Short of Cash? Swaptree Lets You Trade What You Have for What You Need

Bartering Alternative Could Be a Holiday Hit in a Tight Economy

I know a number of people who are feeling nervous, even panicky, about their finances. When cash is hard to find, alternatives like Swaptree, found here, allow people to spend only a couple of dollars to trade items they no longer want for books, movies and music that would cost far more if bought at retail.

After discovering that the company just received $3.3 million dollars from Safeguard Scientifics (according to a Techcrunch piece, found at the Washington Post here, I was intrigued and decided to test out Swaptree. Here's what I discovered, along with some updates and information that should help others:

Registering at Swaptree.com was easy, allowing me to immediately barter and trade items

I signed up very quickly, got a confirmation email and responded. Within minutes, I was involved in my first trade. I listed a book I no longer needed, Edgar Sawtelle, and was shown a number of potential books that I could choose in return. I did have to take a moment to find the exact ISBN number on the book, to make sure I was listing the correct edition (some books come out in more than one edition at the same time, including paperback and hardcover editions and special collectors' editions). Alternately, I could have imported items from a list or website, making it that much easier to list multiple books, CDs and DVDs.

But looking up the ISBN took only a few extra minutes. Some of them were recent releases. I saw such popular titles as The Glass Castle, Postsecret, The Last Lecture, The World is Flat and numerous Harry Potter books. Then I saw a rather obscure book which had been on my list for awhile and I signed up to trade for it. I'm waiting to hear back from my trading partner. I'm also going through the items in our home and thinking about what I could trade for potential Christmas and holiday gifts this year, ones that are almost free. When I can trade a book that cost $24.95 for one of equal or greater value, I think that is a super deal!

Is Swaptree.com truly free for both registration and membership? Are there hidden costs?