Back to NewsCOMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BARTER
We often come across small business owners without much bartering experience. Perhaps they have bartered on a one-to-one basis before, but not in a network setting. These business owners often have an unrealistic expectation of how a barter network works, and more importantly, how it will benefit them! There are many misconceptions about the barter industry, but the most common one we hear is people who think they can trade for free!
NEW TO THE BARTERING SYSTEM
For example, we will become introduced to a painter who has been operating a successful painting business for the past 5 years. He is currently expanding his business to new areas, and desperately needs new print marketing material in the way of brochures and business cards. BarterPay connects with the business owner and explains how we can help him fulfill this request by tapping into the extensive BarterPay network. With no previous barter network experience, he unfairly expects to trade his painting services for the brochures he needs, yet get his supplies, gasoline, materials and labour paid for in cash!
He does not want to pay the printer in cash for the paper, ink and labour to produce his brochures, but expects cash to be paid for his expenses. This is not fair to the printer, nor does it create a lasting barter relationship between the 2 business owners. The nature of trading is that you get what you give. The more you trade and in higher quantities, the more you get back, and at higher percentages of trade. It just always seems to happen that way.
THE NATURE OF TRADE – YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE
Every small business has a cash cost to barter, which is called the “Incremental Cost of Goods Sold”. This does not include overhead, leases, salaries, etc., but rather only the extra cash costs associated with taking on a new job. This makes it so that everyone has some skin in the game. To learn more about trading using Canada’s barter system, visit our frequently asked questions section.
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