as submitted by Terry Brandfass - follow ITEX and Terry on Facebook: Terry / ITEX

Summary Of Barter Benefits To The Local Community

The use of barter has historically been built from a base of local need. As each community makeup differs, so do their needs. Barter exchanges are therefore essentially tailored to address one or more of the four different areas illustrated below.

Wealth & ‘traditional’ asset building

Save Cash

• Make purchases from new sales rather than existing cash
• Reduce cost of warehousing
• Offset many costs of doing business, travelling, and living
• Reduce cash borrowings and subsequent interest
• Repay shareholder loans in trade instead of needed cash
• Goods and services procured always turn out to be cheaper than they would have been with cash, since there are purchased from the wholesale cost to produce the buyers own product or service (spare time = little cost, products sold = the difference between the wholesale and retail price)
• Opportunity to convert excess capacity into cashless donations for which a tax-credit can be received

Realise Value From Underperforming Assets

• Trade excess capacity for already budgeted for goods or services
• Employee incentives – travel, entertainment, gifts, perks & bonuses
• Receive more value than through discounting or liquidation
• Conversion of bad debts into needed goods or services

Increase Asset Base

• Add new customers without any additional advertising cost
• Increase overall company revenue
• Improve shareholder value
• Add new product lines which are purchased on barter
• Participants can trade regardless of the amount of cash in the community or other external economic factors

Borrower Advantages

• No interest charged on borrowed trade credits
• Purchases are funded through the sale of the borrowers own goods and services (they are obliged to sell their own services to repay the debt)
• Loans are provided on the basis of what the borrower can produce / sell – not their current turn-over
• Borrowed funds guarantee additional sales for the borrowing group
• If a loan is repaid through selling unsold product or spare time then the cost is minimal
• If a loan is repaid through selling product for retail price then the cost is higher but less than it would be if the loan was repaid with cash

Increase Cash Sales

• Referrals
• Opportunity to convert lost capacity into advertising and marketing
• Purchase of additional products on barter for resale in the cash economy
• Valued customer give-aways and prizes

More Market Exposure

• Another advertising outlet
• Turns downtime into an increased work portfolio
• Increased customer base
• Increase number of potential word-of-mouth referrals
• Greater exposure to the market of your product or service offerings

Expanding Market Reach

• Risk-free method of purchasing / trialling different methods of advertising
• Facilitate trade between groups historically not likely to trade
• Build new customer bases away in new areas and use these as a base for references and referrals to acquire cash-paying customers

Repeat Business

• Take away customers from the competition
• Suppliers become customers of your business group
• Expanded group of customers

Provides Alternate Revenue Sources

• Stocks of unused goods become mobilized, people become employed, and those traditionally at the “bottom” of the economy like home-makers, farmers and unskilled laborers find a place in the economy, and through it, in society
• Opportunities for local import substitution are increased
• Community relations and standards of living improve
• Ensures that more local assets stay within the community
• Economies of scale, transfer pricing, and capitalising on cheap Third World labour or raw materials enables larger multinational and interstate manufacturers and retailers to tip the so-called “level playing field” in their direction, to the detriment of local businesses

Builds Community Networks

· Because exchanges plug members into a local information network, it provides new or isolated residents living in a local community with an instantaneous community support system, which avoids the embarrassment of introductions to strangers

Local Welfare

• To recognize, value and develop the abilities and skills of the members
• Community wealth is not related to the amount of cash in a community, but the amount of assets, capacity and skills
• Promotes local entrepreneurship
• By increasing access to asset creation by the poorest members of society, the gap between the richest and poorest members of society is reduced
• Addresses the need of fair trade between cash poor / cashless groups (school age, elderly, infirmed etc)
• Creates loyalty and long-term relationships between participants

Environmental

Efficiency

• Companies may elect to use the ‘pool’ instead of using first-line sales people to market special, redundant or unsuccessful lines in order to maximise sales for their latest or core products
• Time / excess capacity are a priceless non-recoverable, non-recyclable limited commodities; selling under-utilized time and capacity means greater wealth for the seller and buyer
• Both unsold products and services can be on-sold without loosing their value

Cost

• Cost to acquire preferred / environmentally sustainable products is reduced
• Greater purchasing power = more flexibility to acquire environmentally sustainable products

Pollution

• Wastage is not primarily created because of over-consumption, it is created because of over-production and inefficient use of what is produced (throwing away instead of on-selling or recycling)
• Less travel and transport required when dealing with local markets
• More efficient use of assets
• Developing and experiencing new habits as consumers

By Ormita USA

Posted 5.10.2010

Barter is Booming!

Humans have been bartering since the beginning of time. People traded items they had for their practical value: food, decor, apparel, tools, weapons, etc. They traded directly by exchanging with one another. The problem was if someone didn’t have what you wanted, a trade wasn’t possible unless you knew someone else to further along the trade.

During the period of 9000-6000 BC, livestock was widely used and as we became more agriculturally oriented, farmers began utilizing their crops in trade. Bartering is in its fourth cycle in the U.S. During the 17th and 18th centuries, money was scarce, so the colonists relied on bartering. During the 1930’s and The Great Depression people formed barter groups like The Unemployed Citizens League of Denver and the National Development Association. The 1980’s was a period of long recession and barter regained popularity once again and was featured in numerous magazine articles and books.

The barter system is enjoying renewed interest today. There are thousands of bartering groups, they trade goods and services both locally and virtually. Throughout 2009, bartering was featured in several news shows and U Tube videos were streaming stories from groups all over the country. Some people didn’t join any groups but they saw value in trading and started trading with people they knew directly.

The basic motivation remains the same – the need for something that you don’t have and the excess of something someone else wants. Bartering allows you to negotiate the worth of your item or service in relation to products or services you want. When cash flow is down to a trickle, barter can be a way to stay in business and establish valuable new social and business connections. It is particularly prevalent in times when monetary cash or cash equivalents are low.

It is also important to dispel the rumor that barter is a tax free event. The IRS has very specific guidelines with respect to barter and barter exchange groups. And while I believe it can be utilized in such a way as to not pay taxes on services received, it is important to understand how that really works. The guidelines from IRS can be found at: www.irs.gov, enter barter in the search bar.

In times when we are economically challenged and even if not, barter is a worthy endeavor. Not only are you able to conserve cash for cash only items like rent and insurance but you are being ecologically and socially responsible if you utilize trade to recycle unwanted household and personal items.

Summer will soon be upon us and now would be a great time for you to explore the world of barter, don’t you think?