Fresh off the press and onto the net YesPLZ! is getting ready to launch in city near you.  The guys at YesPLZ! are trying to bring back the oldest economy that exists and repackage it in a hyper local web 2.0 setting that is extremely simple to use.

YesPLZ!, a location-based, peer-to-peer service barter platform, wants to help people trade their skills with other professionals in their local area.

“People need an ultra simple way to exchange their skills with other local providers to get the services they want and need without having to open their wallet.” said Mike Ray, CEO and Co-Founder of YesPLZ!. “We are just as excited to announce YesPLZ! is up and running as we are to use it ourselves. It takes five mouse clicks to post your service and connect with other local providers to discuss a trade that makes sense.”

YesPLZ! puts service people firmly in front of each other allowing them to list a valuable service they can provide, while browsing for services they need from people in their own communities. When a service provider posts an offer to YesPLZ — whether its for massage, or dental care — people in the community who match their trade profile can see the offer and easily get in touch.  The users have a place online where they can connect to utilize their available time, save cash, and produce new business.

“Bartering of professional service between service providers happens all around us every single day.  We want to open the door and make it easier to connect with new people”  said Ray. “Until now, the opportunity to trade services with people in your city might only come from word of mouth.  Whether you’re in need of childcare, getting a broken fence fixed, or want a lawyer to look over your new apartment lease you can use YesPLZ! to find someone close by whose willing to work on trade.”

As far as the the future of YesPLZ!, Ray said “We want to feature tight social integration, and mobile technology which is extremely important to large scale growth. We want you to be able to tell if someone is in your extended social network, which might make you more inclined to connect with them.  It’s an update on the barter system as a whole, a person-to-person marketplace brought up to date with location awareness and social-networking, making it easier than it’s ever been for service providers to trade for the things they want and need”.

How YESPLZ! Works

• Post the service you’re offering along with the service(s) you’re looking for.
• YesPLZ immediately posts your trade profile in the local community on the YesPLZ! platform, and also allows you to spread the word to your friends and contacts via social channels like Facebook and Twitter.
• Local people or businesses see the service(s) you want and service you can offer.  If interested they can contact you to discuss the details.
• YesPLZ! will automatically notify you if someone matches your trade offer. Users can set it (your service offer) and forget it.

The founding team of Mike Ray, and James Crane-Baker are each serial entrepreneurs with small business and start-ups under their belts. As a small business owner, Ray used barter with customers and vendors regularly. “I always felt like I needed a solution to find more barter partners but didn’t have the time or expertise to build one.”  In May of 2011 over a phone call with James the concept was born.  James, with a background in web development and successful start-ups, began building YesPLZ.  Less than 4 months after being founded, the YesPLZ! team had built its initial version of the application, and is running a “market test”  in Santa Barbara, CA.  They promise everyone who joins and uses YesPLZ during their beta launch period will have free membership for life.

Find YesPLZ! Online:

Website: http://yesplz.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yourservice4mine

Twitter: @yesplz_sb

Off we go to test it out.

Right off the bat my BS meter is going off. It’s a new site. At the top it says there has been almost 5M large in savings…so either that number is BS or the site isn’t new. You decide.

The Free registration button at the top right is inconspicuous which to me isn’t a great thing. The registration form is pretty standard with some check boxes for further contacting, which I like. I prefer to be able to choose whether to subscribe or not, so they get extra points for this.

Then I see a link that says you have to go to a different page to complete the registration, but also a Save button…hmmm…go to the page and it has shipping information and no link back to the previous page…not good. I hit the back button and I’m back on the other page, but this time I’m hitting Save.

Apparently the site owner does not anticipate users from the United States to use the site, because the site wouldn’t let me use my US zip code.

So, I can’t tell you anything more than that. I’m not allowed to register. Sorry.

No grade, can’t complete the review. To their credit they do have some cool stuff on the site, but the lack of support for US users kinda stops me from finding out more. If you live in Canada, check it out and maybe you’ll have better luck than I have had.

More than anything the site has the feel and look of a blog. I wouldn’t be surprised if the site was built on an open source software like WordPress.

After posting my ad, I was taken directly to a list of what is available for trade, which in my world gets an A. Any time one of these sites not only makes it easy to find stuff to trade for, but then does that automatically, we’re in business. The detail pages are a little clunky and boring, but they work.

OOPS! Then I see on the details that there is no way for me to bid or buy?! How is this supposed to work then? Am I to email the person directly and set something up? Poor design boys!

When I’m testing a software, if I hit a road block like this…man…I’m done. So b2betrader.com…you get a C-. You got everything right, if not good looking, until I couldn’t make an order. Better luck next time.

Then the site lacks any of the easy functionality of the good barter sites: a quick and easy sign up area, a place to see what is available for barter, or even a prominent register button.

The one good thing I see is some of their graphics. A couple of their graphic representations are pretty good. Otherwise, the site needs help.

Can you imagine a world without money?

It starts by tapping the power of collective cooperation and letting people, both locally and around the world, exchange services for other goods and services. As the world’s leading free online bartering network, Favorpals new platform is offering just that by expanding its features to ensure that its users have the best bartering experience possible. The new and free platform not only allows users to more easily view and participates in active barters; it also gives users the ability to select and receive email notifications about barters for products or services in their area.

Favorpals, a world without money, is getting the word out concerning its new platform and features that make bartering free, easy, and local. Watch a dentist and a contractor help one other, save a substantial amount of money doing so, and form a solid friendship as well. Find the details at CNNMoney

The Health Care Exchange is just one of the services that provides members an easy and direct way to barter for anything from health care needs, automotive needs, tutoring, childcare, wedding and events services, professional services, even pet service. The new platform offers users an easy way to search for active favors and even offers some great (and funny) tips on common items we can all barter.

With the recession many media outlets have been focusing on the power of bartering for small businesses and individuals. An article in Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek said “… bartering can help you boost your business without spending a lot of cash… Barter can be great for startups as well as for seasonal businesses or those with excess capacity. A restaurant with some empty seats most nights, for example, might put gift certificates on an exchange to pay for cleaning services.”

The founders recently changed the look and feel of the site in their ongoing efforts to make navigation ever more user-friendly. With the improved look and feel, Favorpals continues to be the most progressive grassroots, green and free bartering site on the Internet, helping people to connect and create friendships and community, all without money.

Check it out.