Hopefully this is the first of many books to come that I will review on the topic of barter.  I heard about this book through a fellow barter fanatic who recommended it to me.  It was written by Bill Meacham of BancMarc who is a 30 year veteran in the industry.  I traded some emails and phone calls with Bill and he proved to be a wealth of information about all things barter and generously offered to send me a copy of his book for review.

Smarter Companies Barter is an 80 page self published book that is a quick read even for speed-challenged readers like myself.  What it lacks in polish it more than makes up for in passion.  The book explains the value of a modern barter exchange to the uninitiated, really hammers on the importance of ethics for all parties involved in barter and does a good job reminding folks that run barter exchanges of how to run a tight ship.  A recurring theme in the book is the importance of member education.  One potential use for the book is for exchanges to give it to new members as part of an educational program.

I have to admit that the book did lead me to question one of my own trading practices (more on that later).  It’s an unusual book that motivates me to make changes in my own life so I have to give this book my recommendation.

If you want to buy a copy of Smarter Companies Barter it is available at www.smartercompaniesbarter.com.  Ironically it is not available on barter at the time of my publishing this article.  I would also like to note that the author has mentioned the idea of sponsoring this blog.  That possibility has not influenced my review in any way, but I’m afraid you’ll need to take my word for it.

Depending on your medical insurance (or lack there of) the value of bartering for prescription drugs will vary.  In my family’s case, we have excellent insurance, however it has a high deductible which means for the first half of the year I pay cash on the barrel head for all things medical.  So at the beginning of the year, I’m paying cash for prescription drugs.  I’ve been buying perscription drugs on barter for about a year and this is what I’ve learned.

• Although I have found a number of pharmacies that will barter for prescription medications, they have never been near by.  That means that you are working through the mail.  This is not necessarily a problem, but it does mean that you need to plan ahead.  It also means that it’s unlikely that you will get antibiotics for your children when they have an ear infection.  Bartering for medication is suitable for ongoing treatments that you know about ahead of time.
• Pricing is not fantastic with barter pharmacies.  Especially if you are used to simply paying co-pays.  If you are bartering for prescription drugs, get ready to pay more than the retail rate.  That being said, I’ve found that when I take into account the wholesale price that I acquire barter credits at, the pricing works.   There are a couple reasons for the high prices:  First off, as with all hard goods that are in demand, it’s pretty normal to pay a relatively high barter rate.  Secondly, it’s generally smaller independent pharmacies that are open to trade.  They don’t have the muscle to negotiate the kind of prices that big chain pharmacies do.
• While my wife was recovering from major surgery, she was on pain killers that are more strictly regulated than most medications.  I was able to barter for these, however these prescriptions cannot be called or faxed in to the pharmacy.  The pharmacy needs the original prescription.    I would personally recommend that you have all prescriptions like this mailed directly from the doctor’s office to the pharmacy.  That way if it gets lost somewhere along the way, no-one will ever think there was any funny business on your part.
• Because timing and accuracy are so important with prescription drugs you really have to watch for good customer service.  I’ve worked with two pharmacies.  One was fantastic and the other one was horrible.    Find one you like and really take good care of them.  Pharmacies generally aren’t used to dealing with barter and adding another layer of complication in a business were mistakes are not allowed can be tough.
• It has not been my experience that pharmacies work with insurance when they are bartering.  What I have done is paid for the drugs on barter, then submit them to my insurance company myself.   Each insurance company while allow a different price for a particular medication and it will probably be considerably less than what you paid on barter.  As I mentioned in my last post…once I hit my deductible, I can submit my receipts to my insurance company and they will send me a cash reimbursement check.

Probably one of the main reasons you are here reading this post is because you want to learn more about bartering.  Well…me too.  I’d like to maintain a list of publications about barter here.  They can be traditional print or they can be electronic.  Here are the sources of info that I’m aware of right now.  I’m quite sure that it’s a very incomplete list.  Please post back comments with other sources that you are aware of

• Barter News – A print trade journal with an adjoining website.  I haven’t read this yet.  Personally I find it more than slightly ironic that I haven’t found a source to barter for a copy of this publication.  Hey Mr. Meyer!  If you’d like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription (or even a bartered one), I’d be happy to review it and refer to it from time to time.
• Tuesday Report – A free newsletter from Barter News posted online.  You can see the current issue at:  http://barternews.com/tuesday.htm
• Microtech updates – A free email list (they also twitter) that carries classified ads for the barter industry.  Sign up at:  http://microtechad.com
• Barter News Weekly – I just found this one today.  I’ll let you know if I spot anything noteworthy after I spend some time with it:  http://www.barternewsweekly.com With just a brief look it looks like a good information source, but appears that they are closely tied to barterexchangetrainers.com so don’t be shocked if they funnel you toward that site.
• All Barter Exchanges / brokers – All the exchanges and brokers are good sources of info about how to barter and what to barter.  Don’t expect info to be spoon fed to you, but it’s there if you want it.  Of course they will have an agenda.
• Every person you’ve ever bartered with – As with exchanges/brokers, barter client/vendors are a great source of info, but you need to make relationships and ask the right questions to get the “good stuff.”

What sources do you have that I don’t have listed here?  Please post back below.