Landscaping, party supplies, acupuncture hardly seem interchangeable.
But they're just a few of the goods and services traded with the Value Card Alliance, a business-to-business barter exchange company that began in Tucson.
In a tough economy, some local and international businesses are turning to bartering in order to save cash.
Bartering is the trading of goods and services for other goods and services without the use of cash.
"We are really trying to barter to free up cash and conserve cash," said Sean McMillan, owner of Choc-Alot Gourmet Chocolatier, a business with the Value Card Alliance. "Bartering is a foreign idea in a credit-card-based economy, but it makes sense in a declining economy."
It's a growing movement, according to the International Reciprocal Trade Association, a non-profit organization promoting the practice.
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Last year, 400,000 companies around the world did $12 billion worth of barter transactions, an increase of 10 percent from 2007, said David Wallach, president of the IRTA.
Value Card, formerly named BXI, has about 600 members in Tucson. In February and March it signed up 60 new businesses.
Already this year, the company grown from 1,000 businesses to 3,000, said Naomi Caraballo-Green, executive broker for the Tucson office.
Other barter exchanges have existed in Tucson but appear to be no longer active.
Trade is a tool thathelps businesses expand, advertise and reduce the loss of business, said Caraballo-Green.
Kevin Marshall, a certified public accountant and owner of Better Office Solutions, has used the barter system to repair his car, do work on his home and do weekly dry cleaning. He is looking into marketing and a telephone answering service for his business.
"I have 10 barter clients that wouldn't be clients if it weren't for the barter system," he said. "I can pick up new clients and save money."
Businesses with access to slow-moving inventory or perishables such as radio time, airline tickets, hotel rooms, tables in a restaurant or anything they cannot resell do best in bartering, said Mario Martinez, a barter and trade consultant for Value Card.
Value Card Alliance charges a one-time membership fee of $495. It also receives a 15 percent commission on each trade. Half of the commission comes from buyer and half from the seller.
One week after signing up with Value Card, McMillan had car trouble. Through the barter system, he found a mechanic in the area.
"It saved me a lot of hassle during my busiest week of the year," said McMillan.
"Bartering is great for personal things as well as business-related services," he said. "We are looking into doing advertising through the barter system, and if I am looking to expand, we will use contractors though barter."
Learn more
What: Value Card Alliance Open House
Date: April 15
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Where: Tucson Value Card Office, 7454 E. Broadway
Who: For businesses with Value Card Alliance or interested businesses