Member Spotlights

Bob Bode
Saluto's Restaurant
Gurnee, Illinois

"IMS has brought us many new customers since 1990 that have since developed into regular diners at our restaurant. This strong and reliable word-of-mouth advertising has also brought us more new cash customers."

Gerry Van Dyn Hoven
Van Dyn Hoven
Chrysler, Jeep and Buick
Kaukauna, Wisconsin

"We have purchased everything from billboards to headstones on trade and bartering; and IMS gives us the leverage like no other when we are purchasing."

Ken Molinari
Tuffy Auto Service Centers
Gahanna, Ohio

"I have been with IMS for three years now, and it continues to bring me new clients month after month. I plan on continuing IMS for many years to come! My personal IMS broker makes it easy and is very helpful and proactive in helping me find the goods and services that I need on trade. IMS also has a tremendous list of members that I have been able to utilize, not only locally, but across the country."

Gary Plumlee
UNLV Director of Luxury Seating
Las Vegas, Nevada

"Barter rewards me with diversification. I call my IMS broker with a request and it's taken care of promptly. Their record keeping and monthly updates are very accurate, and I never have to worry about keeping track of my purchases. I use barter to benefit my Sponsors, Luxury Suite and Club Seat owners with golf tournament items, dinners, gifts, etc. Barter gives me many options and opportunities."

Frane Franicevic
Sunce Winery
Santa Rosa, California

"As you might expect, wonderful things come in small packages. We’ve found incredible benefits from IMS for our family and business."

Dan Falotico
Budget Printers
Hartford, Connecticut

"Bartering has been very profitable for us. It enables us to buy goods and services that we ordinarily wouldn’t because cash flow is tight at a particular time of year. So when we have to do things and the business demands it, it’s nice to be able to go to IMS."

Bradley Ozinsky
Bradley's Jewelers
Liverpool, New York

"I'm more than happy with barter. It brings in new customers, providing incremental business that helps me pay for both business and personal expenses."

Jerry Ewy
Docuplex Printing
Wichita, Kansas

"Trade makes business sense for us. Trade allows us to use our workforce at near capacity. We are able to use trade for a wide variety of products and services for both business and personal use. We use trade nearly everyday."

Dan Fahrner
Sybaris
Arlington Heights, Illinois

"IMS has been a great vehicle to move unsold room-nights at our five all-suite hotels. We use this financial resource to expand our media budget and bring in more cash business."

Carmine Bello
Permacharts
Concord, Ontario

"I’ve been bartering for over nineteen years, and IMS is the best in the business. Well-run management, quality traders, and an endless availability of things I want and need for my business. I can spend it as fast as I can earn it... I love barter!"

Brian Holzman
JNH Construction
Skokie, Illinois

"We opened our construction business around the same time as our IMS account, and with the 5-10 calls a month we receive it has really helped our business grow. All in all, we've been satisfied with IMS."

Linda Rix
Afterschool Club
Grayslake, Illinois

"I like to use IMS to reward my employees with trade dollars by giving them incentives or bonuses. IMS also opens me up to new areas of business that I normally wouldn't use."

Michael Wolf
Bloomfield Bicycle
Bloomfield, Connecticut

"My needs are quite extensive as you can imagine, being an owner of six retail stores. I use barter for everything from carpeting to the alarm systems in my stores. I purchased signage and even my desks and chairs through IMS."

Cathy Parrish
Flowers By Patti
Reno, Nevada

"I like IMS because I don't have to come up with cash for services, such as carpet cleaning, car repair, etc. I can put the money back into my business."

Bill Niegsch
Max & Erma’s
Columbus, Ohio

"For the past twenty years, Max & Erma's has experienced a wealth of new customers and a significant cash savings thanks to our membership with IMS."

Johnny Eagle
Paragon Printing
Chattanooga, Tennessee

"Paragon Printing opened for business in 2003, and IMS Barter is responsible for helping get started successfully. Paragon Printing has used IMS Barter for office furniture, equipment, phone systems, computer networking, web design, travel, computer equipment, and more. IMS Barter works well for Paragon Printing, and can work well for any business that is interested in their bottom line. "

Jim McClelland
Mack Industries
Tinley Park, Illinois

"Quite frankly, being
on trade has got me lines of supply I wouldn’t have got otherwise. Having a wide variety of IMS vendors to purchase from makes buying almost anything a walk in the park compared to twenty years ago."

Ken Vedder
National Binding Supplies & Equipment
North Aurora, Illinois

"The key to barter is to turn your trade dollars into cash-purchasing power.. With IMS it's practically infinite - anything we used to buy with cash we can now buy with trade dollars. Our broker is great. She works hard for us. Almost anything we need, she finds. The biggest advantage to bartering is getting new business from people who otherwise would not have heard of our company."

Laura and Ken Oxley
E.L. Bailer Indoor Advertising
Wichita, Kansas

"Joining IMS was one of the best business decisions that we ever made. As a small business we are always looking for ways to expand our customer base, increase revenue, reduce expenses and cash outlay, and increase profit without taking on additional debt. IMS has helped us accomplish all of those objectives."

Michael Colella
Limos Without Limits, Ltd.
Naperville, Illinois

"We’ve used barter dollars to finance a kind of rewards program. The net result is that I have more cash in my pocket. I just love my broker - she’s absolutely wonderful. Whenever I need a fast preauthorization, I call her and she gets it done right away. Give good value to other people spending trade dollars and you’ll get the same in return."

Ron Maier
KENRON Industrial Air Conditioning
Rochester, New York

"As an HVAC contractor our inventory is our manpower. IMS allows us to utilize our manpower fully, even when the cash side of our business is slow."

Peter Guastamachio
The Colonnade Center
Glastonbury, Connecticut

"The IMS' holiday parties are great. When we first started doing them there were 300 people, then 700 people, then 1200 people, and in a year it was over 2000 people. They are truly enjoyed by all of the network's members."

Caren Petersen
A Muse Gallery
Creative Masonry Concepts
Columbus, Ohio

"Barter allows people to purchase items they may not otherwise spend cash on. It's like a whole separate marketing department, working with a different currency, creating new business for your business. And IMS is great to work with as a staff and as a company - friendly, concerned, and dedicated to personal service."

Larry Rother
Coffee News
Louisville, Kentucky

"My advertising spaces are like plane seats. They are flying whether there is anybody there or not. IMS customers fill my seat, and provide me with products and services I need, saving me cash."

Renee Hitt
Merle Norman Cosmetics
Brookfield, Wisconsin

"Radio advertising is a great way to get my message out to my customers and to let new customers know what Merle Norman is all about.. The ability to use barter dollars for advertising is my main motivation for belonging to IMS. Even though there are other Merle Norman studios in the Milwaukee market, the advertising I do with my IMS barter membership makes mine the most recognized among them. "

Allan Parungao MD
Parungao Plastic Surgery
Oak Park, Illinois

"In the past year I have discovered more and more uses for my trade dollars. One of the best values is using my trade dollars to pay to advertise my plastic surgery practice. Now my trade dollars have literally been used to bring in cash-paying patients!"

John McGuire
Lotus Furniture Imports
Wheeling, Illinois

"When I joined IMS Barter I was pleased with the increase in sales, but what impressed me most was the network of like-minded, independent, business owners that I found there. It's a great resource for building my business."

Joe Novacek
Novacek Automotive
Wichita, Kansas

"Barter through IMS has been one of the best business decisions I made. As a member I have been able to substantially grow my customer base. Also, the level of service I receive impresses me. The brokers are extremely helpful and respond promptly. I tell people that bartering my services through IMS not only helps me make money, but also help me spend it - with good advice on products, services, and availability from other IMS members."

David Hearld
Profit-Tell
Hinsdale, Illinois

"I truly believe that barter has consistently gained us business we would not have had without it. We have found ways to spend barter money on everything that we buy, and that is an art form."

Jeffrey Cohen
ImageWorks, LLC.
Vernon, Connecticut

"We're a Web and software development company for over seven years now, thanks to the many opportunities from IMS. From employee benefit programs like dental care, to employee and customer incentive items such as plaques and trips, barter has been there for us."

Stan Thomas
Magellan Transit Media
Kennesaw, Georgia

"I took barter from a casual asset to an integral part of my business, and it did save the company from bankruptcy. Now I work barter into the equation as much as possible. If it were not for barter we wouldn’t be here today."

Jayne Hayes
Body & Sol Salon, Inc.
Barrington, Illinois

"My broker has been a great source of information and advice, and has been very helpful in promoting my business. I have consistent use for barter dollars for business, and my personal use of barter dollars mostly for entertainment."

Joe Gallenberger
Warpdrive Music
Brookfield, Wisconsin

"When you are in a retail business there is nothing better than word of mouth advertising. IMS has gotten me trade and cash business I would have never had if I didn't accept their card."

Jim Jacobs
Howard Displays Inc.
Highland Park, Illinois

"People in trade for the long haul know its potential and what it can do."

Ted Gardner
Ted’s Toys
Cincinnati, Ohio

"I’m always happy to welcome trade customers to my store. I have gained new customers that I normally would not have had if I had not been involved with the barter industry. I mainly use my earned trade dollars for travel expenses, and internal office supplies and materials."

Bill Drexel
Pampas Churrascaria
Las Vegas, Nevada

"I like the cost savings of barter for other services. There is a true savings in using barter."

David Kaminsky
David A. Kaminsky, P.C.
New York, New York

"I have been trading for about five years, and it just keeps getting better and better. On trade I get clothing, jewelry, restaurants, travel, dental work, furniture, carpets, show tickets, spa services, office equipment and supplies, and more. I also get customers that I would not have had if I weren't an IMS member. My trade broker is very helpful. I highly recommend becoming a member."

Gary Cole
Blue Duck Catering, Inc.
Oak Park, Illinois

"I’ve used my trade dollars for computer equipment, telephones, a fireplace surround, landscaping at home, gift baskets for the holidays, t-shirts, caps, screen printing, barbeque grills, gifts for clients, vacation packages, and restaurant scrip. I’ve also used barter money to go on vacations, pay for travel and accommodations at catering conventions, and to purchase vehicles. What were initially all trade transactions later brought in, through word of mouth, cash customers."

Dick Horist
Creative Lithocraft
Schaumburg, Illinois

"Barter does have a tendency to create networking for you. It can lead you to another client who doesn't have an interest in barter, but who can become a cash client. I find that our broker is working really, really hard to get me something I can use."

Charles Porter
Hawkeye Security
Jeffersonville, Indiana

"Every small business knows that cash is king. IMS allows businesses to keep cash while getting full market value for a job done at cost. My company no longer pays cash for many of our ‘necessary expenses’. We get them in exchange for bartering our service to members. Bartering with IMS has given me the power to trade for goods and services as well as leverage new relationships into cash customers."

Jeff Johnson
Color Impressions
Wichita, Kansas

"Color Impressions joined IMS primarily to help increase printing sales, in exchange for the opportunity to utilize some of the many services that were offered on barter. We never realized it would develop into as much as it has. After more than three years of membership, it has become one of our best advertising and marketing tools. It has helped cultivate those new sales and personal relationships that all entrepreneurs strive to get."

Ron Kohl
K-Kom, Inc.
Lannon, Wisconsin

"My broker at IMS is great... He’s like another sales person for me. I’ve been a member for years because IMS has taken the time to understand my business, and taken the time to show me how I can best use them. People willing to take the time - you don’t find that easily out there these days. I spend our trade on anything we spend cash on. For instance, accounting is a big one."

Jim Fucini
Old Yankee Painting
Plainville, Connecticut

"When my crew is on a barter job and puts out our job site sign, neighbors of that barter client come and ask for quotes for their houses. We wouldn’t have gotten these cash referrals if we hadn’t been on that barter job. IMS brings me new cash business - period!"

Trista Negele
Trista Negele MD
Elm Grove Village, Illinois

"It's the accountability factor that I like - using an IMS client to do a job and knowing that the client is reputable with a good track record, and ultimately answerable to IMS if the job is not done right. I frequently spend quality time on the IMS website, evaluating barter businesses and services. As my practice earns more barter dollars, and with it referrals to non-barter patients paying cash, I have expanded my use of barter purchases in my private and professional life."

Linda Scholz
Something’s Brewing
Oak Park, Illinois

"The best things are the expenses that you pay with barter dollars over and over again."

Gary Martin
Harmony Press
San Jose, California

"I have been a member of IMS since 1992. It has allowed me to consistently add 10% per year in new business to my overall sales."

Mark LeJeune
Web-Link Technologies
Columbus, Ohio

"We are very pleased to be affiliated with IMS. It has not only opened us up to new accounts, but has developed a much more loyal customer base than seen outside of IMS."

Dr. Mark Golden
Doctors For Visual Freedom
Arlington Heights, Illinois

"For every patient that comes to us from IMS, we usually have several cash patient referrals. For us, IMS is a win-win."

Kathy Kelly
Kelly Cleaning Services, Inc.
Warrenville, Illinois

"I love barter and my kids love it. The first year barter was a little scary for me, thinking that it was not working out. I wasn’t good at it like I am now. I didn’t know all the avenues - how to spend it. Into my second year I was getting better and better at it, and now we spend faster than I can make it."

Anthony Grasso
Hot Spring Spas
Carson City, Nevada

"I like the freedom to be able to pick and choose the variety of barter for my business and personal needs. IMS is a no-hassle and enjoyable program."

Myrna O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media
Wheeling, Illinois

"Barter people bring in cash people. You have to treat trade clients like you want to be treated on the other end. Everyone needs cash to survive in the business world, and the trade is the gravy."

David Upton
Glastonbury Inflatables & Party Rental
Glastonbury, Connecticut

"I think of IMS as my mentor, allowing me to purchase goods and services I normally couldn’t afford to pay for in cash, and then work off that debt through the bartering of my goods and services. No other membership or organization works for me in that way. IMS is directly responsible for allowing me to grow my business faster than I could have done without it!"

Todd Winkler
Holiday Inn & Suites
Madison, Wisconsin

"We started with IMS when we owned one hotel, and now have eleven. They have been a fabulous business partner for moving unsold inventory. Each time we buy and build another hotel, we add IMS as another marketing dimension for the hotel."

Jeff Lerner
Viamedia
Naperville, Illinois

"I have been an IMS member for fifteen years. They have been a valuable resource in giving Viamedia the ability to gain new advertisers while offsetting some of our regular business expenses. I have had a lot of success locating items for which Viamedia would normally pay cash. At the same time, we are securing advertisers that may not have had the cash budget to do the schedule they needed."

Leesa Hovey
Truax & Hovey
Liverpool, New York

"New customers find us through our membership in IMS, and we use the trade dollars we earn from them to buy advertising to reach even more new customers. It’s a great business relationship."

Lynne Smith
Above & Beyond Corporate Gifts
Wichita, Kansas

"I was somewhat skeptical about bartering my products. Now, I have a difficult time writing a check without first calling my IMS broker to see if we can buy it on trade. I have no difficulty spending my account, from glasses for the family, hotel stays, dry cleaning, dining, printing for the business - the list goes on. And the IMS staff is so helpful."

Teno Garcia
San Jose Auto Service Inc.
Waukegan, Illinois

"One good thing I learned about trade was that trade brings new customers to our garage that we would never be able to bring in if we weren't doing trade. And even better, we can keep our technicians busy when we are slow."

Brian Berendsen
Closets by Design
Sunbury, Ohio

"My company has been a member of IMS Barter for over two years. In that time, our overall business has doubled, due in no small part to IMS. We are getting business that I most likely would not normally get, due to the fact that the IMS network is so effective. My company has so many uses for trade dollars - roofing, cleaning, trash removal, air conditioning repair… I would highly recommend trade for all businesses, big and small."

Rick Walker
Anchor Printing
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

"IMS keeps my presses running when we have unscheduled printing press work, and I contact them for all my buying needs before I spend cash."

Rich Wohn
Fireside Restaurant
Chicago, Illinois

"I use trade every chance I get. The only time that trade would not be needed is if you never had any more seats to fill. To quit trade just because you're doing well now would be short-sighted."

John Ferrara

Vanguard Glass Block

Rochester, New York



"My business has significantly increased profits by offering product and service to the IMS barter network. We also established a new marketplace in a neighboring state without ever having to go there – my broker worked with another broker and new business from a new marketplace came to me. I’m telling everyone about IMS."