Bartering

[Bryan C 14]

Seems like I get a lot of this. I have a chiropractor that would like me to restore her deck in exchange for her services.

Never had back pain (yet) but it sounds interesting. I submitted the estimate - $2400 - before she threw the suggestion out, but was wondering if others would go for it?

Any suggestions so I can make it worthwhile? How would you approach it so it is fair to the both of us? Dollar for dollar or X amount of office visits?

Edited May 19, 2008 by Bryan C

[PressurePros 249]

Bryan, bartering is a great way to control costs. Having said that, I would not exchange a $2400 service, especially one I wasn''t actively seeking. You might consider taking off $500 for 5 visits or something, but dollar for dollar, that's too much income to give up on a service you could live without.

[814jeffw 71]

Well, at least bartering isn't taxable. Bartering is only beneficial if you actually need what is being offered, meaning..are you gonna purposely spend money on the offering. It's truly hard to beat good ole' regular, everyday money. I've done it though, got a 66' four door Malibu one time for a house wash.

Jeff

[Bryan C 14]

Yeah, I agree with you guys. I like straight-up cash. I was kind of taken back by the whole approach and told her I would think about it. She said she wants to go ahead with the work regardless, I just don't want to give her the impression that I could care less about her proposal or her line of work.

The whole "what is fair" for the both of us thing is difficult especially since I don't need her services. Now if it was for a Vegas trip or something similar, I would be staining right now...

[Celeste 341]

Bryan - she may just be working on the whole "you never know until you ask" thing. If you HAD an immediate need, it would have worked out well maybe. I'm with Ken on the no dollar for dollar thing. Out of pocket is bad for business! I don't think a medical student loan qualifies equally to purchasing materials for a job :)

[Scott Stone 604]

I don't barter. Bartering is taxable, and I don't want to have to lay out cash for something that I have no cash benefit from. And since she wants to do the work either way, there is no way in this world I would do it for a barter, especially since it is not something that I need.

[814jeffw 71]

How is bartering taxable? Clue me in on this?

Jeff

[PressurePros 249]

How is bartering taxable? Clue me in on this?

Jeff

Jeff:

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html

You have to be careful. It may seem like hidden income but the business with whom you are bartering can declare what they traded as an expense and the paper trail will lead right back to you.

Edited May 19, 2008 by PressurePros

[814jeffw 71]

Only if receipts are exchanged.

Jeff

[PressurePros 249]

I just started bartering and like anything in business, you try to tilt the favor to benefit you. This season I traded 100 multi colored, double sided silk screened Hanes Beefy Tees (about $11 apiece if I bought them elsewhere) for a housewash that took me and a helper three hours. Even taxed at 15% I write off the chems and payroll and made out like a bandit.

[PressurePros 249]

Only if receipts are exchanged.

Jeff

I'm not touching that one :seeya:

[814jeffw 71]

Yea, it's getting a little gray in here.Actually I really don't care, I haven't bartered since the Malibu.

Jeff

Edited May 19, 2008 by 814jeffw

[Yolanda 64]

I believe I would let her pay me and then if my back starts to hurt I would call and schedule an appointment. My back will probably not hurt enough for a doctor's visit for that amount of bartering.

[RPetry 564]

Bartered a mahogany restoration job for a business logo 5 yrs. ago. The customer is a graphic artist. One time arrangement, still a customer. Worked out well for both of us. His deck is still standing and we are still using the logo!

[Ron Musgraves 240]

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Edited May 19, 2008 by Beth n Rod
fixed it

[PWkid 79]

Ron very good info, I trade services all the time but it got to the point (with my business) I can only use so much free food. I used to do TGIF for a $50.00 gift certificate and another radio station guy for free food or whatever he was going to promo that week. Well long story short it got the point that I realized very quickly that I can't buy gas, pay labor, buy chemical or equipment with these. I will do small one time jobs with gift certificates. It takes good ole cash to run a business and pay bills. I wish the electric company would take a gift certificate for my bill with them but unfortunately they don't. Nice you tube video buy the way. I need to talk to you one day when you get a minute I have a chain that wants a one time cleaning and I need to convert them to a maintenance.

[Celeste 341]

Oh please.......the whole bartering thing with commercial is not new. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2986&highlight=restaurant+gift+cards&page=2is See post #21 from John Orr forward.

Our limited commercial desires with a certain food facility got us paid in food certificates for two years, yes......but that is often up to the management. New manager, new cleaning contract for less $$ than we were willing to work for. Not only that, but every CEO/Business owner/Property manager lives somewhere.

W have done residential work for a CEO biggie who has in turn, hooked us up with over $15K of commercial wood work first quarter of this year at his statewide retail locations because we did such an outstanding job on his personal home. For this he gets his maintenance cleanings at a discount - whoop-tee-doo. Sometimes, it all comes down to taking care of he who writes the checks.

[PressurePros 249]

Ron invented bartering.

[Celeste 341]

Oh yeah :) Probably mimosas too LOL

[alvisishere 66]

I belong to to Bartering Company called Itex.

People will call me outside of my customer base, it is up to me to barter % labor and/or materiel.

I then buy goods/services for other who's business use Itex bartering system.

Not for everybody but works for me.

[reed 500]

I do a "trade off"/bartering if you want to call it bartering. I redo a deck, about 900sf of wood every two years in return for a key to 248 acres of land to hunt on. GOOD TRADE in my book.

reed

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Oh please.......the whole bartering thing with commercial is not new. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2986&highlight=restaurant+gift+cards&page=2is See post #21 from John Orr forward.

Our limited commercial desires with a certain food facility got us paid in food certificates for two years, yes......but that is often up to the management. New manager, new cleaning contract for less $$ than we were willing to work for. Not only that, but every CEO/Business owner/Property manager lives somewhere.

W have done residential work for a CEO biggie who has in turn, hooked us up with over $15K of commercial wood work first quarter of this year at his statewide retail locations because we did such an outstanding job on his personal home. For this he gets his maintenance cleanings at a discount - whoop-tee-doo. Sometimes, it all comes down to taking care of he who writes the checks.

It might be new to some, I remind myself all the time this is and option.

I personally would not barter 100% or even 5% on a one time job.

If I did residential cleaning the bartering example i might use would be free leagal, movie tickets. Things everyone can use or something with great importance. Another contractor barter recently for food, he happens to have and event coming were he will use the food gift certificates.

Bartering and trade can be a win win for all.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

It's funny....when you think back on it we all learn to barter as kids. Who hasn't traded parts of their school lunch with friends, or traded baseball cards? Bartering is a pretty fundamental negotiating skill. I would agree that someone new to business might not make the connection to use this skill, but it's certainly something worth trying and applies not just to residential and commercial work, but other areas of your business as well. You can exchange services with other businesses too.

Beth :cup: :banana: