Introduction

SoundBarter is a World Wide Musicians Bartering Network offering an innovative online tool to help you reach your goals faster. Imagine coming to a website where you can view Items, Skills and Services available for barter around the world. You can get just about anything you need here; Studio Time, Mastering, CD duplication, Musicians to play in your recording projects, Programming, CD’s, DVD's and Records, Professional help and much more. All this without the need for cash - you simply offer other users your goods and services in exchange for what you need. Bartering will become the biggest thing to hit the Music Industry since the multi-track recorder. SoundBarter provides the tools you need to find what you are looking for and to negotiate and conclude a barter transaction.
 

Listings

Listings are the backbone of our unique Bartering method. All Listings are divided into five Main Sections;

   - Music Items
   - Music Skills & Services
   - CD, DVD's and Records
   - Non-Music Items
   - Non-Music Skills & Services

All listings are initially shown in a single line format such as the one shown below:

This listing is from someone who is Offering a "Carlo Robelli Piano". The words Carlo Robelli Piano is the Title of the listing. They have placed the listing under one of our many categories – in this case "Musician Items > Keyboards > Piano". These categories are used by people browsing the site to help find what they are looking for.

A listing can be either an “Offered” or a “Wanted” listing - please describe only one item or service per listing. This takes a little more work but it significantly increases your chances of having your listing found by other members.

Click on any Listing Title or Picture to see a more detailed description of that listing. The "Carlo Robelli Piano" listing looks like this in Detailed view:

Each listing has an item number. You can use this number to refer to the Listing. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see a more detailed view of it. Note that the Lister has described only one Item on this listing.

Sending a Message to the Lister

Below the Detailed Listing is a box that enables you to send a message directly to the Lister.

Click in the box and type your message to the Lister. Then, click the “Sender click here” button to enter your email address so the Lister can reply to you. If you are already a member you will be asked to Log in. If you are logged in this button will not appear but will show your name instead of the “Sender click here” button. Finally, click the “Send” button to send your message.

The Lister has created a number of listings covering all aspects of his lifestyle as it may pertain to possible barters. This way he has provided a number of possibilities that potential barter partners can review without even needing to talk to him. This full range of listings constitutes what we call a Profile.

Tip – Composing email Messages. When composing your message include as much detail as possible but use simple, brief explanations. Imagine that you are the reader who has not seen your item or experienced your service, and include all the facts necessary to fully describe what you are offering or wanting.

The Lister has created a number of listings covering all aspects of his lifestyle as it may pertain to possible barters. This way he has provided a number of possibilities that potential barter partners can review without even needing to talk to him. This full range of listings constitutes what we call a Profile.

Tip – Keep Offers and Wants in separate listings. We allow members to create unlimited listings free, so that you can put each item or service in a separate listing. Please make sure that you list Offers and Wants separately. We encourage you to create several separate Wanted listings each time you create an Offered listing. This will significantly increase your chances of finding a barter match.

Below is an example of all the listings this particular member has created. Note how they cover every aspect of his life. Don’t just limit yourself to music related items and services. Most musicians also have other general trade or professional skills they can offer. For example if you are an electrician you can offer your skills and services to pay for Studio time, Mastering and Duplication or any other needs you may have.

Adding your own Listings

To add an unlimited amount of free listings, simply click on the “Add free listings” link at the top of most pages. You will be asked to sign in. This will take you to the Add your Listings page described below.
 

Choose from the five Main Categories

Start by adding a listing to one of the five Main Sections such as “Music Items” – then click “Next” and follow the instructions given on the next page, when you complete one listing it will bring you back to this first page again. Then you are ready to add your other listings, at which stage your screen may look like the example below:

Click Music Items again to continue adding other Items or click another section to add other listings. Try to add listings to all sections. This will help you create a Profile that represents everything you have to Offer and that you Want. Note that while you are creating listings they are not yet live on the Internet, so don’t be concerned if you need to review and make changes. At any time you can go back to edit or delete any of your listings before you “Submit” them to the main site. Just Click on the Title or Picture and the system will walk you through the same process as when you first created the listing.

Choosing Offer or Want

After selecting the Section where your listing will appear (such as “Music Items”) you will need to choose weather you are creating an Offer or a Want Listing. SoundBarter's unique Bartering System works best when you create separate Offer and Want listings. This helps other Members find your listings and enables our computer to automatically find barter matches. When you have created this Offer or Want listing, the system will take you back to create the other Item or Service you are Offering or Wanting.
Click the "Next" button which will take you to the page where you describe your listing in detail. See example below:

Once you have completed all listings click the Submit button. Only then will your listings be added to the “live” listings on the site.
 

Adding a picture

Adding a picture is optional. If you don’t add a picture the site will show a generic clip-art on your listing to make your listing a little more appealing. You will only see the clip-art when you submit the listing to the main site. It will not display here. To add your own picture, select the “Click here to add your picture” link. This will take you to the following screen:

Tip – Adding pictures to Listings. The picture you upload can be either a .jpg or .gif file. You should not load a large file because it will take too long to load and it will be reduced to a standard size when it gets to the site anyway. However, the ideal picture should be no smaller than 350x350 pixels in size.
 

Choosing a category for your Listing.

It is important to categorize your listings correctly. Users often browse or search listings by category, so if you categorize your listing incorrectly it is going to get very little exposure. Click on the “Click here to add a category” link to categorize your listing.

If you are adding a “Music Item” for example. Box 1 will already have “Music Items” selected for you – all you have to do is click on box 2 to further describe your Item. Continue making selections in all boxes until no more options appear. See example below:

Choosing the area where you are located.

Choose your area from the selections in our pull-down menus. This will help other members view the region you are from.

Adding a title to your Listing

State exactly what your Item or Service is. Use descriptive keywords that convey exactly what you are listing. Include your item's brand name, artist, or designer. Think of words buyers might use to search for your Items or Services and include relevant terms and words. Users don't search for words like "cool" or "awesome". Make intelligent use of your space.

Describing your Listing

Listing an Item or Service for Barter is no different than listing it for sale. Be creative and add as much detail to your listing as possible. Note this is your best shot at getting others interested in your Item or Service. Please remember that you only describe ONE Item or Service per listing, and create a separate listing for every Want or Offer. When you have finished describing your listing, click the “Next” button.

When you complete all your listings click the “Submit” button to have your listings appear live on the main site.

Tip – You can edit your “live” listings at any time. Once you have submitted your new listings they will each be assigned a unique item number. You can edit your “live” listings at any time by going to My SoundBarter.

 

My SoundBarter

Members are given their own My SoundBarter area to centralize all their email messages, and to make changes to their personal information and settings. No-one else but the member has access to this private area.

My SoundBarter has tabs for each of the following;
   - My Listings
   - My Inquiries
   - My Information
   - My Settings

Click on any of the tabs to see that section of My Soundbarter.
 

My Listings

All of your own listings are stored in the “My Listings” tab. From here you can edit any aspect of your listings. More importantly this is where you can send and track all of your email messages pertaining to each individual listing.

Making Changes to your Listings

You must be in the My Listings section of My Soundbarter to edit, delete of de-activate listings. First click on the picture or title of the listing to go to the detailed view of that listing. A sample detailed view is shown below:

Edit Listing button - Click Edit Listing to make changes to any aspect of the listing.

De-activate/Activate listing - Listings are usually Active which means they are "live" on the Internet site and are accessible to viewers. They can be de-activated by clicking the “De-activate Listing” button which will then bring up a message “This listing is not Active”. This means the listing remains in MySoundBarter along with all its email messages, but it does not appear on the main listing pages that other viewers see (in other words it is no longer “live”. There are various reasons why members may want to de-activate and reactivate listings from time to time. For example if you have agreed to Barter an Item and wish to stop offers from coming in, you simply De-activate your Listing until the transaction is closed. If the deal falls through simply Click the Activate button to place the Listing live again.

Delete Listing button - Click Delete Listing to completely remove the listing from the web site. It will be removed from MySoundBarter, and all the email messages for this listing will be deleted.

Click the Back button to return to “My Listings”

My Listings email Inbox

This is where you receive and send all email messages for your listings. The Inbox column will show the status of your email with respect to each individual listing. The email status possibilities are;

• New email- Shows that there is new email you have not opened yet
• Recent email – Shows that there are messages you have recently opened within the past few days
• email - Shows you have old email messages you have already opened and read
• No email – Shows you have not received any email for this listing yet

Click on the “Status word” (for example New email) found in the Inbox column to open email related to that Listing. Each email thread shows a complete record of everything you have received and sent to a particular member. See the example below:

Click on the “Open” button to see the email message from that member. Your email will display like the example below:

Notice that all emails from and to you are all stored in one thread for this particular inquirer. They appear in date order, with the latest one at the top.

To see Listings this member has available for Barter click on “See my listings” next to the member’s name. This will help you decide what to offer or what you may be able to get from that member as a trade for your item or service. You can also delete this member and all his/her messages by clicking the “Delete” button at any time.

To reply, simply type your message and click “Send”. The message will get added to the “My Inquiries” in their Inbox, and they will receive an email notification from SoundBarter that you have sent them a message.


Online Barter Agreement

You can access a useful online barter agreement form to assist you in concluding a Barter. Next to the message box in each individuals email discussion is a button that says "Draw up a Barter Agreement". Click this button to bring up barter agreement between the two parties. Each party must fill out their side of the agreement. Upon completion it can be viewed and printed for your records. Note SoundBarter does not keep a record of your agreement. You must print and keep a copy for your own records.

My Inquiries

All offers, questions and inquiries you make relating to other members’ listings are stored in the “My Inquiries” tab of My SoundBarter.

My Inquiries email Inbox

This is where you receive and send all email messages relating to your Inquiries. The Inbox column will show the status of your email with respect to each individual listing. The email status possibilities are:

• New email- Shows that there is new email you have not opened yet
• Recent email – Shows that there are messages you have recently opened within the past few days
• email - Shows you have old email messages you have already opened and read
• No email – Shows you have not received any email for this listing yet

Click on the “Status word” (for example New email) found in the Inbox column to open email related to that Listing. Each email thread shows a complete record of everything you have received and sent to a particular member. See example below:

To see Listings this member has available for Barter click on “See this listing and my other listings” next to the member’s name. This will help you decide what to offer or what you may be able to get from that member as a trade for your item or service. You can also delete this member and all his/her messages by clicking the “Delete” button at any time.

To reply, simply type your message and click “Send”. The message will get added to the “My Listings” in their Inbox, and they will receive an email notification from SoundBarter that you have sent them a message.

For information on the Draw up a barter Agreement button click here

My Information

This section allows you to store and edit the following information:
   - Username (the name you will be known as by other members)
   - email address (where SoundBarter will send all your notifications and confirmations
   - Password (for login to the site)
   - Region (the City / Metropolitan area in which you are located)
   - Full name, address and phone number
   - Date your Messaging Center expires

Click on any of these fields to update your information, then click “Save”.

My Settings

This section enables you to change the way some aspects of the web site work for you. These areas are:

Default My SoundBarter page
This is the page that is open when you get to My SoundBarter. If for example you tend to do more Inquiring than Listing you could have it open in My Inquiries tab.

email type
If the email application you use can support html then choose that option. This enables you to get email that includes pictures. If not, set it to Text. Most modern email applications such as Outlook support html.

Time Zone
Set your local time zone in order that emails are marked with the correct time.

Introduction web page
SoundBarter has an introduction web page that is helpful for new users. Experienced users can turn off this page by clicking the Skip radio button

Membership Cancellation

You can cancel your membership at any time by sending an email to membership@soundbarter.com . Please include your Username and the date when your membership cancellation should take effect. For security purposes we will require you to confirm cancellation by responding to an email we send to your username email address. Please note that no refunds are given for the balance of the current term in which you cancel your membership.

© 2003 - Sound Barter Corporation
Do not copy or distribute