Online Swap Sites

[dvdfan]

I linked into this site while looking for information on online swapping sites for dvds.
Does anyone know of a really good, active site that deals in SWAPPING (i.e., item exchanges--not selling/buying sites)?

[dvdfan]

[QUOTE=sblme28]ever try swappingtons?

Yes, I've tried Swappingtons. It is essentially a dead site, particularly in the area of dvds.
None of the questions I asked months ago when I joined ever got answered--the "updates"
from the site are November 2003 (not 2004!!). The lack of a communication system makes it
impossible to contact other posters to work out a trade even if someone does come along and post an interesting looking item there is no way to contact them to work out a trade.

I like the theory of a credit-based system for swapping and would love to find one that is well run and that looks like it will be active for some time in the future.

[dvdfan]

None of the bargainhunters on this site like to swap dvds for different titles? I noticed
there were no dvd threads in the for sale section, but I thought surely there were a few
dvd traders around..................

[dvdfan]

Of the four sites mentioned by lucyfur, the only one I recommend is The Cheshire Kat.
It has staying power and good administration. DVD swapping is slow on the site though
which is why I was looking for a better DVD swap site. Although I only started swapping
DVDs online recently, I've swapped books for years (even pre-dating Switchouse).

I definitely WARN EVERYONE to AVOID SWAPSWOP. The intention of the builders was to
have a paying site at any costs, and it is not a safe trading site. I joined and had only listed 7 items when I had three requested. Sounds great? Well, it was a nightmare to get rid of the points I quickly earned from those three trades. It took me about 3 months of constantly going downhill in my expectations to finally get rid of the majority of my points. Oh, and I just this moment checked, the Disney dvd that enticed me to join and list some of my best items to get someone to do immediate trades with me is still listed there even though the user who listed it wouldn't respond to my trade request almost a year ago and I did report it several times (along with other nonresponsive items) to the webmaster. But, hey, "nice" items attract suckers, oops, excuse me, new members offering their best items to try to earn a few quick points to start trading for those "nice" items they would love to swap for.

Wastepile is another "winner." You have to join to get all the details, but essentially you get no points for joining or listing items and can only acquire points in three ways: putting something up nice enough that another user wants to trade for it, suckering a friend into joining the site, or greasing the palm of the site creator with a little paypal. Factor into this the fact that the site has only been in existance a few weeks (and none of the new members have started with a single point) and basically you have another site where the webmaster is selling your quality items for money in his/her pocket and giving you a raffle-type point that can be used to acquire an item of your choice somewhere in the future.

Titletrader is another site under construction with the webmaster constantly making changes and "improvements". The webmaster on this site is definitely looking out for number one, too, but he's smart enough to check out all the competition and pick the best options from other sites to add to his. However, he doesn't seem extremely responsive to suggestions that would definitely make the site more trader friendly--he can magically manufacture points (i.e., cash backed up with your item) to resolve "little problems." Browsing the members shows a number of members appear to have joined for the free point offered for joining and listing five items (now discontinued) and that they never had any real intention of participating in the site. I've also had to report several bad trades already where waiting several weeks and attempting to email the sender gets me absolutely no results. I'm not sure that this site isn't another Swappingtons that gets off to a good start and builds a large base of items quickly, but ends up handing dead in cyberspace with few active users. (Site started less than six months ago.)

The Cheshire Kat is the one site here I can truly endorse for anyone wanting to join a multi-category (books, audiobooks, cd, games, vhs, dvds, etc.) trading site. It has been around SEVERAL YEARS and has staying power with a good webmaster who is interested in keeping the site alive without making a profit from it. You also don't get bombarded with the advertising found on all the other trading sites. ----NOTE: If you have any DVDs you are interested in swapping, I'm booklover on this site, and I have points accumulated that I'd love to spend........

[jtomson]

You could try http://www.swapthing.com. Seems to be pretty active. They got about 20,000 movies for trade. Most seem to be DVDs

John