About

Over the past few years many individuals, businesses and organizations have joined together to promote shopping locally. Many recognize the very real threat large chain retailers based elsewhere cause to the fabric of a community. Many people have made it a point to spend their dollars locally as much as possible in an effort to preserve the locally owned businesses who do have a stake in the well being of the community.

However, it takes more than the good intentions of shopping locally to make a lasting impact. While many people admirably choose to shop locally because they believe strongly in the value of doing so, many people need a more immediate and personal benefit to motivate them to patronize local businesses. We also recognize that even dollars spent locally do eventually leave the community. A 2003 study commissioned by the Austin Independent Business Alliance concluded that when $100.00 is spent at a local business, only $45.00 remains in the community*. While still an improvement over the merely $13.00 remaining in the community after $100.00 is spent at a chain*, we can do even better than that. We have developed a means not only to encourage local commerce within communities but to also assist communities in building their tangible wealth base.

Our national barter group is free to join and each merchant has full control over the terms they choose to set for accepting barter business. The only requirement for joining is that you agree to accept our silver barter currency at its face value in trade for your goods and services. Our silver barter tokens serve both as a means for merchants to keep track of the amount of barter business they have provided or received, and as a local currency. Business owners and customers can purchase our barter tokens from our Trade Coordinators at a discount.