I have a new online best friend: swaptree. I have been using this gem for several months to trade DVDs, books, video games, and music that we no longer want for items that we do want. It's simple to get started, even simpler to start trading, and swaptree uses an algorithm to figure out that you can send an item to Person A, they send an item to Person B, and Person B sends an item you'd like, to you. You have the option to print a shipping label right from the site once a trade has been accepted by all parties, or you can take care of the shipping on your own. If you ship through the site, they track it and charge your credit card once for all shipments made in a month, making it a simple and seamless experience.
Like most social sites, you can rate other members you have traded with and there are groups you can join if you're looking for specific things or have similar interests. But when recently adding some DVDs and Wii games to our "have" list, I found a couple neat features. Swaptree will note high end items like DVDs and video games so that other members can only initiate the trade with an item of comparable value. You have the option to initiate the trade of your high end item for a low end item, so "mixed value" trades are not off limits, swaptree just tries to keep things fair. You can also add things from your Amazon wish list to your swaptree want list or be notified that you can get something for free by swapping while browsing through the following sites:
- Amazon.com
- BarnesandNoble.com
- Half.com
- Alibris.com
- booksamillion.com
- abebooks.com
- buy.com
- Powells.com
They also have the obligatory Facebook hook along with some other cool ways of updating your want list from existing lists or sites en mass. I find the interface cleaner than Craigslist, and I like that I can get rid of media I no longer want and receive things I've been waiting for by using good old fashioned trading to help decrease manufacturing more of the same and landfill waste.
So if you're looking to clear out some media that you don't need or want anymore, but would like something in return, give swaptree a try and enjoy the ease of swapping across the US (other countries to be added soon).
[image from swaptree.com]
3 comments:
This sounds like a service I could enjoy, but how active is it? Will I find someone that wants my 5 year old paperbacks? I don't want to go through the effort of putting up my stuff I want to get rid of if people are really only in it for the Britney Spears CDs and Playstation 3 games they just finished and want to trade.
The captcha is uncuth.
Can you group items for a swap? I want to trade a pile of stuff I don't want for something current that I do want :)
It's possible people would want your old paperbacks. I used it to "upgrade" some old VHS movies we still had around to the DVD version and swapped mostly old $5 DVDs to get them. It also seems like a great place to get and swap kids movies that could go out of favor with your kids in a couple of years. I see items like the Baby Genius DVDs available often.
There isn't an official way to group swap, but I have posted a 4 book series and listed that I would be willing to swap the whole set to keep them together even though the books are listed individually. That seems like the best way so far.
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