Let's Trade!

Trading goods and services without the use of money is called bartering.
The art of bartering is as ancient as human civilization and is becoming very popular in this economy.

Anyone can barter!

It is a great way to take what you have, such as products or services, and trade them for what others have, namely more products or services.
Bartering for professional business services can include, but is not limited to:
Accountants, Lawyers, Doctors, Dentists, Web Tech Services, Painters, Plumbers, Electricians etc.

Here are a few examples of bartering:
If you work in a salon you can trade services with other professionals you work with, trade highlights for facials, massages, manicures, etc. But it is not limited to just the people you work with. You may have a client who has a cleaning service & do a trade for coloring & cutting her hair in exchange for cleaning services for your home. You may have a client who owns a jewelry store and trade your services for that beautiful tennis bracelet you have always wanted, but couldn’t afford.

Another example would be the owner of a coffee shop has a regular customer who has an art gallery next to your coffee shop. He gets free food/coffee and you get credit for his art gallery. In turn, when you get enough credit you can go into the gallery and pick out that piece of art you have been eyeing.

Or, the owner of the art gallery needs an attorney to set up a corporation for his art gallery. The art gallery owner does a trade for something from his gallery in exchange for attorney fees. Keep in mind that when you do this you set up in advance how much credit the attorney will get for merchandise in the gallery.
Let’s say you have an extra room in your house and you know someone who is trust worthy and responsible. You can give that person free rent for anything from mowing your lawn & gardening, to daycare or babysitting, pet sitting, running errands, house cleaning, handyman repairs, construction, etc…

You can barter your home or vacation home with someone else who would like to come to your area and you want to go to their place. Be sure to do your homework to be certain they are trustworthy. Check out the site Online House Trading @ www.onlinehousetrading.com for more details.

Barter anything from vehicles, boats, appliances, furniture, collectibles, art, electronics and just about anything else you can think of.
There are several online websites for bartering. Craigslist has a bartering section, SwapThing.com, lists almost 3.5 million "things" available for trade, U-Exchange.com makes it easy for bartering Goods and Services, Business Bartering, Trading Vehicles or Home Exchanging for Vacations.

The easiest way to find businesses to barter with on your own is to sit down and think about what you have to offer and who could benefit from it. Then narrow the list further by who on that list YOU could benefit from. Since bartering without a network means you have to trade specifically with the people you offer your products or services to, it makes no sense to approach someone with something you don’t need or want.

Barter Networks
There are also Barter Networks. A great way to get started with bartering is by joining a professional Barter Network. The benefit of being a member of the network is that you can trade with one company and gain barter dollars which you can then spend with another company.

Bartering Tips and Tricks

1. Set Specific Boundaries Be specific about what you are bartering for, what you are willing to give and what you will get in exchange. An example would be that you are looking for someone to give you legal services in exchange for piano lessons. Legal services usually cost more than piano lessons so be sure each of you have a beginning and an end amount of time or value.

2. Work Out the Details in Advance
If you are exchanging goods, decide on who pays for postage and packaging. If you are exchanging services decide in advance the time and dates you are willing to give and precisely what you are going to do and for how long.

3. Have an out Be clear about the terms of your relationship, but also give yourself and the business or person you are bartering with an out so you can end the contract in the event either party is dissatisfied.

4.Taxes Be sure to ask your accountant about this before you do any bartering.

Call Doug Motz Insurance Agency for further information at 760-200-0270 or go to www.DougMotz.com