| Mention barter and many people think it was | | | | under the purview of the incometax and the sales |
| something those ancients did byswapping things | | | | tax departments. |
| for food and vice versa when money wasn't | | | | Today, it is amazing to see what all can be |
| around. Its time to wake up dude! You have been | | | | obtained through barter... computerhardware and |
| there, done that. You have bartered as kids. | | | | software, household items, jewelry, books, CDs, |
| Remember those super hero comics you got for | | | | movies, hotelaccommodations, real estate, etc. |
| the baseball cards your pal didn't have? Well, the | | | | The list may well be endless! Barter is bigbusiness |
| news is, barter as a form of business is alive and | | | | and getting bigger with every passing day. |
| kicking, and making fast inroads into modern | | | | Bartering is becoming popular because it offers |
| trade. | | | | some excellent benefits. It savescash and |
| A standard dictionary defines barter as trading | | | | increases profits by boosting the bottom line. It |
| goods or services without theexchange of | | | | strengthens relationshipsbecause of closer |
| money. It is conducted between two parties who | | | | interaction with barter customers. It generates |
| have products orservices that each other need. | | | | new business, asbarter customers often end up |
| The key word here is 'need'. In ancient times, if | | | | becoming cash customers or rope in others. It |
| atoolmaker wanted eggs, he could only get them | | | | helpsmarket business in ways not otherwise |
| if the egg dealer wanted tools. Andif he didn't, the | | | | possible by attracting certain customers thatare |
| toolmaker very well went without eggs. Or he | | | | otherwise difficult to obtain. It helps to move |
| went right back andclobbered the egg dealer silly | | | | surplus stock that will otherwiselie unsold. And it |
| with his tools to get those eggs! Err... this | | | | has the potential to expand the market area |
| latterexchange may not qualify as bartering! | | | | dramatically. |
| Since antiquity all societies successfully practiced | | | | No wonder when considering funding applications, |
| barter as an accepted medium ofexchange. In the | | | | venture capitalists areincreasingly evaluating the |
| not so distant past, doctors were being paid in | | | | ability of applicants to barter. That barter is |
| chickens, apples orother farm produce! Then | | | | gaininglegitimacy as a corporate asset is |
| money made its appearance and became the | | | | demonstrated by the many seminars targeting |
| lifeblood ofbusiness. And bartering was thought to | | | | Corporate Finance Officers. |
| have died a natural death. | | | | Businesses generally use two types of barter. |
| Nothing could have been further from the truth. | | | | The one-on-one bartering, which isthe true form |
| Bartering thrived all along, albeit ona low key. Take | | | | of bartering involving two parties, and third party |
| the case of the communist countries during the | | | | bartering that usessome form of currency to |
| cold war. Barteroften played an important role in | | | | allow more dynamic exchange between the |
| trade for them, as their currencies were not | | | | partiesinvolved. |
| readilyconvertible. Or take the case of Germany | | | | If statistics provided by the International |
| after the two world wars. Bartering becametheir | | | | Reciprocal Trade Association are anythingto go |
| prime means of exchange at the retail level, as | | | | by, barter today is a huge six-billion-dollar |
| currencies collapsed due tohyperinflation. So, | | | | business-to-business hitworldwide. And this figure |
| barter saved the day for these countries. | | | | is expected to grow by more than ten percent |
| Glyn Davies very rightly observes in A History of | | | | annually. |
| Money from Ancient Times to the | | | | If you are not already bartering, you should |
| Present Day that "barter has, undeservedly, been | | | | probably consider it. There arenumerous ways to |
| given a bad name in conventionaleconomic writing, | | | | find barter deals online. You can search for online |
| and its alleged crudities have been much | | | | barterwebsites, join online barter clubs or |
| exaggerated". Barter hassurvived to this day. | | | | contribute to bartering newsgroups. If you |
| Why? Simply because people needed it then, as | | | | haveyour own website, you can set up barter |
| they need itnow, only the methods have changed. | | | | message boards or chat rooms to getbarter |
| In the modern day, the advent of computers not | | | | offers. |
| only revolutionized the world, italso facilitated a | | | | For better or for worse, barter is here to stay, |
| sudden resurgence of bartering. The tremendous | | | | making business lucrative to thecash-rich and the |
| capabilities ofthis new technology of tracking | | | | cash-strapped alike. Edmund Burke has rightly |
| barter transactions and maintaining hugeinventories | | | | noted in hisspeech on the occasion of Conciliation |
| made bartering an easy and inexpensive form of | | | | of America in the 1700s that, "Allgovernment - |
| trading. The spread ofbarter exchanges, which | | | | indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, |
| create markets for traders, has also fueled its | | | | every virtue and everyprudent act - is founded |
| spread. | | | | on compromise and barter". |
| Bartering has become serious business and comes | | | | |