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A partner in Main Street Cafe & Pub, Roppelt started trading credits to his restaurant on the north end of Hilton Head Island for other goods and services about eight years ago.
The practice has helped him secure thousands of dollars worth of kitchen equipment, painting work and even some vacations for his family. After he had the $5,500 vision-correcting surgery, which wasn't covered by his health insurance, Roppelt was sold on bartering.
"That's what made me say, 'I want to build it as big as it can be,' " Roppelt said.
In August, Roppelt took over as Barter Consultants International's licensee for the areas of Hilton Head, Bluffton, Beaufort and Savannah.
Businesses in the Lowcountry have bartered for several years, Roppelt said, but he and the operator of another area bartering network both said the practice has boomed in recent months due to the recession.
When Roppelt took over his network, it included 53 businesses that exchanged about $30,000 worth of goods and services per month. It now has 70 businesses that did about $80,000 worth of business in January.
Building on an ancient tradition, bartering networks allow businesses to trade directly with each other or for credits that can be redeemed with any fellow participant.
Paying some expenses through bartering allows businesses to save their cash for fixed costs, such as rent, taxes and payroll, Roppelt said. He gives his restaurant staff bonuses of "barter dollars" to spend at other participating
merchants.
Bartering can also help businesses attract new clients, said Doug Fent, who manages accounts in Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties for NuBarter, a bartering network based in Savannah.
That function has become increasingly important during the recession, he said. Restaurants, for example, can pay for signs, renovations and the like while also filling tables that would otherwise have been empty.
Bartering can then bring more cash-paying business, because people who have bartered often return or refer others, Fent said.
While many business owners were once content to simply pay cash for most or all of their needs, they're increasingly looking for alternative ways to conduct business, Fent and Roppelt said.
In its sixth year, NuBarter has more than 150 members in this area and 600 across the Southeast.
Membership has almost doubled in the last year and a half, Fent said, and transactions have doubled since September.
"Everyone's open to it now," Fent said.
Bartering does carry some potential drawbacks. Most networks charge a membership fee of more than a hundred dollars and then take a percentage of transactions. Some also charge fees for maintaining accounts.
Finally, barter dollars aren't as "liquid" as cash because they can't be used everywhere, Roppelt said.
Even so, bartering might provide enough flexibility for some businesses to survive the recession, Roppelt said.
"It's going to help the economy, because it's going to keep businesses alive," Roppelt said.
