| Aerial View of exhibitors setting up. |
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On April 1, 2009 Southeast Michigan businesses got a boost thanks to the ancient tradition of barter at Tradefirst.com’s Spring Barter Expo at the Southfield Pavilion. For more than 5,000 of the area's small, mid-sized and large businesses, the bailouts they're receiving are not from Wall Street, but rather from “main street,” courtesy of marketing support through their membership with Oak Park, Mich.-headquartered Tradefirst.com.
Sandy Benson of American Fancy Foods, Inc., formerly AmericanGourmet, with Tradefirst.com's Fred Detwiler. Sandy has been a member since
1991. |
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During the four-hour event nearly $500,000 in barter volume was generated as thousands of members browsed and traded at over 100 exhibits without using traditional cash dollars.
Exhibitors included; Crystal Chem Dry, CTS Unitel, D & J, Document Workflow Systems, Fanatic U, Global Security Protection, Jax Kar Wash, Lynn & Mall Optical, Auto One, MacFarland Painting, Mary Kay, Offsite LLC, National Credit Card Processing, Next Generation, Precision Pavers, RE Graham Construction & Roofing, Shelving.com, Stone Interactive Group, Stuffsites, Techni-Serve, Inc, The Roostertail, Uncle Buck's Party Rental and Viamedia.
| Hungry traders sample food from Tradefirst.com member restaurants and caterers. |
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Tradefirst.com is a nationwide network of businesses that work together, trading their goods and services in order to generate new business, offset cash expenses, and increase profits by utilizing excess capacity and inventory. Since opening in 1978, Tradefirst.com has become one of the largest independently-owned trade exchanges in the country.