SwapTree, Back From The Dead - In Private Beta
Michael Arrington
37 comments »
I was sure trading site Swaptree had been abandoned. After a flurry of press about them over a year ago, they went very quiet. Potential investors told me they’d just stopped returning calls completely. My own emails went unanswered as well. They had the smell of death about them.
But it wasn’t so. It turns out Swaptree had merely gone quiet and was focused on building out the product. They are now in private beta and say they will launch to the public in just a few days, on July 4.
Like Peerflix and LaLa, Swaptree is focused on letting users trade certain stuff with other users. Users can trade CDs, DVDs, video games and books.
To use it, you build two lists. The first is a list of items you are willing to trade. You can simply type in the UPC code or ISBN of the item - Swaptree will then add a picture and other important information. The second list is made up of things you want. This list can be created by clicking on items on the Swaptree site, or even easier ways like importing your Amazon wish list or using a plugin to click on items on Amazon directly and have them included on your Swaptree “wish list”.
Swaptree will then look at your demand list and supply list and try to set up trades for you. To make things simple, Swaptree assumes you’re willing to give up any item on your trade list for any item you want. They will then set up a trade, using as many as four users to make it happen. That way, the person with the item you want doesn’t need to want something you have.
The only way the model will work is if Swaptree gets a lot of users who each add a lot of items they want, and are willing to trade. To help things, Swaptree doesn’t charge anything for trades - you only have to pay the outbound postage on the item you are sending. The company will make money from advertising on the site.
hhhhmmm .. a bit cool
neat idea but already done right? as you indicate liquidity will be key to the success of this new platform…
Wonder whether this complicated “circle-swap” works out…
We follow with Hitflip in Germany, Austria, and the UK another approach - swapping an item against a virtualy “currency” that can be used for other items. Our members seem to like it…
earning thru advertising sounds so Web 1.0
I received a beta invite yesterday too and while I have no idea if it will work I LOVE the walkthrough feature they have. Succeed or fail, I think plenty of other companies would benefit from such a simple, clear and clever means of introducing a new user to a site.
Any techcrunch readers that want to get an early peak before july 4th, just go here:
http://www.swaptree.com/techcrunch.htm
thanks
Swaptree
Michael thanks for the post. Feel free to place that link - http://www.swaptree.com/techcrunch.htm - above in the main body of the article.
Thanks again
Swaptree
Oh, if you click on ‘Enter the Site’ seems Michael has been misquoted. I don’t see the words ‘eye-popping demo’ anywhere on this review~ looks interesting, and better than ebay at least
Not sure what @Ravi means by web1.0 and advertising. I think that’s the way most ‘web2.0′ companies earn their pennies right? (oh and VC).
Yeah, aren’t there already a bunch of these out there on the web? Can anybody tell me which is the best rightnow?
I’ve been using the site for about 3 months and done about 15 trades with great success. The site still needs work IMHO, especially a “I never want this” button to build a black list of items you never want to see again from any trader. But other than that I’ve been very pleased with it. I’ve received lots of nice stuff for just a couple of bucks each, and got rid of plenty of old DVDs and games that I don’t want anymore.
That my 5 year old game is worth the same to you as your 5 year old game is to me means I can get something USEFUL, rather than the $0.25 I’d probably get trading it in at the game’s store.
yeah swapping services ;
- Myspace; could implement; this and make it work; cause its base is large enough
- Starting this thing from scratch is ; hard to say the least
You know there is this thing called “money” which eliminates the need to swap items directly.
works in eastern europe ? how i send and recieve ?
The thing about services like SwapTree is that there are no barriers to entry - creating community and brand loyalty needs to be done around a differentiating secondary value proposition.
For example, take a look at switchplanet:
http://techfold.com/2007/04/30.....onscience/
They offer completely free trading, with a social twist:
“SwitchPlanet differentiates itself by offering free trades coupled with a charity component: instead of paying for trades, users can opt to donate any amount whenever they trade (or zero) to SwitchFunds - a donation fund that is regularly gifted to a number of charities.”
Also consider iLetYou - which opts for a decentralized NetFlix rental model, instead of straight swapping:
http://techfold.com/2007/06/11.....e-rentals/
Anyway, its a crowded market, with a commoditized feature set. What does Swaptree do to differentiate?
I wonder how much SwapTree paid Michael Arrington for this beta launch buzz. He seems to love doing this for MicroSoft and their new ‘People-ready business’ slogan.
I wonder how long this post will survive…
There is also http://www.swapsimple.com
Neat concept, especially the A-B-C concept where the “B” person you’re “swapping” with isn’t necessarily interested in what you’re swapping.
Now, hopefully they will go international!
@Bemmu, you make a good point. I’ve been in the Swaptree beta for a while and came to the same conclusion just over a month ago. Swaptree is a good idea… but really, there’s a reason we have money.
Just saw Jon Bon’s comment re: swapsimple. Facebook integration has got to count for something.
Interesting. I’m surprised that something like this isn’t targeting the car collector/automotive space, because swap meets are of course very popular there. In fact, I think automotive online is a pretty hot category - when we met with a pretty huge media company/publisher earlier this year, they had said all of their acquisitions would be targeting the automotive space.
Maybe something to consider for one of the swap start ups. It’s definitely an active and probably underserved niche.
Not a bad idea. The site design leaves a little to be desired. I love the way LaLa.com looks. It’s easy to navigate and offers a good service IMO.
Question: If Swaptree is not returning investor calls or PR calls, what happens if you are a consumer with a problem? Will they return your emails or calls?
@Michael
Don’t you think its time to forget the episode and move on?
Leave Arrington alone man.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong if somebody does what he loves and earns some money from it.
If you got problems with it, then you should better keep it with yourself or stop posting stupid comments.
Just enjoy the awesome startup stories that he posts dude.
What about http://www.trashbank.com?
They are basically a barter site for “stuff”.
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure?
Hi gang,
Thanks for mentioning us Jon Bon! It gave us all a warm and/or fuzzy feeling here at the SwapSimple office.
For those who have caught the swapping bug - If anyone wants to come check us out, after they’re done registering for Swaptree’s great service of course, I’ll create a referral code for you to use. It’ll give you a “founders” account, with some free swaps to help with your evaluation.
Just enter “Techcrunch”
I’ll keep the code active until tomorrow morning. Also, any feedback on our service would be much appreciated, either in our forums, or via customer service. We respond to all custserv messages within ~one hour
Talk soon,
Elliot
Co-Founder, SwapSimple.com
WOW! Been trying to get some crunch love for a while now.
I guess next time I will sit in private beta for over a year!
SwitchPlanet.com has been going strong with a non-funded business model.
With an Alexa rating close to 30,000 we’re pretty close to reaching that critical mass point to really help us take off. I’m confident we’ll get there.
Thanks,
Chris
is swapthing.com the same thing? but the site seems to be dead also…
Chris, I posted a comment here about SwitchPlanet but its sitting in moderation queue.
I was optimistic but skeptical when I first started trying the Swaptree Beta, which I’ve been using for a few months. I think the key to the site is that I DON’T have to use currency, or sell things. I simply make a list of items I want, and another list of items I no longer want, and I then I have a flow of books, CDs and DVDs (I don’t have time to play videogames any more) that I want being sent to me for free.
As Bemmu pointed out, I COULD sell my used stuff on EBay, at a local store, etc, but I don’t have time to do so and it’s not worth it to me to sell a used CD or a used book for a couple of bucks. Not worth the hassle, and I’ll never do it. Not ever. Not even once. I just know I won’t - some of my CDS are 15 years old and haven’t been played for that long.
It IS worth it to me to trade those items for other items I want, because the net value is greater to me when I do so (I immediately get something I want).
Even with the limited users in the Beta, I’ve been able to get a large number of items that I want but haven’t gotten around to buying. I’m pretty convinced that I’ll be able to get most of the music, books and DVDs that I want in exchange for similar items that I’ve already used for free.
One thing about my preferences bears noting: I’m not time sensitive about when I get things: I know I want to read a list of book titles, but I don’t care what order I read them in or if I do this week or next week or a month from now. I know I want to watch a bunch of movies that I didn’t see in the theatre, but I don’t really care when I do or what order I get them in (I just want to have one of the movies available when I actually get a break from the kids). So I add them to my want list and then they show up in my mailbox and I can use them when I’m able.
This works for me.
Check out iLetYou ( http://www.iletyou.com ), an online rental community for DVDs and Games that allows anyone to start their own rental store. Prices and terms are set by each individual store and there are no upfront listing fees. iLetYou has depth of selection rivaling the top online rental outlets and you can get a DVD or Game immediately, generally for $2 to $3 per rental.
I like the extra liquidity of multi-way swaps introduced to swapping with Swaptree, probably a large part of their complexity leading to a longer Private Beta period. The lack of currency to assign true values doesn’t go away though as a limiting issue when your items are valued the same. Related is the eventual game of arbitrage to continually trade up when the traded item and associated costs make sense to do so, leading to decreased quality of items ‘available for trade’ on a swap site.
Both of these things limit overall liquidity, which is the key to success (and usefulness) of any marketplace.
Thanks,
Rodger
Founder, iLetYou
hmmm looks very cool.
Rodger.
I will have to check out iLetYou.
I do disagree with your assertion about lack of currency and assigning values. For me, if I’ve already read a book, or watched a movie, or listened to a CD (and/or added it to my Ipod), these items are essentially worthless to me, so provided I can get another DVD, CD, or book that I want (for free no less) by trading them to someone else, I’m a happy camper. And I can do that again and again and again with each item progressive item as I use them.
With media like this, once it’s used, it has low intrinsic value to me so I’m willing to trade. I don’t care if I trade a hardcopy of Freakanomics ($25) which I’ve already read for a paperback of The Long Tail ($10) which I haven’t read (but really want to).
Similarly, I don’t care if I trade a newly purchased CD that I’ve listened to for an old CD that I haven’t listened to, or a current run DVD that I’ve already seen for a 1996 movie that I haven’t seen (but really want to see). For me it’s all about marginal utility, not market pricing.
With used items like this, relative acquisition cost doesn’t matter to me.
Good discussion.
Jay Dub,
Great, check out iLetYou.
Do swap sites have utility? Yes, absolutely - when you also don’t care about marginal value differences, swap sites are great. However, the difference does have to be marginal: you won’t trade a car that you’re sick of for a movie you haven’t seen.
Barter is older than commerce itself. But commerce eventually replaced barter as the main way of acquiring goods and services.
A key point is that “these items are essentially worthless to me” hints that stuff on swapping sites amounts to other people’s junk. If you value everything equally, the demand side will always outweigh the supply side. Currency is just the equalizer to balance the two sides out, which then allows you to exchange things of all value.
I mentioned BagBorrowOrSteal as a new vertical using the rental model on the other Swaptree post: a couture purse is the far from worthless!
Like you say, it’s just another way of looking at things. Rental lets you purchase the experience instead of the good and it fill a completely different need than buy/sell/trade. We rent everything from DVDs to clothing to cars to homes and it fills the need for when you need/want something but can’t or don’t want to buy it outright.
I’d love to hear anyone’s feedback on iLetYou - we’re looking forward to it!
SwapTree looks like a great site and excellent idea. I just wonder how easy it would be to implement such a concept.
would be cool if matches can be based on items + location - so that way people have a choice of driving around the locality to pick up items rather than having to mail them.
“would be cool if matches can be based on items + location - so that way people have a choice of driving around the locality to pick up items rather than having to mail them.”
Check out iRent2u.com - we do just that. No worries about trying to find the perfect swap, just lend out your things and then get them back afterwards. Everyone wins. We use money for what is was made for, to extract value that is lying latent in possessions.
We provide a 100% local utility for finding items to borrow or lend. We have integrated maps and you search by proximity, user ratings, or whatever features you desire.
Items have no limits whatsoever, beyond being legal. Borrow or lend anything from a DVD to a Leer Jet.
Really, I have never understood these barter sites. Why spend a bunch of time trying to find perfect matches. Let money account for the difference. That’s why they call it “money”.