Written by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews

New England Trade Pulls Off The Impossible—Great Seats For Yankees Vs. Red Sox Playoffs!

Gary Oshry, President of New England Trade, says his trade brokers sold over $30,000 in Red Sox tickets for the playoffs in one day. "These tickets are almost impossible to get for cash, yet we got them at 100% barter for our clients. Most of the tickets are in the first 10 rows between home plate and 1st base...not nose bleed or bleacher seats!"

Oshry says that the company's new web site for "Members Only" was unveiled last week. Members can buy scrip online 24/7, and browse a constantly updated membership directory at www.newenglandtrade.com.

A reader suggests, "Your Tuesday Report lead story on the sale of the Sacramento ITEX office for $800,000 with $100,000 cash down was woefully incomplete. Is the $700,000 balance to be paid in cash, trade, or a blend? That's a pretty important part of the story. I personally suspect that a lot of the $700,000 is in trade."

Editor's Note: The readers assumption is incorrect. A $700,000 cash balance due begins with payments commencing November 2003, according to Steven White, CEO of ITEX.

Incidentally, the decision by ITEX management to sell corporate-owned offices is already paying dividends. The former ITEX national sales manager, John Castoro—a driven, hard-charging entrepreneur—who purchased the Toronto corporate office a couple of months ago, has doubled the trade volume from $750,000 to $1.5 million!

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International Monetary Systems Leads Industry

The subject of our current cover story in BarterNews, International Monetary Systems (INLM) headquartered in New Berlin (WI), is leading the barter industry in an often overlooked—but important—category. "We now have eleven CTBs (Certified Trade Brokers) on our staff, more than any other independent trade exchange in America," CEO Don Mardak enthusiastically stated.

Receiving the designation after having passed the industry's accreditation exam administered by the National Association of Trade Exchanges at a recent regional meeting in Columbus (OH), were James Shannon, Steve Lamp, Patrick Pierce, Laurie Bjorkgren, Charlie Lehman, and Brad Brown. "We are very proud of these individuals for achieving this special status in the barter industry," Mardak exclaimed.

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Bentley Communictaions Announces 20% Stock Dividend

Bentley Communications (BTLY) has announced that a dividend will be payable on or about November 14, 2003, to shareholders of record as of October 24, 2003. Shareholders will receive one additional share of common stock for every five shares they currently hold. Bentley is looking to position itself in the barter industry with e-commerce services.

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Autumn Trade Fairs & Holiday Expo's....

October 25: San Diego BXI Fall Trade Fair will be held at Natural Reflections, 190 Wilshire Road, Oceanside (CA)...on Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

October 25: Continental Trade Exchange is staging its 13th Annual Barter Expo Gift Show & Auction. Milwaukee County Sports Complex 6000 W. Ryan Road, Franklin (WI).

November 16: BXI Ventura-Santa Barbara 3rd Annual Holiday Trade Fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oxnard Radisson Hotel. For more info: (805) 376-9466.

November 18: CTE's Columbus is holding its Holiday Showcase at the Medallion Country Club in Columbus (OH).

December 3: CTE Cincinnati's Holiday Showcase will take place in Columbus (OH).

December 6: ITEX Denver Holiday Trade Fair will be held at 5293 Ward Road, Arvada (CO). For more info: (720) 889-1365.

December 7: CTE' 23rd Annual Holiday Expo is scheduled at Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, (CA).

December 14: TradeAmericanCard's 2003 Barter & Business Expo will be presented at The Grove of Anaheim. For more info: (714) 532-1610.

(Send your "holiday fair/expo information" to: bmeyer@barternews.com)

Nineteen years ago, in issue #8 of BarterNews, we reported on an entrepreneurial California vintner who embraced barter to build his winery...we feel his thinking about barter's applicability is as relevant today as that of two decades ago.

Vintner Finds Answer In Barter For Building Business

BarterNews: What percentage of the 100 wineries listed in Napa Valley Yellow Pages barter?

Vose: Less than five percent. It wasn't long ago that I too was skeptical and defensive about barter. I didn't understand how a trade exchange worked, and I had no idea of the services they could provide me. Now I'm a member of four exchanges, and overall I'm very pleased with the added
business they're bringing in.

BarterNews: Are the trade exchanges all located in Northern California?

Vose: Mostly. I'm a member of BX of Napa, American Trade Association in San Rafael, and Trade Services International in Santa Rosa. In Southern California I've recently joined TradeAmericanCard.

BarterNews: What differences do you see in the exchanges?

Vose: There's a difference in the aggressiveness of the owners. Personally, I like to work with exchanges who'll work for me, go out of their way to find the products or services I'm looking for. A particularly good example of this is Stephen Hayes, president of Trade Services International. He has been more than helpful.

Ironically, one of the largest trades I've made through a trade exchange came about by accident, without the help of anyone at the exchange. I had bought a new 25-foot motor home in 1970 and wasn't using it, so I priced it at $13,500 BX while looking for a high-grade lawnmower, on trade. I also traded the motor home, as the people I acquired the lawnmower from were looking for a motor home and had sufficient BX.

BarterNews: What percentage of your annual business is done on barter?

Vose: Now it's around 8%, however I can handle more and plan on doing so in the future.

BarterNews: Do you trade direct with restaurants and hotels, the "users" of your wine?

Vose: Yes. I work directly with four restaurants up here for our needs. And I've moved $15,000 worth of wine, through a barter broker recently, to markets outside my immediate area.

BarterNews: What about trading your wine to the airlines?

Vose: Now that's a unique situation. We've traded with them indirectly through a broker who had airline connections, but overall working with them on a large scale is a problem. The reason being that most wineries produce cork-finished products in bottles containing 750 milliliters, or 375 milliliter half-bottles.

The airlines want wine in smaller screw-tops, 187 milliliters. There are very few small wineries that have the expensive, specialized equipment to handle the airline requests. The other problem, quite frankly, is that the airlines are looking for the lowest price available. Buying top-quality wines is not their number one priority.

BarterNews: When you trade your wine, is it at wholesale or retail price?

Vose: If a trader has a liquor license or a resale license, and is legitimately able to buy products at wholesale, I will trade my wine at our wholesale price. Otherwise, all trades are made at retail price.

BarterNews: Now that you've been bartering for a couple of years, what do you see down the road for yourself, in regards to barter?

Vose: It's wide open! I see more and more companies, as well as individuals, becoming aware of the advantages and possibilities of barter. Here at Vose Vineyards we're compiling a list of traders. I plan on contacting them regularly, and building quite a business through barter.

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