Bartering has been around, well I would say since the beginning of civilization. And not surprisingly, barter is flourishing in this economy.

My husband and I have been using barter for a number of years and for the most part it has been a pretty good arrangement. We belong to one of the many organized barter companies in this country and have used it for close to fifteen years. Overall, barter has served us well and enabled us to purchase and do things that we might not have been able to do otherwise.

This his how it works: my husband’s design business is listed in the online  directory of the barter company we belong to under the Advertising and Design Category. If someone hires him through the barter company, instead of paying him cash, they pay him with their own barter dollars that get transferred into our account. As we accumulate our barter dollars we are then free to purchase products and services from other participating members. The barter company gets a commission and members do need to pay tax on their earned dollars (that might be considered one of the drawbacks).

For us barter has evolved and in many instances, relationships that began through the barter company have grown into long term arrangements, where we were able to barter directly. One in particular was with our family dentist. He found he needed ongoing design services as his business grew and he updated his practice, so we were able to barter our family’s dental care for a number of years. When my daughter needed braces, my husband approached a local orthodontist and offered to give him a new logo and identity.

Over the years we have gone on some great ski vacations, had our house painted, spent thousands of barter dollars in restaurants and rented a summer house on Shelter Island. All in all, not a bad thing.

I would say that the only draw back is when the cash reserves are low and people keep calling you for barter jobs. So far I haven’t figured out how to pay the electric bill or buy groceries on barter (although I do hit a local bakery every week and stock up on bagels and a few goodies).

If you’ve got a product or service that you think you can barter, I would definitely encourage you to consider barter. Barter can fill some major expenses or bring some nice added perks into your life. It can even help to build your business, if you use it wisely. If you decide to sign on with one of the many barter companies out there, just be sure to do your homework. Talk to people who have been members for at least a couple of years, make sure they offer some goods and services that you would want to purchase and see how their fees stack up to the industry standards.

Alternatively I would strongly encourage you to look for opportunities to strike up a direct barter arrangement whenever the situation presents itself. I recently went to a friend of ours who coaches Keynote speakers to inquire about some coaching for myself and we struck a deal for me to provide her with some internet marketing and SEO services for her new website.