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December 16, 2008 Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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From
the desk of Bob Meyer...12/16/2008
TIME magazine Looks At Alternative Currencies
TIME has
published an extensive article on alternative currencies.
Read about the growth of these currencies and their growing
popularity...
Click here
Research Group Says Consumer Bartering
Doubled In One Year
According
to the American Research Group, a think-tank that talks to
thousands of consumers every week to assay their spending
habits and how they feel about the state of the economy,
barter�s use is booming! The research group says 67% of
consumers have bartered this year, compared to 33% in the
fall of 2997.
Craigslist Barter Queries Growing
Craigslist
reported that more than 150,000 barter queries pervade
Northern California listings on the popular classifieds web
site at
http://www.craigslist.org.
Match-Value One-On-One Trading
Cynthia
Eakin, an associate professor at Stockton�s University of
the Pacific, says its legal to have matched-value trades
without documenting anything. However the IRS requires
barterers to list any profit made as taxable income. Eakin
frequently gives lectures about bartering to her students.
Column On �The Daily Paul Blog� Looks At ITEX
A blog
that is produced by Ron Paul devotees authored an article
about ITEX CEO Steve White�s comments during his appearance
on the Fox Business show. The blog writer was �given hope�
because, as he stated, the use of barter and trade
currencies will be desired by people, especially in these
trying times, and will be very hard to control by the
government.
SBA�s Loan Programs Changing
The U.S.
Small Business Administration loan programs are being
dramatically changed. Previously they were
demographic-based, but now are geographic-based programs.
Applicants are now being required to provide more
information as well as mandatory attendance at technical and
financial-assistance classes.
All
back issues of �From the Desk...� can be accessed by
clicking
here.
(Please feel
free to forward our newsletter to your friends and
colleagues. We have a �box� at the end of the
newsletter for your convenience.
See you next week. . .) |
IMS Online Barter Marketplace Product
Postings Reach Record Levels
In step with the growing popularity of online barter sites for
individuals such as Craigslist, International Monetary Systems (OTCBB:
INLM), a worldwide leader in business-to-business barter services,
recently announced that their online barter marketplace has reached
a record high of $10 million in product postings.
This is in addition to the more than $150 million dollars of
products and services available in the entire IMS nationwide
network. IMS launched the first nationwide online barter marketplace
for members earlier this year. Members are able to shop and purchase
products with their IMS trade dollars all online.
Dale Mardak, IMS� senior vice president, reflected, �We anticipated
that the new marketplace would be welcome since a few of our markets
maintained showrooms that offered limited online capabilities. We
didn�t realize that such an enormous amount of product would be
posted in such a short time. Since September, postings of available
products have soared to $10 million and the number of members
visiting the marketplace has doubled.�
CEO Don Mardak affirmed, �I believe the popularity of our new barter
marketplace is fueled in part by the current economic crisis.
Members are doing everything they can to keep their businesses
viable. They are finding that the online marketplace opens
incredible possibilities to increase selling channels while earning
valuable IMS trade dollars.�
John Strabley, IMS� executive vice president, stated, �Our trade
broker network is reporting numerous success stories from our online
marketplace: A member in California with infrequent sales because of
her specialized product has made 70 sales on the national barter
marketplace in the last 180 days.
�Another member in New York with an average of $2500 per year in
sales has sold over $9K on the marketplace in the last 90 days. An
auto accessory distributor in Colorado � brand new to IMS barter �
has completed over $12K in sales in 180 days. Clearly, the timing of
our marketplace launch was ideal for members who, because of the
economy, are looking for ways to keep their businesses humming.�
For more information on IMS see
www.imsbarter.com.
ITEX Corporation Announces
Fiscal 2009 First-Quarter Results
ITEX Corporation (OTCBB:ITEX), a leading marketplace for cashless
business transactions in North America, has filed its Form 10-Q with
the Securities and Exchange Commission and announced results for its
fiscal 2009 first quarter ended October 31, 2008.
�Even with the continuing economic instability and a weakened
business climate, we are pleased to report a profit for the
quarter,� noted Steven White, Chairman and CEO. �We recognized a
modest revenue increase for the first quarter compared to the same
quarter last year, and our net cash from operations remained
strong.�
White explained, �In the first quarter of fiscal 2009, we increased
staffing in our sales department and continued to invest in our
technology infrastructure to further strengthen our foundation for
future revenue growth. We are building in areas we believe will
generate positive returns without exposing the company to
significant risk. As a result, corporate salaries, wages, and
employee benefits increased over last year due to strategic hires.
�We expanded our staff in our broker support team, including a
senior management position, sales specialists for our new media
services sector in connection with our August 2008 acquisition of
the media services company assets, and additional staff in our
technology department in order to pursue our Software as a Service (SaaS)
initiatives.
�SG&A (selling, general & administrative) expense also increased
over last year primarily due to an increase in professional
consulting expenses for investor relations and investment banking,
and to a lesser extent, outsourced development of our technology
platform.
�For the remainder of this fiscal year we expect to continue to
invest in our future; to be aggressive in investing our cash flow
and earnings, and utilizing ITEX Marketplace resources to build
market share, grow our business and capitalize on opportunities that
arise in difficult economic conditions.
�During recent months we have had several positive news stories
providing us with great media exposure, which can be viewed in the
News section of our website at www.itex.com,� he concluded.
First Quarter 2009 Highlights
�
Revenue of $3,899,000, compared to $3,853,000 in the same period
last year.
�
Net income of $45,000, compared to $156,000 in 2008.
�
Net cash provided from operations of $706,000, compared to $803,000
in 2008.
�
Cash at end-of-period was $1,282,000, compared to $1,061,000 at July
31, 2008.
�
ITEX Media Services was launched with the August 1, 2008 acquisition
of a media trading platform and media and travel clients.
� Created
a new business development department tasked with creating
relationships with companies that have a national presence to assist
with our growth on the local level.
�
Signed a partnership agreement with iCare, a division of SYSCO,
Inc., an enterprise-level supplier of products and services to the
food service and hospitality industries.
Subsequent Events
�
In November, entered into an agreement with U.S. Bank to increase
the maximum loan amount under our revolving credit facility from
$1.0 million to $1.5 million, to lower the interest rate of the
facility, to remove certain borrowing base limitations, and to
extend the maturity date to November 30, 2009.
�
In November, paid off the remaining balance of our Promissory Note
due to The Intagio Group for the recently acquired media services
assets.
ITEX Corporation�s report on Form 10-Q can be found at
www.sec.gov.
Attention Trade Exchange Owners. . .It�s GROW OR GO!
The magic bullet for growth is sales, always has been and always
will be...yet the industry�s overall growth is anemic. Why? Maybe
it�s because we�re not providing on-going education about our unique
way of doing business. Knowledge is always a pre-requisite to taking
sustained action.
And for those newcomers, the lifeblood of an exchange, awareness of
and understanding about the value of trading is even more important.
If you expect prospects to come aboard and your members to be more
active traders, but you are perplexed when the results are less than
you desire...there�s a good reason. You must continually educate
and motivate every month--month after month after month!
Such action is necessary because, let�s face it, more cash business,
not trade, is of paramount importance to your members. You must
break through this �cash only� focus and redirect their thinking
toward barter. Although most exchanges don�t see the importance of
doing so, many industry leaders are taking action and so can you.
As the owner of your own operation, there is an easy and
inexpensive solution for moving forward...look
into using The Competitive Edge newsletter. It�s a
camera-ready, 4-page, professionally written, informational
marketing tool...available in PDF format as well as print. So
regardless of how you reach your prospects and clients, you will
have the necessary vehicle.
Written especially for you, the busy trade exchange owner, I am
certain it will be the best investment you ever make.
For more information about The Competitive Edge, and how it
can benefit you
click
here.
What�s Happening In Today�s Marketplace...The Use Of Trade Exchanges
& Corporate Barter Companies
Bakery Does 30% Of Annual Sales Through Barter
The prevailing advice to business owners, when asked how much barter
they should do, is 5% to 10% of sales. The better answer should be:
�Whatever percentage makes financial sense for your company.�
Case in point: Michael Garzouri, owner of the Killer Baking Company
in Northern California, says he does 30% of annual business in
trade. Garzouri acquired his ovens on trade, through the IMS Barter
system. He says he�s always looking to barter, because �I�m paying
for the acquired products or services with my brownies � at my
cost.� It�s impossible to buy at a better price.
Florist�s Gift Baskets Filled With Acquired Barter Product
Richard Salome, a Florist in New York, maximizes his profits by
acquiring gourmet chocolates on trade...and then uses the chocolates
in his gift baskets. He also looks for other products useful in the
operation of his florist business, like hotel rooms when attending
flower auctions, shipping labels, and dental care for all of his
employees and family.
Barter Takes On New Prominence In Corporate Marketplace
A
recent story on AdWeek.com reinforces the changes taking place in
today�s marketplace. Manufacturers and wholesalers, faced with
slower sales, are experiencing excess inventory headaches.
Result: They�re becoming pro-active and talking openly to their ad
agencies about solutions that include barter � even incorporating it
into the RFP (request for proposal) process.
When it comes to the spend-down of trade credits, traditional media
is still the core offering. But we are beginning to see digital
media requests for a company�s use of trade credits, which is sure
to grow in the future.
And globally, larger multi-national clients are wanting to apply
trade credits accrued in one region of the world to be transferred
and used in another part of the globe.
U.S. Retailers Bartering To Move Overseas Products
Unsold inventory acquired �on the cheap� from China � everything
from clothes, jewelry, TVs and furniture � is quickly being moved
out by U.S. merchants into countries where they are not bound by
contract restrictions. That way retailers will often receive a
higher price for the products, than if selling to domestic close-out
firms and liquidators.
�
International visitors look for BARTER CONTACTS in our Global Barter
Section. If YOUR exchange isn�t listed see the forms on the lower
left of the page. (Click
here.)
�
Attention trade exchange owners...thousands of visitors every month
visit our BARTER CONTACTS section on our web site where we have
names & addresses of barter companies in the USA. If YOUR exchange
isn�t listed, or the information is incorrect, you can correct the
situation by using the forms to the lower left of the USA map. (Click
here.)
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Looking Back � Barter
Happenings From Past Tuesday Reports
One Year Ago�
�What
We Can Look Forward To In 2008.�
Click here
Two Years Ago�
�Money
Is Not The Only Medium Of Exchange.�
Click here
Three Years Ago�
�Barter�s Use Grows Among Corporate America.�
Click here
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The Growth and Use of
Secondary Capital (New Money) Creates Unprecedented Wealth In
Today�s New Age Of Possibility
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are many forms of secondary capital�which can be defined as any
financial instrument that measures and communicates value in a
common language. Would you like to see and learn more about the many
forms of secondary capital?
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have 70 free, informative and inspiring, articles for you in our
�Secondary Capital Section.�
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