Cash-strapped businesses increasingly are trading goods and services for everything from newspaper ads to exterminators to lobster dinners.Well beyond the days of swapping one goat for 30 chickens, business-to-business barter has gained fresh cachet during a recession marked by dried-up credit markets and slumping sales across most industries.

Barter has become a popular option for companies looking to unload inventory, boost the customer base and conserve cash.

“If a business understands the basics of barter, it is a means to have a competitive edge,” said Ken Meharg, CEO of business-to-business barter company New England Trade Inc. in Malden. “Barter can move excess inventory, generate sales and increase cash flow.”

Full Story: Tough times are ushering in the bartering economy

Amid the current recession, bartering is booming as businesses and individuals look for ways to cut costs by dealing in goods and services instead of cash.One Massachusetts exchange has seen transactions surge by more than 30 percent. “When recession looms, barter booms,” said Ken Meharg, whose company has more than 1,000 members from the North Shore to Cape Cod. “In a bad economy, for those that understand barter, it will help them weather the storm. Everybody is used to ‘cash is king’ but barter is the next best thing.”

Meharg said members in his company’s network use “trade dollars” to purchase services within the exchange’s network, and some give out bonuses – in “trade dollars” – to employees. For example, a car dealership member gave employees barter dollars, which could be used for services at a dentist in the exchange network, because the dealership didn’t offer dental insurance.

“I think business owners have to rethink, retool and get back to basics,” Meharg said. “Barter is certainly one of those basics.”

The Patriot Ledger,  Feb 21, 2009  – Full Story