Cash, check -- or a full set of dental X-rays?

That's the kind of question more businesses are encountering as bartering works its way deeper into the economy.

Bartering -- trading what one has (or has too much of) for products and services one needs -- is proof that "all things old are new again." Mankind's first economic model, bartering eventually was supplanted by currency and credit.

Today, bartering is enjoying resurgence. Craigslist, for instance, has seen a big increase in barter trades. According to reports, use of its bartering section rocketed up more than 100 percent between April 2008 to April 2009.

Bartering is enjoying a boom locally, though it's been around longer than most know. Dr. Andy Koultorides, who runs a dental practice in Munster, has bartered dental services for office cleaning services with Constant Clean for more than 10 years. The two businesses barter their services through a national exchange called ITEX (itex.com).

"Cash is the harder thing to come by in this economy," Koultorides said. "Bartering is one more way to make a deal."

Koultorides has swapped his dental skills for a wide array of products and services, including office cleaning and supplies, printing, vacations and more.

Constant Clean, according to owner Robert Baidinger, trades its work for dental exams and fillings for employees, as well as advertising, printing and the design of a new Web site from fellow ITEX member Datamine. Baidinger's company, with offices in Munster and Crown Point, has been bartering for more than 15 years.

"It's a really good option," Baidinger said. "Most businesses need cleaning services, and we've got the people and materials to do the work ready to go. Instead of spending the cash we must have for other bills, we can trade what we have for other things that we need."

George Huskisson has also been active in business-to-business bartering for 15 years. The owner of Hammond Fence Co., he said bartering offers almost unlimited options.

"Over the years, I've bartered our services for accounting help, vehicle tires, Dumpster service, dental work, a honeymoon trip. One time when I wanted to inspect a job our company was doing for a radio station in Cleveland, I used barter to pay for my airfare, rental car, hotel and even food during my stay."

Region ripe for bartering

Doug Dagenais, national sales manager of ITEX, said this region is rich territory for bartering.

"This area has been a great market for us," said Dagenais, who was a stakeholder in predecessor company Barter Corp. and now is back at the re-named company.

"There is a lot of interest; businesses are concentrated, and people know each other here, which helps with networking and getting more companies to participate."

ITEX, like other bartering exchanges, serves as the go-between. The company grows the membership, maintains a computerized bartering platform, and keeps the records of trades, credits and payments. It also handles taxes, as merchandise or services traded through barter are not exempt from normal levies.

ITEX takes a 6 percent fee for its part in managing and marketing the system and handling member accounts. One of Dagenais' jobs is growing the membership so business members find more and more products and services they need.

"If a member wants a product or service that no other member offers, we actively go looking for a company that may want to become a member of ITEX and start bartering," Dagenais said.

Nationally, ITEX has 24,000 members. The Chicago-to-Northwest Indiana territory stands at about 1,000 clients and is growing. The barter trades are computed in "dollars"; for instance, a dental exam that costs $85 is traded for $85 in product or service, and no company has to adjust its usual pricing or business model. Though there are numerous national and regional bartering exchanges, ITEX alone generates about $100 million annually in gross merchandise value.

"What's hardest to part with right now is cash," Dagenais said. "Businesses are watching every penny. In fact, we see more bartering for hard goods and medical and dental services and less for fancy vacations these days. But whatever a business needs or wants, bartering is one more tool for the business owner to use."

Creativity is key

The list of products and services is long and varied. Member businesses barter everything from design, dental, plumbing, and other services for printing, fencing, cleaning, computers, phone systems, advertising, office furniture, and more.

Though the profit margin is too slim for businesses like grocery stores and gasoline stations, there are opportunities to barter for upscale goodies like vacations and unique items. A member can search ITEX's online database for a product or service or call the company directly. The entry cost is low: $20 per month to maintain an ITEX account as well as the 6 percent charge on each transaction; there is no upfront registration fee.

"My wife and I took a vacation to Hawaii that we got through the bartering system," Constant Clean's Baidinger said. "But I have bought some things I wanted more than needed -- like a jukebox and vending machines. Now that the economy is tighter, I think we're all looking for the basic necessities."

Interestingly, ITEX has seen a 45 percent increase in health-care bartering over the last year. While the country struggles to reform its health care system, businesses owners like Baidinger often use barter to provide basic medical or dental services to their employees.

"We're a small company, and we can't afford a dental insurance program," Baidinger explained. "We go through ITEX to barter our services, so that our staffers can have a set number of dollars per year in dental care."

ITEX

For more information, contact ITEX national sales manager Doug Dagenais at (630) 261-7021 or doug@itex.com.

Just what is bartering?

Everyone has heard the most popular bartering story -- that Manhattan was acquired for $24 in beads. Though the legend is false (the island was actually bought in 1626 for 60 Dutch guilders, about $1,000 in today's dollars), the early economy of the colonies did revolve around bartering, as furs were swapped for axe heads, and blankets for food or tools.

Defined by the IRS as the exchange of goods or services without the exchange of money, bartering today has found a flurry of new friends in the current economic climate.

Proponents of bartering tout benefits such as increasing disposable income, gaining an appreciation for the true value of the goods and services, and fostering a greater sense of community.