AW Spotlight
ITEX, Barter Smarter with ITEX Dollars
By Krista Martinelli
Bartering has been around since the beginning of civilization. I remember laughing when a college friend told me that his family would barter hair cuts for chickens when he was a boy, growing up in a small town in Massachusetts. However, the wisdom of doing barter became clear to me when I embarked on my own business ten years ago. That’s when I first met Scott and Cathy Ebberbach, a dynamic couple who have been ITEX brokers in our area since 1993 and proponents of the art of bartering long before that.
I interviewed Scott Ebberbach to catch up on what’s going on with ITEX, “the Cashless Marketplace” and asked him why “barter is better.” He said he grew up in New York and was mentored by Jewish businessmen who repeatedly told him, “You’ve got to make a profit, boy.” As he grew older, he discovered that he learned after all is said and done, we are only getting 28 cents on the dollar, after inflation, taxes and everything else that cuts into today’s dollar. “You’ve lost about four times the buying power right away,” he says. “I never bought into that concept. I began bartering at an early age.” He explains that bartering is an “out of the box” approach to economics, an approach that he appreciates.
“When I was a young boy (pre-Bar Mitzvah), the school across the street was throwing out a bunch of those nice wooden desks. I collected them. I traded them for baseball cards, comics and other things that I wanted,” he recalls.
These days he enjoys being an ITEX broker. “ITEX dollars are just another currency. They are equivalent, dollar for dollar, to what would be charged in a cash transaction.” The job of the broker is similar to being a referee, according to Ebberbach. When he is introduced to a new business person, he asks, “Where should we market you?” He gets a synopsis of the business, posts this on the ITEX website and sends the information out to all of the local ITEX clients. The ITEX Marketplace, founded in 1982, is a network of business members, offering a wide variety of products and services throughout the United States and Canada. “I see it as a fair method of retail,” says Ebberbach, “where you can make limitless profit.”
In almost every business, if you are not selling at 100% capacity, you can use ITEX dollars to your advantage. For example, when I had the print version of Around Wellington® Magazine (which is now online only), there were months when we did not fill up the pages with as many ads as planned. In those instances, what would a magazine put in those spots – PSA’s? Filler material? With ITEX clients, you are filling those spots with advertising and getting paid in ITEX dollars, which can be used toward anything from pest control to dental visits to home furnishings. So as a few fellow magazine owners explained to me, why let that empty space go to waste? Over the years, I’ve used ITEX dollars toward holiday gift baskets, a rug from Medina rugs in Royal Palm Beach, monthly pest control, grout cleaning for our tile, and many other helpful things.
“What are some of your more exotic ITEX items that you have seen bought or sold?” I asked Scott Ebberbach. He mentioned exotic cars including Rolls Royces, yachts, jewelry, real estate, renovations to their historic house, time shares throughout the world, sports event tickets, rare baseball cards. “It really can be anything that has any value.” He’s also seen some very valuable paintings sold through the ITEX marketplace.
One of the most rewarding ITEX transactions took place when they had a new client and noticed that she was embarrassed by her smile. Scott persuaded her to go for a series of dental appointments using ITEX dollars. “I remember when she smiled for the first time without covering her mouth – she gained her self-respect again,” he says. As a massage therapist, she was able to get her smile taken care of through ITEX, something she never felt able to do with cash.
Throughout the ITEX network, there are over 20,000 members coming from a variety of different fields. A few of the ITEX members / vendors in the Wellington area include: a chiropractor, a dog groomer, a dentist, a dry cleaner, a parenting-focused magazine and, yes, AroundWellington.com.
For business owners who would like to become ITEX members, there is no start-up cost. On a monthly basis, there’s a $20 cash fee and $10 ITEX dollar fee, which go toward administrative expenses. On every transaction there’s a 6% charge in cash, whether you are buying or selling.
ITEX brokers are the first to tell you that they do not expect ITEX dollars to replace cash. As it says on their website, “we aren’t here to replace cash, we are here to maximize your time, or get full value for your inventory.” That’s the magic of ITEX. Some consider it “play money.” Some consider it a creative approach to buying and selling. It’s a refreshing alternative to cash transactions. It can be a great way to fill in the “holes” in your schedule if you provide services or to move inventory if you are selling goods.
The Ebberbachs are an interesting family. They also own a historic house in Monticello, Florida called the Daffodale Estate, which they run as a bed and breakfast. Circa 1897, the Daffodale Estate is known for its history of ghost sightings, and Monticello is known as the “most haunted town in Florida.” Check out more about the Daffodale Estate by visiting their website – http://www.daffodaleestate.com/ They are the perfect, friendly couple to welcome you into their historic home, if you’d like to visit. Many visitors each year, who enjoy the possibility of a ghost sighting, make the trip to the Daffodale Estate and enjoy this very different, lovely part of Florida.
“We are now a barter family,” Scott Ebberbach announces happily, explaining that their son Adam met the CEO of ITEX a few years ago, bought a franchise and moved to Vancouver, Washington. They are also not shy when it comes to publicity and are currently being considered for a reality TV series called “Barter Junkies.”
Scott and Cathy are a warm and welcoming couple to introduce you to the world of bartering. If you could use a boost for your business, call them today.
ITEX
Scott and Cathy Ebberbach
(561) 731.3434