Barter Exchange Groups

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a Barter Exchange meeting in our area.  It was held at a local restaurant, and I was very impresses with the quantity and quality of the individuals at the meeting.

(I am not a member of the Barter group, I was attending as a substitute for a friend of mine.)

Like most networking groups the various members stood up and took a minute to talk about their particular business.  After the introductions and food the meeting concluded and there was a great deal of additional networking going on.

Joining a Barter group is relatively inexpensive, anywhere from a few dollars to a couple hundred.  However, these groups do not allow half cash and half trade, it is to be 100% trade.  A centralized “bank” keeps track of all the trade dollars you earn and spend, so you can take trade dollars from one firm and spend them with another firm.

A nice advantage of this is that you can accumulate your ad dollars and spend them with any firm in the Barter group … and these groups are nationwide.  This means you can earn your trade “dollars” in one city and spend them in another city.  People have taken vacations in resort locations on dollars traded in their local community.

Yes, those trade dollars are considered taxable income by the IRS, but the Barter organization keeps track of it all and sends you a 1099 at the end of the year.

Now, these Barter Exchanges are businesses, and as a business they need to earn income to stay in business.  They will charge you a percentage of the transaction.  Once group charges 6% each time you buy or sell a service; another group charges 12% every time you purchase barter services.  So take a look at when you pay and how much you pay.  These service charges are in cash and made to the Barter group.

While it would be nice if everyone in the Barter group wanted your services, the reality is they probably won’t.  But could you really afford to take that much in trade dollars?  After all, you still have bills that require cash … like the mortgage, phone, electric, water, insurance, and etc.

But the members of these Barter groups are diverse, and include restaurants, sales consultants, printers, life coaches, auto repair, computer repair, web developers, spas, painters, photographers, sign companies, Dentists, cleaners, appliance stores, appraisers, hair salons, hotels, and hundreds of other businesses.  The list is extensive.

It’s an interesting idea that is really starting to catch on, and I encourage you to take a look at the various Barter groups out there and consider joining one or more of them.

I’ll be joining IMS (International Monetary Systems) this week; hope to see you as a member one day too.

 That’s my 2 cents.