The Next Generation of Barter

After "experiencing" nearly all of the so-called barter organizations in the Phoenix area over the last few years-the good, the bad and the very ugly- Club E has decided to launch it's own barter company. As you all may or may not know, barter is the simple trade of goods or services at retail rates through an organization that keeps track of these exchanges through debits and credits of their own currency. The trade organization makes it's profits through transaction fees and (supposedly) provides customer service to facilitate the trades among the members in a (supposedly) seamless transaction. The results are sadly nowhere near these expectations for the client.

Over the years of trying out other barter organizations I have been flabbergasted at both the incompetence and sometimes outright criminality present. With little or no regulation (yet) in the barter world, very stupid or very crooked people are actually allowed to start and run some organizations...a distinct black eye for the barter world as a whole. I, personally, have been ripped off for one significant transaction that I engineered for $150,000 in trade credits and in light of the fact that the principal of this trade organization has been accused, convicted and now sentenced for fraud on another matter, I expected that her trade company would simply fade away. However, that's not the case. They are still out their touting their trade company, probably deceiving more business owners as they did to me and others before. Another very well established trade organization simply "forgot" to pay me what may be tens of thousands of shared trade fees we were to have earned by agreement for enrolling nearly 100 Club E members into their trade group. Now, I am forced to hire my accounting firm's forensic accounting arm to dig into the trade group's finances to prove what they "forgot" to pay me and pry it out of them.

In short, my experience with local trade groups hasn't been pretty but I remain totally committed to the concept of barter...properly executed. So, last Friday I announced that Club E will start it's own barter organization and the Club E Exchange will no longer be a "private label" for other trade organizations but will now do barter business on it's own under the name "Instant Barter."

We're going to do things a lot differently than the other trade companies. First, we're not going to gouge customers with exhorbitant transaction fees. While others may charge their clients 12% to 15% for the "privilege" of buying and selling goods and services through their exchanges, Club E's "Instant Barter" will charge only 2.5%for both the buy and sell or between 1/3 and 1/2 of everyone else's transaction fees. We will also collect that fee at the time of the transaction, so there will not be any big monthly bill to swallow for you active traders.

Club E will also accept barter from virtually any other trade organization that you may belong to. We're receiving many inquiries from people that are "stuck" with large trade balances that they simply cannot spend within their existing trade companies. We'll take care of that for you.

Finally, we're actually going to offer you something that is woefully absent in virtually any other trade group-customer service. How sad is it that customer service is the exception rather than the rule in today's business world and particularly in the barter business? Well, we are committed to doing something about that so, Ana Hawk, our Trade Director, will do her utmost to meet your needs. Simply send her your "wish list" at azclube@gmail.com and join "Instant Barter" with no enrollment fees, transaction costs at a fraction of anyone else's and our promise to do our utmost to serve your needs.

Club E has paved the way on many fronts these past four years to serve entrepreneurs...now it's time for us to lead the way in the barter world. Please join us.

Best to all,

Peter J. Burns, III
Founder

Join Us at our Club E Office (CEO)

Last August, Club Entrepreneur moved into new headquarters (our 3rd) at 300 W Osborn in Downtown Phoenix. Our CEO (Club E Office) has been established in N. Phoenix and then in Tempe but our landlords, victims to the economic times, had lost each facility to bankruptcy and we were forced to move. This new facility, with wonderful views of the City of Phoenix and plenty of parking, provides us with multiple private offices (17),conference rooms (3) and an open space capable of housing dozens od drop-ins (instead of the home office and coffe shop "offices) and hosting events of up to 300 attendees.

Our 8,000' (soon to be 10,000') of space is filled with aspiring and accomplished entrepreneurs and I hold my daily one-on-ones (almost 1000 since March) with our membership. Club Entrepreneur and it's various initiatives like Club E Products, Club E Funding and other serevices is housed at our CEO, along with 17 member businesses and scores of others that come through our doors each day. We host both our own events (Thursday noon Club E Funding workshops, "Fridays at 5," and our 1st Wednesday monthly meeting ta 5:30 PM ) along with many other gatherings. Please see if we can host your event at our CEO by reaching out to us.

Our rates can't be beat and the benefits are extraordinary-where else can you be a part of the most dynamic group of pureblood entrepreneurs in the area? We are just introducing the Club E Marketplace, an array of products and services for our membership. See the link below for my "back story" and what the Club E Marketplace is all about.

http://www.cv-vision.com/ovmt/pburns/

If you are interested in a tour of the facility to stake out your own private office or drop-in space, please reach out to us at azclube@gmail.com and we'll show you around.

Best to all,

Peter J. Burns, III
Founder