Swap.comReviews 1,190

SwapValet - just not what I came to swap.com for at all.

Swap had an awesome system of "i want this book/dvd/game. Oh hey, do you not want it anymore?! How about I trade you this?" - I came to the site exactly for that reason. I was tired of finding sites where I had to accumulate points to get one book that I wanted.

As many others have explained, SwapValet is just a mini version of Ebay. I also had trouble getting customer service with my SwapMedia account (out of the blue, my credit card was no good) - they wouldn't get back to me on trying to update my account so I could resume trading. Then it made sense - they didn't care. It says on their site they removed SwapMedia because it was making no money...

"The reason for terminating the service is that the Media service is not sustainable as a business. It simply costs more to keep running than it brings in revenue. The fairly long history of the Media service has proven that users are not willing to pay enough for the service to make it sustainable. And because the Media service is a commercial service, not a public service or a volunteer operated service, it just cannot go on like that."

I never got an email where there were options being discussed of how to work the system to make it more profitable for them. This was something I DEFINITELY would have given some input on, what I am willing or not willing to do to stay with the site. Also, they deleted all of my information from my original Swap account when they closed Swap Media (really dumb. No "valet" convenience there!). I miss swap media :( it was perfect. I'm just sad so many people are missing out on the awesomeness that it was.

If you are looking for a mini-ebay - go try it out. But if you were looking for somewhere to swap your books, etc. I do not recommend.

I truly mourned the death of swaptree/swap.com. At it's heyday it was nothing short of phenomenal! I loved it! This new incarnation with the Valet Service is a joke. It's a consignment shop. The positive side is that it is a shop with an online presence (not a new thing). But the difference between it and your local consignment shop is that you have to pay shipping to get stuff to them, you can't disagree with them, if they don't like what you send you have to pay to get it back, you have to pay to have the things you buy shipped to you. You have to pay to have them store your stuff that doesn't sell or pay to get it back. Just like a consignment shop only less convenient and more expensive.

I had been on the swap.com site since it was originally called swaptree. It only swapped media, (DVD's, Music, books, games) it WAS perfect. Every person I swapped with was good. I, myself had 100% saticfaction as well as most of the people on there. There was a few(not many though) that had very low scores but like ebay you can see them before you accepted the trade. There was also a place for you to explain why your item was listed as it was such as... new, like new, good, acceptable... So you new what you were getting if you took a chance on swapping something "new" with something "acceptable" it was your choice, I did often and when I received the "acceptable" item it was as stated and I was pleased.

The set up they had was what it is meant for a real barter system, then they brought the market in, which was like a door to fraud and misuse lots of scammers. I personal only swapped through the market once and it turned out great. But I joined for the media and that is where I stayed.

They shut it down and let the Swap valet take everything over.
BUT before they shut it down, about 8 months before, any and all information that you had on the site, you had to update. Not a problem, right? Wrong! They would not allow you to update anything, they continuously requested it but wouldn't accept it. But then if you were offered a swap you could not accept it nor could you initiate one.
Then their customer service FORGET IT, there is none. If the people who were the customer service agents on the media forum that still run the Valet forum, I wouldn't trust them with my dogs fleas let alone anything else in my house I would be willing to swap.

Like most things they took a working model of something that was WORKING and decided to break it.
I would never refer anyone to Swap Valet, I did already refer many people to swap media when it was running and I also know they all left as well.

I sent no less then 30 email to the customer service not once did I receive a response other than the automatic computer response saying that they received my email.

Before inflicting the worst possible experience on their customers, this used to be an excellent site to trade media. Everything went off the cliff following the introduction of the Swap Market, which then was replaced by Swap Valet. I tried out Valet service, which aspires to be like a recycling-focused Ebay, and my item was not accepted. That didn't really do anyone any good. The customer service here has been abysmal since both the failed introduction of Swap Market and the takeover from the Finland team. Recommend you stay far away..

Before this site was bought by someone who wanted to turn it into a mini-ebay it used to be excellent. When it was just trading books/video games/dvds/cds it was nothing short of amazing! They even had a guarantee for deadbeat traders with a credit card charge system to make sure the swap went through. Then they added crap - trading tons of junk, people trying to swap high dollar items for their worn out stuffed animals. It was horrible. The quality of trades plummeted and numerous traders never sent items. Sometime during this they quietly dropped the trade guarantee so you were left with no recourse if a trader did not send their item. Now traders will complain and leave negative feedback instead of communicating. Customer service could care less if you're alive. Stay away!

Swap.com is a website based on a point scale. 10 points is equal to 1.00. You put a dollar amount on an item and fellow swappers will make you offers in the form of points. You then use your points to buy other items on the site that fellow swappers are offering. You can also have something like a wish list and people who may have something your looking for will contact you to offer you a swap if you have something that they would like and you can do the same. This is a site where money does not come into play it really is an interesting concept and is a great way to recycle items in a throw away world.

Great swap site! Actually I use the "Media" website (www.swap.com/books) because it's for swapping books, music, movies and games. This website enables me to swap books, music cd's, dvd's and video games with others from all over the country. Swap.com/books facilitates the swaps: 1) I add to my list "Items I Am Willing to Trade" (there is a database of items that rivals Amazon), 2) I add any items I WANT on "List of Wants," and 3) The system matches items to everyone's wants and trades, usually as 3-way swaps.
This site is awesome and I have saved tons of money by swapping books instead of paying for them. You have the option to print out a generated label from Swap.com, which adds to the balance, and each month on the 23rd they charge it to your credit card or account (about $3.21 per book, because of delivery confirmation); OR you can opt to use your own postage. I use my own because Stamps.com makes it much cheaper to send and Delivery Conf is much less.
The only downside to this website is that some people decide not to use Delivery Confirmation, which is supposed to be a requirement, and then the package cannot be tracked. My packages always arrive, but someone should really monitor the users who don't provide Delivery Conf, because they try to get around the system by being lazy.
GREAT SITE!

Before the addition of Swap Market (where you can trade anything), this site was phenomenal. Items had to be in good condition, frequently came with a good description, and trades had to be approved by all parties. I made well over 500 trades and was only burned twice, both times prior to the advent of SafeSwap (if a book doesn't arrive the trader is charged the cost of sending you a new book from Amazon). Sending and item automatically removed it from your Have List and receiving an item automatically removed it from your Want List.

The addition of the Swap Market messed everything up for those of us only wishing to trade media (books, cds, dvds and video games). The new system does not have the same streamlined style of trade, it does not automatically manage your Have and Want Lists, it does not protect you from slimy traders (no more SafeSwap).

You CAN avoid the Swap Market and stay with Swap Media BUT unless you were an existing Swap.com member who was really paying attention you probably don't know this and if you are a new member you probably don't even know there is a separate site for media trades only. (Typing Swap.com in your url bar takes you straight to the Market; you have to know to type Swap.com/media to get to the original site). Thus, there are hardly any traders left to trade with on the media site. I've been a member for over 3 years and had a trade every couple of days, since the addition of the market I've had maybe 1 trade.

I'm looking for a better trade site, one that is as solid as Swap.com used to be. I would suggest you keep looking too.

I joined Swap.com a few days ago, and found out a little too late how their exact methods work, and it's not something in which I feel comfortable participating. I don't like the method they use for acceptance and rejection, because it puts you under the spotlight to get the item out now now now. I mean, I can't make two or three trips to our post office every day. That eats up a lot of fuel. Add in Swap.com's monthly fee, transaction fee and shipping costs, and you're really not saving any money at all!

I can't recommend them as a way to really save money. I'm sure there are much better choices out there.

The first trade I initiated was not accepted by the other party and as a result, my item was put on hold for several days while Swap.com "reviewed" it. I asked Swap.com why my item was on hold and received a vague, nonsensical reply. My next trade was initiated by Swap.com (a three-way trade) where I was to get a "like new" hardcover from one person in exchange for my mailing a "like new" hardcover to another person. I accepted. When I got this supposed "like new" book, I knew I had been scammed. The book was in terrible shape - loose binding, yellowed pages, had obviously been wet at some point. I fired off an email to Swap.com to let them know I was very unhappy and got a reply that suggested my expectations were too high! The person who sent me the book had pretty much the same attitude. In addition, if you reject too many trades (sorry, I am not going to trade my Nintendo DS game for a well-worn paperback), Swap.com will send you an email telling you to "play fair". Needless to say, I am now in search for a better trading site.