Announcing Swapcove

The economy is tough on everyone at the moment. No one goes completely unaffected, and many people are left with lower, if not non-existent, income and in most cases lots of unwanted possessions. Despite this, basic human wants don’t go away – people still want new books, new skis, new clothes, but selling items can be hard because a lot of people are in exactly the same situation as you.

To help address this, I’m pleased to announce the launch (albeit in a very early form) of a new service called Swapcove. Brainchild of my co-founder and good friend Luke Watson, Swapcove is a site that aims to streamline the process of swapping what you have for what you want.

Swapcove makes it simple to list as many items as you like – not just the things you want to get rid of right now, but also the things you might get rid of if the right offer came your way. You can then browse the listings by category, location, or other attributes, and make an offer on something you want by creating packages of items. Packages mean you are not just trading single item for another item, but a collection of items that you feel match in value. The other party can then accept or reject your offer, or create a counter offer of his or her own based on what you proposed.

These are clearly early days, and we have a long list of features we’d like to implement, but for now we just want to get something out there and see if people are open to bringing back the old concept of barter in an economy where money is not quite as easy to come across.

Love it? Hate it? We’d love to hear your feedback – head on over to the GetSatisfaction page and tell us what you think.