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Swaptree.com... ebay without money and hassle

So you're ready for book two of a three-book trilogy but don't want to put book one on the shelf just to gather dust. You could always sell it on ebay and get a little money for it, right? But then you have to list it, wait for the auction to end, wait for the payment to hit your account, mail the book, transfer the payment out of PayPal, give buyer feedback, solicit seller feedback, and one long week later you're done. It's a lot of work for a little money.

While something can be better than nothing, what if you could simply mail book one to someone in exchange for book two from someone else? That's the idea behind Swaptree.com. This free service allows you to list the books, CDs, DVDs, and video games you're ready to get rid of by simply entering the UPC and the condition of the item. Then for each item you list, your personal library of items you can get will grow. To start a trade, simply select "Get Now" and the process begins.

You can also start a list of items you want by searching for each item manually or importing your list from another list or website, including your Amazon Wishlist. Once you've got an item on your "I want" list, Swaptree starts looking around for what it will take to get it.

Once a trade deal is found or initiated, you are emailed the recipient's address. So the only thing you'll pay for is the postage to mail the item. There's no listing fee, PayPal transaction fee, membership fee, nothing. And the site's clean, intuitive interface keeps the whole process relatively painless (a far cry from how involved ebay can be).

Swaptree won't replace ebay. But it is a convenient alternative likely to keep some money in your pocket and some dust off your shelf.

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