.FLYINGHEAD BUDGET SECRETS
.TITLE Swaptree, the cyber swap meet
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY What do you do with all of those books, CDs, DVDs, and video games you have sitting around collecting dust? You could sell them at a garage sale, on eBay, or trade them in; but you get nowhere near their value. Instead, why not take them Swaptree, where the swap meet meets cyberspace?
.OTHER
What to do with all of those books, CDs, DVDs, and video games you have sitting around collecting dust? You could donate them to charity; which is a commendable act guaranteed to earn you some karma points. But aside from that warm and fuzzy feeling, you don’t get much out of it, do you?
You could sell them at a garage sale, on eBay, or trade them in at any number of locations accepting that form of media. But again, you get nowhere near their value; one-quarter to one-fifth its true worth if you’re lucky.
Why not take them Swaptree instead, shown in Figure A, where the swap meet has entered cyberspace?
.FIGPAIR A Swaptree, the cyberspace swap meet.
Okay, so maybe eBay beat them to the punch by better than a decade, but at least with Swaptree no actual money changes hands. Items are traded one-for-one, even up.
.H1 What is Swaptree?
So what is Swaptree? Essentially, it’s like your local swap meet; the same one that takes place at your local mall, convention center, or fair ground. Except Swaptree is like every swap meet in the country, all at the same time, in the same place.
Swaptree was started by two friends, avid readers who frequently traded boxes of books. The idea came when they saw how family members would pay fifty dollars for a new video game, only to have it collect dust once beaten, or how others would trade books within their network of friends and family. They realized how much better it could be if that network of associates were expanded to include the Internet.
Focusing on entertainment media: books (including graphic novels), music CDs, DVDs, and software (PC, Mac, and console), Swaptree offers its users an environment in which to trade goods. Its founders have always been determined to keep Swaptree a free service. And don’t we all love free? Beyond the initial startup funding, Swaptree’s income is derived strictly from advertising. There is no membership or user fees associated with Swaptree, and you have full control over which trades you accept.
.H1 How does Swaptree work?
It’s quite simple actually… you create a user account, part of which is to enter the items you have, and the items you want. As a measure of ensuring a user actually has an item, the system requires the UPC or ISBN. Provide a description of the item, decide whether or not it is available for trade, and you’re pretty much set.
Your description should detail the quality and version of the item, and what is included; not the plot or premise. For the sake of other users, be as thorough as possible. State whether a DVD is Full Screen or Widescreen, whether or not a game includes the manual, how scratched up a CD or DVD may be, the condition of a book, whether pages have been turned down or are yellowing. After all, you want to get as good as you give. If you’re unclear about how to describe an item or rate its quality, Swaptree has a very helpful set of guidelines.
.H1 But what about the trades?
Swaptree’s engine does all the trade work for you. Based on the items in your Have and Want lists, like in you see in Figure B, it finds other users with compatible matches.
.FIGPAIR B A user’s Want list.
Sometimes trades will be direct; you send an item to the person sending one to you. More often than not though, they are a three-way trade; you send an item to one user, who then sends an item to another, who then sends an item to you.
You’re not pigeonholed into only trading a book for a book, or a movie for a movie. When you add an item to your Have list, as in Figure B, the system will tell what items you can get by trading it.
.FIGPAIR C The items on a Have list.
Some items, such as PS3, Xbox 360, and Disney movies have higher value and therefore present more available items; but you’re still only trading one item for one item. You’re just less likely to be able to get a high-value item unless you have one to offer.
By no means are you restricted to only letting the system present you with trades. If you see an item that you can Get Now, you may initiate a trade yourself; just you may be presented with this type of trade from another user.
The only money involved in trading is for the shipping of the item you are sending. You can print out a USPS (United States Postal Service) shipping label with tracking number and delivery confirmation right from Swaptree; your credit card will be charged once a month for all of the shipping labels you have printed in the past month.
Or you can pay the postage straight from your pocket at the Post Office. I’ve tried both to see if there were any difference, and if there is, it’s only about a dime at most. Considering the convenience of being able to drop your parcel in a mailbox, or leave it for your Postal Carrier, and not having to battle the lines at the Post Office, it’s much easier to just print out the label from Swaptree and pay for it later.
.H1 What if I get stiffed on a trade?
Just as with other Internet-based e-commerce communities, a user’s rating is based on feedback from other users. A feedback profile can be seen in Figure D.
.FIGPAIR D A user’s reliability is reflected by ratings from previous trades.
It is for this reason your descriptions should be complete and you should ship in a timely fashion.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, not everyone lives up to their obligations. In that instance, Swaptree has a complaint resolution system, much like that of eBay, wherein they will attempt to intercede on a user’s behalf to complete the trade. However, also much like eBay, Swaptree bears little responsibility or liability for any trades. The most they are able to do is suspend a user’s account for failing to complete a trade. Much to my dismay, I’ve had to use the complaint resolution system on a few occasions. In all but one instance I eventually received my item.
However, when it came to general support, such as a question not answered in the FAQs, I found Swaptree’s response to be nonexistent. Out of three inquiries via the site’s contact form, I never once received a reply. In that regard, don’t expect to hear from the Swaptree staff. In a pinch though, when you need them to be there (as in a trade gone wrong), Swaptree has your back.
.H1 What’s in store for the future?
Just prior to this article going to press, I was finally able to make contact with someone at Swaptree; and I learned a few things. For future updates, Swaptree plans to incorporate the availability of Blu-ray movies and audio books into the trading system. Unfortunately for PSP owners like myself, there are no plans to add UMD movies to the system due to the continuing rumor of Sony dropping the format in the next version of the PSP. However, they do support Gameboy, Dreamcast, TurboGrafx, and Gamecube; all formats long obsolete.
My biggest concern, and I’m sure that of many readers as well, is the responsiveness of the support staff. I wish I could say I was told it was an anomaly and would never happen again; I wasn’t though. Basically, I was given the same "patent" answer I’ve received from any number of companies… they’re a small company with X-number of employees… it’s an ongoing problem they’re aware of… and they’re working to resolve the issue. I really hate responses like this because it sounds as if the company knows there’s a problem and just doesn’t care. And I got the impression the staff would like to reduce the number of support inquiries altogether.
.H1 Wrapping it up
In general, Swaptree is a great site and service. My overall experience has been positive, and for the most part I’ve been very satisfied with my trades. There can be some vagueness and ambiguity to some item descriptions, such as the aforementioned Full Screen vs. Widescreen, but this is primarily an issue with user descriptions. It’s one that may be addressed in a future system update, I’ve been told.
I’ve seen several updates already in the six months I’ve been a member, and while some made no "noticeable" improvements, most did. Hopefully, further updates will continue to improve the system, enhancing item descriptions with less user interaction, expanding the FAQ information, thus reducing support inquiries, and most important of all, responding to inquiries in a timely fashion.
Considering the current state of our economy, we all need to cut expenses wherever possible. That doesn’t necessarily mean our entertainment has to take a heavy hit though. Considering the average shipping charge on a trade is less than three dollars, that dusty copy of Melville could turn into a new copy of the most recent box office blockbuster to hit DVD.
I spent ninety dollars in trade shipping last month. What does that get? Well, I could have bought four brand new DVDs, three or four new hardcover books, or two new PS3 games. Instead, I got a hardcover book I wanted, seventeen movies, and eighteen video games (two PS3, a DS, and the rest PS2); all for things I no longer wanted. Any way you add it up, that’s coming out ahead.
It’s also environmentally friendly. You’re giving new life to an item that may otherwise have ended up in a landfill. And nearly every user I’ve traded with reuses the shipping materials, as do I; again recycling and environmentally friendly.
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So if you have DVDs, CDs, books, or video games sitting around taking up space and gathering dust, head over to Swaptree. You never know what they’re worth to someone else; they may just be worth something you want.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more [[http://www.swaptree.com|about Swaptree]].
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.BIO
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