Barter and swapping sites -- an alternative to online auctions

by Richard Seltzer, seltzer@samizdat.com, www.samizdat.com

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This article was heard on the radio program "The Computer Report," which is broadcast live on WCAP in Lowell, Mass., and is syndicated on WBNW in Boston and WPLM in Plymouth, MA.

If you want to clear out your attic or find rare items or shop for used merchandise at bargain prices, you can try online auctions, like eBay; or you might want to check another set of Web sites designed to help Internet users barter or swap merchandise with one another.

For instance, MrSwap.com specializes in music, movies, and videogames -- mass market merchandise. That limitation greatly simplifies their business. Buyers know what they are getting, and know what it's worth. For popular items, there are likely to be many listings of each at any given time, meaning that you are likely to find the item you want at the condition and price you want, quickly.

As a seller, you don't have to waste time describing your items or taking and posting photos. MrSwap already has photos on file, together with links to ratings, reviews, and additional info for all common music, movies, and games. You just indicate the condition and the price, and your listing for that item will appear on the same page with everyone else's.

You can become a member for free, and they claim they have over half a million items up for sale.

They use an intermediary payment system -- SwapPoints -- to facilitate swaps. In other words, instead of direct payment of cash between the parties, and instead of having to barter directly, where you have something another person wants and that person has something that you want (which could be difficult to work out), everybody deals with MrSwap. When you sell something, you get SwapPoints; and when you buy something, you spend SwapPoints. If you do more buying than selling, you can pay for SwapPoints from MrSwap at $1 a point.

For the first 20 items you list at the site, you get 20 SwapPoints that you can use immediately to get whatever you want.

When you find an item you want, you request it by clicking the "Swap" button. MrSwap sends an email to the member who listed the item. If the seller confirms, MrSwap sends you an email confirming the deal. SwapPoints get transferred when the buyer confirms receipt.

Shipping is another unique aspect of dealing at MrSwap. They only handle limited kinds of merchandise, of known size and weight. When a swap is confirmed, they send a stamped pre-addressed envelope to the seller. The seller just puts the goods in the envelope and drops it in a mail box.

You pay for shipping and handling at the time you make your offer (by debit or credit card or by funds you previously deposited at MrSwap by check or money order). The transaction goes through when the deal is confirmed.

On the one hand, that mechanism simplifies matters. You don't have to concern yourself about getting envelopes that are the right size, and you don't have to go to the post office to get the package weighed and buy postage. But you end up paying MrSwap a small premium (the "handling" charge) on every item you buy. And their sending out the envelope means it takes longer for you to get what you want.

Like at eBay, there's a rating system. But here buyers just rate sellers, not vice versa, because MrSwap acts as the intermediary. The rating seems intended primarily to help keep people honest when they describe the condition of their goods. At eBay, there are many more variables and much of the action takes place directly in email between buyer and seller; so sellers can rate buyers, as well as vice versa.

Another major barter site, WebSwap.com, deals in all kinds of merchandise. The only limitations relate to legality and good taste.

Membership is free and there's no transaction fee (for now). You can list what you want to buy, sell or swap, with your own detailed descriptions and photos (very much like eBay). You can say you only want cash deals, or can indicate their your willingness to swap.

There is no time limit built in and no bidding, and hence none of the urgency and excitement of an auction. This is more like a fleamarket.

The matching is done primarily by WebSwap's software, though you can browse or search on your own, and when you view a description, you also see a list of everything else that person is interested in buying, selling, or swapping.

If there's a match at the time you post, WebSwap lets you know right away. Otherwise WebSwap emails you later, whenever a match is found. When you get notified about a match, you can click on the item to see the description, can request more info and can see the owner's rating history. Then you can click to make an offer or delete the match.

As at eBay, ratings help keep people honest. Ratings are given to the person sending something by the person receiving it. In cases, of a swap both parties can rate one another.

Unlike eBay, all the communication goes by way of the Web site, instead of direct email between buyer and seller. With the listing, you just see the username and the city.

When someone makes an offer, WebSwap notifies the seller by email, and that person accepts or rejects or makes a counteroffer. Only when a deal is agreed to does WebSwap let both parties know the real names and shipping addresses. If money is involved, you pay WebSwap, and WebSwap pays the seller. After a two-week waiting period (to make sure that everyone is satisfied with the deal), WebSwap cuts a check and sends it to the seller. That puts WebSwap in a position of control, adding an element of safety; but it also eliminates all the human contact that leads to much of the fun of online auctions, and it also means there's a long lag from consummation of the sale to receipt of payment.

To explore other similar sites and what they have to offer and how they operate, go to AltaVista and do a search for

barter* swap*

If you are interested in a particular kind of merchandise and would like a site that specializes in that, add those words to your query. Don't worry about the fact that you'll get millions of matches -- the matches at the top of the list are the ones that are most likely to be useful to you.

Keep in mind that shipping can be a headache when you deal with non-standard merchandise with weights that are hard to estimate and sizes that are hard to fit in a convenient package. It may be quite easy to help people get together and arrange swaps over the Internet. But packing and shipping large items -- like lawnmowers -- can be so complicated, time-consuming, and costly that it just isn't worth the effort.

I believe that problem opens up an opportunity for local businesses -- combining old style fleamarkets and Internet-based matching. Why not set up a site that lets people list their items and make initial contact; then if it looks like they may have a deal, they can get togther at a particular parking lot at a regularly set time. There the buyers and swappers can inspect the merchandise, finalize deals, and drive home with what they bought. And while there, buying or swapping based on contacts made over the Internet, these same folks may see other things they like and make deals for them too. In this case, the commerce takes place very much as before, but the Internet helps ensure that buyers, sellers, and swappers don't waste their time.

If you come across any businesses that work like that, please let me know.

Other articles about online shopping
Other articles about online auctions

Can we help you build an Internet business? Richard Seltzer is an independent Internet writer/speaker/consultant. Click here for details. or send email to seltzer@samizdat.com

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