Category: Barter
Definition of the Barter Industry
Written by BarterPro
Thursday, 20 November 2008 10:22
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By David Wallach
Excerpt from Barter News Magazine.

Ancient barter was man’s first form of commerce and consisted of the one-to-one direct exchange of goods and services. Advances in technology have greatly expanded and enhanced the scope of barter far beyond this limited one-to-one model.

Today, International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) member barter companies using the “Modern Trade and Barter” process, made it possible for over 400,000 companies worldwide to utilize their excess business capacities and underperforming assets, to earn an estimated $10 billion dollars in previously lost and wasted revenues.

In terms of income, excess business capacity represents the difference between actual cash revenues received, and the cash revenues and profits that would be realized, if a business operated at 100% of its capacity. Most businesses are operating at less than 100% of their potential business capacity.

IRTA member companies can help your business realize lost revenues and make additional profits by making use of your excess business capacity.

Businesses that choose to participate in modern trade and barter should become a client of an IRTA member company. As clients when they sell their goods and services to other clients in the system they earn trade credits, which are deposited into their accounts. They then have the ability to purchase goods and services from other member clients utilizing trade credit in their accounts.

Barter companies play a vital role as they provide organization, system management, record keeping, maintenance of transaction record and broker services to each member client.

It is important to note that there are other forms of modern trade and barter. Some of these include complementary (or local) currency organizations, LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems) and many other forms of alternative monetary systems to help local and regional economies.

Learn more about the Barter Industry at Barter News Magazine

 
Equity Trading
Written by BarterPro
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 23:41
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Trading shares of stock is a new trend gaining popularity in the investment and securities arena. Typically companies will sell 144 restricted stock for Trade Dollars which is a form of currency recognized by the IRS. They can then use the Trade Dollars to offset cash marketing costs with trade thus marketing the stock and advertising the company to gain name recognition and market share.

Other cash expenses that can be offset with trade purchases include design of company logos and collateral materials, printing of annual reports, 10Ks and 10Qs, legal services, Internet site design and a host of other services typically needed to launch an IPO or remain compliant.

Pre-IPO companies can also use stock sales to build a Trade Dollar reserve which may be used as assets. Or, Trade Dollars can be used to purchase other hard assets such as real estate. Companies should always do their due diligence by discussing these concepts with their advisor or accountant to determine their feasibility.

An added benefit to companies that sell stock for Trade Dollars is the accrual of new investors who talk about their investment to friends, family and associates who can become potential cash investors thus creating demand for the stock and trading activity.

Since Trade Dollars come from excess capacity or from additional new business and have a low incremental cash cost, many investors can be more aggressive and take chances in investing in new companies. Because trade exchange members can earn Trade Dollars without significantly affecting cash flow, investors can buy speculative stocks and wait for share values to go up. Once the restriction expires, it’s possible to turn trade investments into cash.

 
Earn Cash While Selling on Trade
Written by BarterPro
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 23:34
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Some businesses can also generate cash sales as a by-product of earning Trade Dollars. Hotels and resorts are a good example of this process.

The mortgage, insurance and utilities on a hotel are fixed, whether the hotel is fully occupied or nearly empty. The incremental cost of filling an unused room is minimal. To pay for the extra house cleaning, laundry, and complimentary items such as soaps and shampoos, it costs about $20 per room night.

But just think about how much cash revenue that twenty dollars can generate. The people staying in that room order room service, buy sodas from the machine, magazines and gifts from the gift shop and eat in the restaurant. It’s even more lucrative if it is a resort. When a destination resort offers sports, tours and entertainment, visitors spend a lot of money on peripherals.

The hotel has generated cash it would not have had while producing full value for the room in Trade Dollars. In addition to the new cash flow, the hotel can use the Trade Dollars to offset cash expenses, spend on capital improvements or enhance their advertising campaigns.