Written by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews

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Barter Industry Research Underway...
Your Valuable Input Is Requested

The International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) has launched their statistics gathering effort to determine valid and reliable barter industry statistics. This information is increasingly important as business communities, media, governments, and financial industries around the world continue to take notice of our industry.

IRTA is called upon regularly to give interested parties information about the barter industry such as size of the industry, average annual growth rate of barter, number of clients that engage in barter, etc. It is important that we produce valid and reliable information. To do so, we need your help!

You are not required to be an IRTA member, nor are you required to join IRTA in order to participate. Your response can remain anonymous if you choose. We simply ask every barter exchange owner to take a few minutes to provide answers to several short questions. Simply click on the following link to access a short questionnaire that, when completed by you, will provide the collective information we need to do this job on behalf of the industry:

www.esurveynation.com/irta/irta.htm?1096

IRTA has contracted with Lewis and Clark Research to collect the responses, analyze the data and produce a report of findings, so information about your specific company will be kept confidential. The questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Krista Vardabash at 585-424-2940. For technical assistance with the survey, please contact help@readersurvey.com.

Thank you for your assistance in this important industry project. The time you spend in generating the information will be to your benefit and the benefit of the entire barter industry.

Trade Exchange Owners...
Build Rapport & Empathy With Your Client Base!!

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Talk About Lack Of Fulfillment, Wow!

The largest private currency in the world today is the frequent flier mile...aggregately there’s 10 trillion in the marketplace. Valued at 2 cents each, that’s a $200 billion currency! And it far, far, exceeds all of the trade dollars in existence worldwide by a factor of a hundred or more.

So for the nay-sayers, the barter industry critics, who view a trade exchange member’s trade dollars as a liability if they aren’t spent quickly, consider this...

Frequentflier.com says about 75% of accumulated travel rewards (frequent flier miles) are NEVER redeemed! (And scrip, which is sometimes issued in direct 1:1 trades, sees 25% or so breakage.)

Editor’s Note: The airlines also play hardball with cash-paying customers when they can’t use a purchased ticket, for whatever reason. They won’t refund the money, but rather give the customer one year in which to use the ticket or lose it! (If the customer chooses to use the ticket, then an extra $100 is charged by many airlines for the rescheduling!)

Get New Money-Making Ideas And Valuable Contacts!

You can obtain useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue of BarterNews.

Starbucks, XM Satellite Radio Strike Barter Marketing Alliance

Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee has cemented an exclusive multi year marketing alliance with XM Satellite Radio, wherein they will be promoting one another.

XM Radio, with more than 2 million subscribers, will carry a music channel programmed by Starbucks—Hear Music. Starbucks will pipe the new channel through its more than 4,000 stores nationwide, providing XM Radio the ability to expand its brand recognition to consumers, and tap into Starbucks’ loyal customer base.

Did you know that your classified ad gets one full year exposure in the
Tuesday Report archives?!

For information on The Barter Marketplace click here.

The Barter Marketplace archives click here.

International Monetary Systems Continues Forward Progress

International Monetary Systems (OTCBB:INLM) has filed its second-quarter 10-QSB financial report showing a profit for the fifth consecutive quarter, with gross revenue of $1,110,410 for the quarter ending June 30, 2004. (Compared to $1,013,231 for the same quarter the previous year.) The company had net income of $40,512, an increase of 43% over the $28,207 for the same period in 2003.

The revenue increase was attributed to internal growth of Continental Trade Exchange and the acquisitions of California Barter Exchange and BarterNet of Brentwood (CA). The entire 10-QSB report can be viewed at www.sec.gov. For more information on the company, see www.internationalmonetary.com.

BarterNews issue #62 is now available...Get yourself a copy now! Orders are shipped within two business days. (Click on Order Form.)

From Our Files....

In 1996 we ran an article about how Hardee’s restaurants must fend for themselves with feisty competitors like McDonald’s and Burger King. At the time, they had a mountain of chicken filets left over from a limited-time-offer chicken sandwich. Here’s how they solved a major problem.

Hardee’s, a unit of Canada’s Imasco Ltd., unloaded 900,000 pounds of the special poultry, and 600,000 pounds of excess sirloin strip from other promotions, to a corporate barter company.

The barter company moved the meat to food-service brokers, and the meat ultimately wound up in school lunches. Hardee’s used the trade credits earned from the sale to buy more specially prepared chicken for future promotions.

Jim Hutcheson of Fast Food Merchandisers, Imasco’s food-purchasing arm, was enthusiastic, “This was an alternative to liquidation, and a great way to restore value to our excess products.”

Every barter company in the world is listed on our web site, click through to our Global List of Barter Companies.

Luxury Consumers Are Not All About Money, New Study Shows

New research conduced by Unity Marketing shows that affluent consumers are just as likely to shop with the “masses” at Wal-Mart or Target as they are to frequent “tony” Madison Avenue boutiques with the “classes,” says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of, Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need. (The study was based on consumers with average incomes of $152,000.)

The study shows:

• Luxury consumers are driven experientially, it’s not about the money. Luxury just isn’t about the thing any more. It’s about the special experience one feels buying or owning that thing. The real meaning in the luxury life comes through family, friends, and experiences that deepen one’s understanding and appreciation of life.
  
• American’s value individuality over exclusivity. The American luxury consumer values the ability to express a personal point of view, an attitude, and one’s uniqueness.
  
• Luxury goods are better and quality counts. One of the primary experiences luxury consumers expect in luxury items is superior quality, finer details, superior workmanship and materials. It is this expectation of quality that makes luxury consumers willing to spend more to buy that extra feeling of confidence—but extra quality need not necessarily cost more.
  
• Luxury consumers are bargain shoppers always looking for a good deal. Consumers get an experiential thrill from paying less for the best, they get a kick out of buying on sale, finding a bargain and winning at the shopping game.
  
• The luxury consumer is highly invested in their lifestyle. The luxury lifestyle is something that consumers are heavily invested in maintaining. It says, “I have made it.” They continue to buy luxury because they appreciate the enhanced experience.
  
• Luxury consumers exhibit differences of degree. The differences within the luxury market are primarily behavioral, not motivational. All luxury consumers, up and down the income scale, gain their greatest luxury thrills from experiences.

For more information and insights on developing marketing strategies see: www.unitymarketingonline.com.

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The Art Of Trade And The Trade Of Art!

100% quality art reproductions are now available to Trade Exchanges and their clients and members through ARTrade Corporation (www.artrade.ca), a Canadian company, part of the JUMA Publishing Group. ARTrade and JUMA employ both the giclee and oil on canvas processes of reproduction. ARTrade takes pride in their diverse collection of artists and their works.

The best part is that the art can be obtained at 100% Trade and through a barter/cash blend for larger orders. ARTrade is now ready to accept your orders on their comprehensive, interactive website that not only allows your to view the catalogue, but allows you to select a frame and place the framed image on your selection of wall treatment. While shipping and taxes must be paid in cash, your will find that ARTrade’s prices are the same as the cash prices on their JUMA website. Absolutely, no trade inflation!

Hotels, interior designers and corporate premium and incentive buyers are invited to contact ARTrade and inquire about special corporate program details. ARTrade will also assist you in the development of affinity, charitable giving and loyalty programs. ARTrade is also accepting proposals from qualified Trade Exchanges and would be willing to discuss mutually beneficial marketing opportunities.

Book your corporate and holiday giving requirements early and receive a special bonus if you mention you saw ARTrade in BarterNews or the Tuesday Report.

Visit http://www.artrade.ca,
or call Brian Owen or Con Mathios at (877) 901-5862.

Big Vote Of Confidence For Mexico

Here’s some very good news for a country that is working to move forward in the world. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), one of the largest retirement systems, is investing $150 million to develop residential housing in Mexico.

Certainly Calpers feels the real estate venture holds a rich promise underscoring Mexico’s rapid urbanization, a burgeoning mortgage lending market, and a fast-growing population and a shortage of housing.

The real estate development will consist of a mix of single-family homes and apartments on the outskirts of Mexico city. Prices will range from $15,000 to $150,000, with the bulk of housing catering to the lower-income population.

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Here & There...

• The California Association of Business Brokers member survey reveals that the majority of small and medium-sized businesses sold in California during the past 12 months used equity from buyers’ residences to help finance the deal. (Home equity has thus surpassed stock sales as a source of capital to buy a business.)
  
• The U.S. is in the early stages of a shift away from a national economy and toward a global economy, as the end of the international apparel quotas on December 31 signify. Major consolidation is underway as restrictions for the manufacturing of clothing is ended.

  In southern China a “supply-chain city” is being cobbled together where a two-million square foot facility will radically alter apparel production in the future. A vast industrial campus including the factory, dormitories for 4,000 workers, and a 300-room hotel will be completed in January. This will enable a reorganization of the entire production process, which will cut down on turnaround times for new clothes and will coordinate logistics.

• Have you signed up to receive a summary via e-mail of the Tuesday Report every week? If not, go to the top of this issue (right hand corner) and sign up!

• Almost two-thirds of Americans say stress is costing them sleep, up from 50% two years ago, a survey of 1,000 adults by Polling Company found. The top reason cited: family issues.

• There are 12,000 major industry associations that hold meetings annually, typically booking from 500 to 1,500 rooms per night. And there are another 12,000 corporations that book sizable meetings. These considerable numbers are the driving force behind the new mega-hotel movement, enabling meeting planners to more easily coordinate events—having all accommodations, restaurants, shopping and entertainment, as well as a convention under one roof.

• Looking to fly this fall and winter? It’s a great time to do so because of the low, bargain-basement prices. We’re seeing higher-cost airlines matching prices of low-cost discounters, even when they can’t afford it, to fill empty seats. There’s presently too much capacity in the skies for airlines to raise prices, so unless a bunch of planes get grounded, the sales will continue.

  Long-term outlook: Bloodbaths aren’t good for an industry because in time weaker companies will have to fall by the wayside, taking capacity out so that prices can line up with actual costs. (The six big network airlines posted second quarter losses, combined, of $2.4 billion!)

• On the national news every month the big stories are about non-farm payroll jobs. Unfortunately, no reporting includes the fact that payroll employment data doesn’t provide a clear read on the economy...because it does not measure the self-employed!

  And as technology makes it easier to start a business, more individuals than ever are falling off the payroll survey radar screen. So focusing on just one piece of data—non-farm payroll jobs—is a mistake.
  
  Growth in the Gross Domestic Product shows another picture, growing a revised 4.5% in the second quarter. Additionally, exports surged 18.4% at an annual rate in the second quarter, and business fixed investments jumped by 8.8% for the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. Bottomline: economists say the focus should be on risk-taking and investment because that’s what determines growth.

• No fan of the Federal Reserve, economist Gary Shilling contends that Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan should have made interest rate moves back in 1996, rather than just deploying rhetoric in his “irrational exuberance” speech on the dot-com speculation. Three years later, when the Fed finally got serious and tightened rates in June 1999, it was too late.

  As stocks collapsed the credit authorities shifted to massive easing, to save the economy from a horrible recession and to fight deflation. With low rates and money for mortgages, along with tax cuts and leaping government spending, we’ve seen a spend-a-thon. The result being much higher debt burdens and higher home prices.

  If a nationwide fall in housing prices occurs, Shilling says we’ll be in heap of trouble. He contends the Fed’s in a real tight spot, one largely of its own making, and that higher interest rates could be brutal for a lot of people.

• If you've missed any of our weekly Tuesday Reports the past five years we have an archive of issues for you at the bottom of this week's letter...check it out!