Helping Business

increase your customer base.

CALL US TODAY!
952.898.5156

What's New?

Bartering Saves Bucks for Businesses

Whoever said cash is king never tried bartering.

For small business owners grappling with excess capacity and an inability to get a loan from banks, bartering can be more valuable than cash.

Bartering dates back to ancient times, when folks swapped goods and services for other goods and services they had. The modern way of bartering is to have networks of businesses across the globe that trade products and services either in person, over the phone or via the Internet without the use of cash.

Whether a lawyer in Houston has spare time on his hand or a local newspaper had extra ad space, businesses -- largely small ones -- can use bartering to get a host of services. Basically a small business joins a barter exchange and instead of using cash for goods and services, trades its excess capacity for things it needs. For example a furniture retailer could sell a couch and in return get credits that can be used for printing brochures. That couch may have languished in the store but on the exchange it found a buyer.

Bartering is a great benefit to small businesses that want to use excess capacity as a currency, said David Wallach, president of the International Reciprocal Trade Association, an industry trade group for barter exchanges. It's very profitable to businesses. That's why they join it. Members in bartering exchanges typically pay a membership fee or monthly maintenance fee and a percent of the sale.

At ITEX, the Bellevue, Wash., membership trading company that has 24,000 members and 90 offices around the country, that percentage is 6%. According to Alan Zimmelman, a spokesman for ITEX, barter exchanges work best in local economies and is done predominately via the phone or electronic messaging, rather than over the Internet. Members will use the Internet to search for ways to spend their barter dollars but will call or email one of ITEX's brokers when they want to engage in a trade. The Internet will grow but it is a slow process, said Zimmelman, noting it's easier to pick up the phone, send a text or email. ITEX members do use the Internet to post advertisements or electronic newsletters.

Contact Us or call 952.898.5156 today to see if ITEX in MN is right for your Minnesota small business!

ITEX in MN is a Cashless Payment, Barter Trade & Trade Exchange for Minnesota Small Businesses looking for New Customers, Increase Profit, & Save Cash. New Customers, Increase Profit, Save Cash, Barter Trade, Minnesota Small Business, Cashless Payment, Grow Your Business, Trade Exchange, ITEX in MN