www.ubarter.com
What it's good for: People who like options: Ubarter.com's inventory was ranked second only to Bigvine's. Still, there was some damning with faint praise: the CEOs used words like "adequate" and "decent" to describe Ubarter's listings. And it did not receive a grade higher than a B in any category.
Don't waste your time if: You're antsy about providing personal information. Several panelists were turned off by Ubarter's registration form, which "forces users to opt out of promotions and then still states in its privacy policy that users may be contacted from time to time and will be tracked while on the Ubarter site."
What our CEOs had to say: Besides tripping privacy alarms, Ubarter's registration process was arduous, according to the panelists, with "six separate screens in which they ask for credit-card information," reported one CEO. "Yet they don't give you all the specifics until the last screen."
What you ought to know: Ubarter charges buyers and sellers a 5% fee for each transaction.
The bottom line
Our panelists proclaimed Bigvine the big winner among Web-based bartering sites. The company got the best grade given in every category. On average, BarterTrust scored at the bottom. Our CEOs dismissed the site because they didn't like its model -- a Web and human hybrid. But others may find the assistance of human brokers to be valuable.
The panelists liked using iSolve but felt it was too skewed toward large-volume deals to be of practical use to them; they also complained about the lack of service offerings. Ubarter had the opposite problem: good inventory but a bad registration process. LassoBucks was welcoming and user-friendly, but panelists were unimpressed with the quality of some of the listings. And TargetBarter suffered from design problems, although the CEOs gave it a B+ for customer service and applauded its "knowledgeable" phone representatives.
Ilan Mochari is a reporter at Inc.
The Savvy Entrepreneur's Guide to Bartering on the Web
COMMENTS
|
Would our CEOs go back? |
What is the site good for? |
CEOs' quick take |
| www.bartertrust.com |
"Probably not." |
"Not much." |
"Too expensive and not enough information." |
| www.bigvine.com |
"Yes. The site's forthright and thought out." |
"Gives confidence to those new to bartering." |
"Easy to navigate and looked very professional." |
| www.isolve.com |
"No. The minimums are too high." |
"Excellent customer service." |
"Not for small guys like me." |
| www.lassobucks.com |
"Only to use my free LassoBucks." |
"Quite easy to use." |
"Not enough offerings." |
| www.targetbarter.com |
"No. It feels amateurish." |
"Individuals rather than businesses." |
"Needs to put some work into its interface." |
| www.ubarter.com |
"No. It's laborious to register." |
"Allows you to search without being a member." |
"I was concerned that the FAQ warns, 'Buyer Beware!' " |
GRADES
|
Ease of use |
Inventory |
Security/
comfort |
Customer service |
Pricing |
Value delivered for price |
Average grade |
| www.bartertrust.com |
B- |
C |
C |
B- |
C |
D+ |
C |
| www.bigvine.com |
A+ |
B |
B+ |
A- |
B |
B- |
B+ |
| www.isolve.com |
B+ |
C |
B |
A- |
B |
C- |
B- |
| www.lassobucks.com |
B+ |
C |
B- |
B- |
B |
C |
B- |
| www.targetbarter.com |
B |
C+ |
B- |
B+ |
B |
D+ |
B- |
| www.ubarter.com |
C+ |
B- |
C+ |
B- |
B |
C |
C+ |
Our Panelists
Vikas Bhushan, CEO and cofounder, Medschool.com
Kid Cardona, owner, the Infamous Cartoon Posse
Jordan R. Chanofsky, president and CEO, Fusion Public Relations
William Fitzgerald, president and CEO, Graphic Services
Bernard Frelat, president and CEO, EuroVacations.com
Norine Fuller, CEO, Education Business News
Sandra Gassman, CEO, Marketing Fuel
Scott Gold, president and CEO, BrandHarvest
Stephen Harris, principal, Forte Group
David Hayden, president and CEO, MobileID
Wayne Hill, CEO, Hill Corporate Art
John Jandreau, CEO, QC Systems
Yancy Lind, president and CEO, Lutris Technologies
Gad Liwerant, president and CEO, VideoShare
Dave Mathison, chairman and CEO, Kinecta Corp.
Jennifer Miller, president, Miller Marketing
Ed Mueller, president and CEO, ShortCycles
Solly Tamari, president, Effective Education Inc.
Ryan Wilson, president, Wave Rock Communications
Howard Woffinden, partner/executive producer, Milk & Honey Films
Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.
