Internet “Swap-portunity” Gives New Life to Old Items

October 25th, 2009

Whether you call it “Swishing,” “free-cycling,” “ethical consumerism,” or “cashless exchange,” swapping online has become a growing Internet trend. This is a step beyond the traditional home-based fashion swap parties held years ago, where neighbors got together to swap instead of shop. And this new concept can reach a much broader area than a few blocks or part of a city. We all have items we no longer need, be that a wedding gown, a Halloween wig, or a timeshare on a private island. Finding a person who wants them has just become a lot easier through the Internet.

Such swap sites offer participants the 4 “Fs”:

1. Frugal – you can get new items at no cost simply by exchanging them for your unwanted ones
2. Eco-Friendly – swapping reduces both waste and resource consumption, as you get rid of unwanted items without discarding them and others continue to use them
3. Fun – much more exciting than simply shopping online, and you’ll make new friends in the process
4. Free – most sites charge no fees, all you pay is shipping or you can even localize your trades to meet in person

If you’re reluctant to try online swapping for fear of being cheated, you should first look around at the more popular sites and see how they operate. Most have some system of feedback, and some of them actually award usable credits for good trades. Members who do not behave honorably are removed, and rules governing the type and condition of the items that can be listed are enforced. I was amazed to find sites to exchange almost anything: clothing, books, music, DVDs, video games, and more. Some of them offer prepaid postage so members can take advantage of reduced shipping fees, paying only a flat rate for shipping.

One of the best sites I found is Swap Style, “saving the world one swap at a time.” Created by women for women, their members in Australia, Europe and the US have been swapping clothes, accessories, cosmetics and shoes since July 2004. There are now over 41,000 members. The interface is attractive and very easy to navigate. Members upload photos and descriptions of their items and, unlike auction sites, there’s no bidding or sniping.

At Rehash, over 9700 members trade clothes, books, and green living tips. While some sites may also allow buying and selling, this one is a very popular trade-only site. According to this article in the San Francisco Chronicle, interest in swap sites rose sharply as the economy declined, and the Rehash site experienced a spike from 4,000 to 7,000 users in December of 2008 that overloaded their server. Created by a San Francisco fashion designer, it continues to add 800-900 users per month.

There is public viewing of the clothing and accessory items listed at DigNSwap, but (like most of these sites) you have to get a free membership to “bid” (or offer to swap). The site is very simple looking, but well organized. You can search for specific items or browse by tag categories.

At Clothing Swap, members arrange exchanges online and then meet at scheduled swap events to complete their trades. These events often include a spa experience (wow! who wouldn’t like that?) or big warehouse events complete with DJs. There have been 170 of these events in a limited number of places like New York, California, Colorado, and Illinois. They categorize items clearly as new with tags, nearly new (worn only once or twice), or gently used (worn, but in good condition). Attendees must bring a minimum of 5 items to trade and unclaimed merchandise remaining after the swap events are donated to local charities.

Makeup Alley was launched in 1999 as a small community of beauty consumers, and has grown into one of the largest beauty social networks on the web. This site offers millions of reviews of thousands of cosmetics products, as well as message boards, shopping diaries and photos.

There are nearly 3000 members and over 2200 items listed at chanceXchange. On this site you can trade DVDs, games, CDs and books. Trading is limited by country to keep shipping costs down. Members swap for credits that they can spend on wanted items.

SwapTree has over 113,000 items listed, and provides a system of user ratings. A simple 3-step process, members create a “have” list, and a “want” list, and then swap books, music, movies, and games for free. More than 30,000 people in the California Bay Area alone are actively trading on this site. The Boston-based site reports that it has doubled its listings every three months since launching in July 2007, but hasn’t yet made a profit from its online advertising, which I imagine would be necessary to fund such free sites .

Bookins is the largest book-swapping site, boasting “more available books than the largest Barnes & Noble, the biggest selection and least effort” to swap easily. They offer totally free postage and a quality guarantee. People who are a bit hesitant to exchange clothing items might more freely exchange books without reservation. Both Bookins and Swaptree exchange only in the US.

A new site still in beta is BarterQuest, where members trade goods, services, and real estate locally and internationally. Links to other bartering sites can be found here.

More than 1.5 million items and services are listed for trade at U-Exchange, a swap site based in Toronto. Barters for everything from carpentry to cars to vacation homes are found on this site, which now has 14,000 members, a 70 percent increase over last year. This site includes members from 82 countries and listings for boats, motorcycles, and more. Members are given personal e-mail accounts to exchange messages about trades, and can post up to three photos for each listing. This site, like the others, is supported by website advertising.

Conclusion

Even if the economic climate improves, I think online swapping is here to stay. Once people have tried it, I can’t imagine that they would lose interest. Many of the sites started when the economy was strong, and built a base of users well before the downturn. Personally, I prefer the sites with a feedback system, so that I’m comfortable making trades. Several also have forums where you can read the postings before joining, to get a feel for the quality of the site. Most have evolved into a social networking experience, and use Twitter and Facebook to keep members informed of new listings. The sites listed here are only a few of the ones that offer you the option of swapping your unwanted trash for someone else’s treasure. It’s a whole new perspective on online trading, indeed!

Have we failed to mention your favorites? Feel free to tell us about them.

Entry Filed under: Shopping