business bartering

[Sbrem]

anybody here do any serious bartering, like with a bartering collective? Someone approached us about this, but I'm very skeptical... We did it with a video production guy where he produced a video for our site, and he got a couple of dozen t's printed 2/2. A pretty fair deal, but how would one deal with the non-existent cash flow doing it regularly? Granted your putting out labor in trade, but the employees and landlord need cash.

Steve

[Socalfmf]

Steve...we do trade now and then, but it really has to be worth it...and we do it retail for retail.  nothing more nothing less.

sam

[inkman996]

We dabbled in it once and quickly got out of it. The problem was for us was people cashing in on what we owed them a little at a time, like if we owed someone $1000 in value they would use it to get a few things here and there, in the end the value of what they were getting inflated big time because of the onesy twosy crap.

In the end cash is king.

[Screened Gear]

Don't do it.

I was in one for a few years and its not worth it. Most of them you have to pay 5% cash and 5% barter for each transaction. That means even when you sell your services you are paying 5% cash to them. Then at the end of the year they report the amount you did in sales to the Gov for tax purposes. The first year I did about $5,000 (paid income tax on that) in sales and then it took me 3 years to use it all because no one in the group was active that I wanted. Its mostly girl stuff. Stay at home mom business. They also charge a monthly fee like $5 cash and $5 in barter.

[GraphicDisorder]

We just did it with our roof guy, we had some leaks with the heavy rain a few weeks ago and our tenant out back has a coffee warehouse so FDA can't have any leaks.  He mentioned needing shirts, so we traded him some shirts for some resealing of all the roof vents. 

We also do it with our fan guy.  He is the lead tech at a large fan manufacture.  So when they get a fan that is "B" stock in that they normally sell to employees for 10% of wholesale price, he calls me and gives me that deal.  I print him shirts now and then for cost of the goods.  I got a $6k fan for $300 bucks, brand new, it had fell off the crate, not a thing wrong with it otherwise.  We purchased a few other fans from him as well. 

[Binkspot]

It has never paid off for us. They always have visions of granger but all BS in the end. One of our cust just got out of a deal he lost an est $11k in lost jobs because he was trading services for air time on local radio. That was time lost holding his end of the deal providing his services for the trade when he could have been actually been working paying jobs with 0 ROI from the air time over the past 18 months.

[royster13]

I barter as often as I can.....But only when I need something......The great thing about signs, is everyone needs them....

[Screened Gear]

I think the question is bartering with a barter group. A group that you do work with the members and get "Barter Money" you can spend with any member of the group. I will barter with someone for what I need but never join another barter group.

[Socalfmf]

as a group I think someone would always get the short end of the stick...I would not do it.

sam

[GraphicDisorder]

Ya hell no to a group. 

[tonypep]

Used to be in a group in the ATL....... HATED IT!

[sweetts]

I did some fat man bartering, shirts for pizza 15 shirts for 5 dinner, sheet pizza salad pop and garlic bread. It worked out to $10.25 a shirt. Thinking about bartering for landscaping.


RT Screen Designs
www.rtscreendesigns.com

[Sbrem]

So my gut response was correct, stay away. If I have an individual basis like the video again, that's a good trade, but otherwise, it doesn't sound like a particularly good idea. Thanks everyone.

Steve

[ericheartsu]

We only do it with people know, or for things we want to sponsor. For instance we sponsor a big music fest in Houston, and our sponsorship is deducted from the invoice for our "trade"

[inkman996]

We only do it with people know, or for things we want to sponsor. For instance we sponsor a big music fest in Houston, and our sponsorship is deducted from the invoice for our "trade"

Same here we do some "in kind" sponsoring.