Back in the fall of 1980 the first issue of BarterNews was put together on my kitchen table in Mission Viejo, Ca. At the time of our printing, the country was in real turmoil with interest rates of 18% to 29% percent…and an annual inflation rate of 14%!

And the commercial barter industry, as we knew it then, was booming. The industry was full of young, enthused entrepreneurs. It was a very exciting time, even though it was sort of a “wild west” atmosphere, with the industry very disjointed.

The Internationl Association of Trade Exchanges (IATE) had recenty been formed to bring the industry together (trade exchange owners). Years later, IATE changed its name to the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA). I had yet to attend my first IATE Convention so our first issue coverage focused on a Southern Californian–an artist who had a marketing flair and some unique ideas on how an entrepreneur should use barter to grow a business.

Our inaugural issue began with a cover story titled “The Art Of Trading Art,” by Michael Whipple. An especially unusual and interesting artist, he was first and foremost a savvy promoter of his works…unlike most artists who traditionally have waited for the marketplace to discover them. After reading his comments one is fired with desire to follow suit and make things happen!

We reported on the opening of the Barter Systems Los Angeles offices, and looked at the movement that had never really taken hold—neighborhood non-profit bartering organizations. (Community barter has since taken hold and is a far cry from our initial take on the movement.)

Plus, we outlined how one ascertains the value of various trade items for one-on-one trading. Such knowledge is necessary for maximizing one’s direct trades. Many people shy away from direct trades because they lack experience in this arena. Armed with some basic knowledge on the subject, you can confidently move forward…

The time has flown by since that first issue was published in 1980. Now you can get a good look at those early days, as this Issue #1, along with every issue ever published by BarterNews is available in digital format, see: Issue#1

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 4:23 pm and is filed under BarterNews Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.