Barter for a Website? Why not?
Bartering is not negotiating! Bartering is trading one valued service(s) or product(s) for another. In essence, bartering is simply buying or paying for goods or services using something other than money (coins or government printed paper dollars).
Bartering has been around much longer than money as we know it today. It's so easy a cave man did it! Recent estimates indicate that at least 60 percent of companies on the NYSE use the principles of bartering as a standard business practice. Aircraft manufacturers barter with foreign airlines in order to close sales on million dollar contracts. Perhaps you have experienced at one time or another in your life a friend saying, "Okay, that's one you owe me..." which is basically bartering.
The reason bartering enjoys renewed popularity in times of tight money is simply that it is the "bottom-line" method of survival with little or no cash. You don't need credit cards or cash to barter. In a bad economy, cash in anyone's pocket is indeed a very precious commodity, and bartering is even more popular. Bartering affords both the individual and the established business a way to hold onto cash while continuing to get needed goods and services. It's also an ideal way for businesses to obtain goods and services from other businesses.
If you have a service or commodity you think we might be useful to us, I may be willing to barter a website for it. No guarantee that it's something I'll want, but it doesn't hurt to ask. The size and complexity of the website will be in proportion to what you offer. A typical e-commerce website can run anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the number of products and site requirements and requires a high degree of skill and time to build it. Typically a trade is done on a dollar for dollar value, though we will occasionally barter for partial payments. We will not barter for something we don't need or want. Period.
To obtain bartered web services, you will need to let me know just what you plan to barter and once services or goods are delivered, the amount of that service is banked toward building your website. If you get carried away and go beyond the bartered amount that is "banked", you will be responsible for anything extra in cash or additional bartered goods. Just because it's bartered, doesn't mean you have carte blanche and can go overboard - you will get a website comparable to the goods you barter. We do require a barter contract and you will may have to pay sales tax on any services you get, even if they are "free" according to the IRS. How you delcare this is up to you.
We think everyone should be able to grow their business - even small cash-strapped companies. A presence on the web is the perfect place to increase your visability and provide great customer service. If you have a product or service we can use, it won't "cost" you anything except your time or that product. How cool is that?