ITEX in the News

Barter to trade or exchange one commodity (or service) for another Merriam Webster.

Jim Botkin, the self-proclaimed Barter Guy and owner of Colorado Barter who recently joined the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, said there are two kinds of bartering.

Direct bartering is the exchange of goods or services between two people.

This is what most people think of as bartering, he said. I have cows and you have chickens so I'll exchange my milk for your eggs. That kind of bartering has been around nearly forever.

The second kind of bartering is indirect.

If you have what I want but I don't have what you want, then what? Botkin asked. That's where indirect bartering comes in. I don't have what you want but I know someone who does so I will trade something I have with him for something you want and then trade that item with you for what I want.

Indirect bartering can be a complicated way of doing business so several companies have found high tech ways to simplify the process and, incidentally make it easier to satisfy IRS income tax rules.

With direct bartering, both parties are supposed to report the value of the bartered item as income, Botkin said. If you don't report it, they can throw the (tax) book at you. The IRS even pays people to inform on those who barter and fail to report it.

Botkin's company is a franchise of one of those indirect bartering communities ITEX Payment Systems.

According to the ITEX website, http://www.itex.com/, the company acts as a marketplace for business to business cashless transactions.

I like to think of myself as business consultant who can help you get what you need without using your hard-earned cash, Botkin said. ITEX Members have individual accounts and they pay for goods and services with ITEX Dollars they earned from other members who traded what they had for ITEX Dollars. The company keeps records and issues IRS 1099 forms to each member at the end of the year.

To find out more about bartering communities like ITEX, visit the ITEX website or check out the National Association of Trade Exchanges, http://www.natebarter.com/; the International Reciprocal Trade Association, http://www.irta.com/; Active International Corporate Trade, http://www.activeinternational.com/ and Bartercard.com.

For more information about Colorado Barter, call Botkin at 239-1965, email jim.botkin@itex.net or visit http://www.coloradobarter.com/.