Auctions article: How Do Swap Sites Compare With Online Auctions

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Online auctions have grown immensely in just a few years to a point where most web surfers use at least one to regularly buyer or sell just about anything. BUT a new breed of trading site which swaps goods are growing in popularity, how does each stack up?

Auction Sites

To sell you add a listing including photos and a good description and let buyers bid until someone wins the item. If needed add a reserve to ensure a good price, but consider not selling means you foot the bill for listing fees.

As a buyer your only indication of quality is the feedback rating of the seller which enables you to gauge the quality of their items sold and reliability in dispatch and packing etc. New sellers with low or nil ratings would appear to be at a disadvantage - and established sellers likely to capture more of the available market place

With some sites with millions of members competition for sellers and buyers can be a problem in wasting both time and money. Smaller sites have too few listings and larger sites too many, however surfing the site can prove good entertainment - the chase is better than the catch!

Swap Sites - direct

These sites do not sell or auction goods but requires a member with an item to find another member who is prepared to trade a for b - value is not always equal it's just what each side sees as fair.

Often the parties can form friendships esp. if they trade regularly, and such sites are more community friendly than auctions where users are out to sell or buy at best prices regardless of who to or from.

The downside is CHOICE - small sites have few listings so chances of finding a swap is limited. Since listings are usually free there is no time scale so if it takes a few months to get a trade the lister incurred no cost or effort until a swap partner turns up.

Swap Sites - points

Growing fast are trade sites which list items for POINTS VALUE allowing greater flexibility of what is traded.

Here you list an item for x points and earn those points when you release the goods to another member who has that number of points in their online "points bank". Points are given for referring members to the site and can also be bought for real money.

The final choice seems to be based on type of item and its value, lower value items may be better on swap sites where the cost and time scale in listing may not always be returned in a successful sale. Indeed you can pay money NOT to sell at all, whereas the swap sites offer long term free listings, so there is nothing to loose by at least giving them a try.

Maurice S Clarke is founder of the wearable goods trading web site http://www.whatweusedtowear.com and lives in Rugby, UK. This article may be freely republished provided it remains intact.