Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I get a little help here?
• What is Dibspace.com?
• Why not use regular old US dollars?
• How much is one Dibit worth?
• What kinds of businesses can use it?
• Do you have to be a business to join?
• How does it work?
• What's a "dib"?
• How much does it cost?
• Is it taxable?
• Is it legal?
• How secure is it?
• How about privacy?
• What if I want to dispute a charge?
• What if a customer doesn't pay?
• What if I'm involved in a lot of disputes?
• How do I close my account?

Yes, indeed. We love to help. Click here and let us know what's going on.

Dibspace is like Overstock.com for local services. Every single service business has some amount of productive time that goes unfilled and Dibspace.com is the marketplace for those unfilled hours. And best of all, to make this marketplace work better for everybody involved, all transactions are based on a specialized currency, the Dibit, designed specifically for this purpose.

Dibits pick up where the dollar leaves off. Even in a strong economy there's a whole lot of productive hours that go unfilled. Why? Because consumers don't always have enough dollars to afford to consume it all. To fill that gap, a specialized currency is actually necessary.

Consider the current economy. Cash is getting harder to come by and people are spending less. As a result, businesses are getting less work and consumers have more unmet needs. In economics-speak, we're value rich but cash poor. Dibspace.com makes it possible for businesses and consumers to continue to trade even when the US dollar isn't up to the job.

1 Dibit = 1 Dollar. Sure, it's not real money so you can charge whatever you like. But you'll find that if you overcharge in Dibspace you'll get the same reaction as if you overcharged in dollars.

Though any business could benefit from Dibspace, it's ideal for businesses whose product is time-dependent. This includes businesses like massage therapists, attorneys, live theaters, yoga studios, spas, local inns, CSAs, consultants, graphic designers, tool rentals, and undoubtedly many others that we've never thought of.

No. Even without a business you can earn a whole lot of Dibits by inviting other businesses to join. To find out more, visit our Refer Friends page.

Let's say you're expecting to have a slow day or week. Rather than letting your very valuable time just slip by, you post your availability to Dibspace.com. Then:

• Alerts, called Saved Searches, will be immediately sent to users who are interested in your type of service.
• Those who want to grab it click "Dibs."
• You pick the customer you like and hash out details like time, price, etc.
• After you've done the work, simply go to your account and click "Send Invoice."
• The client gets the invoice and clicks "Pay"
• Then you'll have a bunch of credits and with your new wealth you go on a spending spree throughout the site.

A dib is a non-binding way to tell a business that you're genuinely interested in their offer. It's basically the same level of commitment as a voice mail. Usually after a dib a business will email you back through the site to get more details. If both sides agree its a good match you'll proceed exactly as if it was a cash transaction except at the end you'll be invoiced through Dibspace.com and pay in Dibits.

It's FREE! You could earn and spend a million Dibits and we wouldn't charge you a dime.

Yes. According to the IRS, barter transactions are taxable just like cash transactions.

Yes. In fact, the US government likes "complementary currencies" because it's something they can tax.

Very secure. We use the same encryption technology used by major banks.

All transactions, even dibs are completely private and known only to the business and consumer. Later on we may display your total number of transaction but even then nobody else will know whether you were the business or the consumer.

No. If we did that we'd fall under banking and securities law and we definitely don't want the SEC crashing our party. Besides, you can't have fun with your Dibits unless you spend it.

Since we're not FDIC insured, the credits will disappear too. But so long as you're not saving up to be the first Dibspace millionaire, you'll be just fine. Have fun with your Dibits. Earn it. Spend it. Live a little.

Just go to your account, find the invoice in question and click "Dispute." We'll eliminate the charge and close the transaction. Note: Before you click that button, read "What if I'm involved in a lot of disputes?"

First, go to your account and make sure you actually invoiced them. If you did invoice them and it's been over three days, go to the invoice you sent and click "Dispute." We'll pay the bill for them and close the transaction. Note: Before you click that button, read "What if I'm involved in a lot of disputes?"

Whenever there's a dispute, we just pay the bill ourselves and have it done with. But for those who anger too many customers or skip out on too many bills, banishment will be their fate.

Say it isn't so! If your experience on the site has been anything but thoroughly wonderful, please let us know and we will do everything we can to make it better. But if you really must go, you can do so by sending us a note through the Feedback form.

A note about canceling your account:

• There's no cashing out so any remaining credits in your account will effectively disappear.
• Feedback left for other members and records of your transactions with them will be retained.
• If at any point you decide to re-join, your previous account information such as history, feedback and ratings will be re-activated. This is to ensure that bad users don't open and close accounts to cover their tracks.