I’ve been reading a number of articles from larger media (Wall Street) about the cyclical nature of economies and barter’s place in that cycle. I think if you ask any barter professional in the industry right now, they would all answer that barter is a popular option right now. ITEX and IMS both reported increases in 2009 in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
Does that tie barter to an economic cycle, or is business to business barter just getting good press and an increase in exposure?
My opinion? Barter is not tied to a cycle. The economics behind barter (i.e. buying with wholesale dollars, getting new clients, etc.) translate to boom cycles. Barter may be seeing an increase overall, but that does not mean barter goes up automatically during a bust. Thanks to the internet, savvy media outlets, and some great companies doing their best to bring barter mainstream, we see a great increase in the industry. The bust just happens to be a great time to get that word out. Cash is tight, people still want to increase business, so they are looking for anything they can do to keep moving forward. Barter happens to be an excellent way for that to happen.
