Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Swaptree integration

We’ve added integration with a thirteenth swap site, Swaptree.com. By available titles Swaptree is now one of the larger swap sites we integrate with—and the last large one I’m aware of!

Swaptree differs from some of the other sites in that you don’t accumulate points and trade them in. Instead, Swaptree helps you make item-for-item trades with other users. The site also lists DVDs, CDs and video games, and you can make cross-media trades (eg., a video game for a book).

I’m don’t know how it figures out what you get for everything, but it’s a nifty idea, and seems sensible in light of my blog post on top wanted and unwanted items at swap sites. When I entered the top-wanted The Omnivore’s Dilemma, it offered me choice of nearly 100,000 books—some quite attractive to me—along with some appealing DVDs and games. At the other end, it offered me nothing at all for the least-wanted Da Vinci Code. That certainly seems like a potential answer to one problem with swap sites.

You can specify which swap sites are calculated into on Edit profile > Sites/apps.

It might be interesting if, in the future, LibraryThing integrated more deeply, so that, when you went to a book on LibraryThing, it told you if you could get it based on your Swaptree “have” list.

Come talk about this.

Labels: new features, swap, swap site

2 Comments:

  1. Qaterra Harvey says:

    SwapTree has incredible potential.

    It will not survive if it continues to treat its users poorly.

    Case in point:

    Today, SwapTree stole six hours of my life. It appears to have been done with malice and forethought. Few crimes are more heinous.

    For two weeks, my ST account has been a quasi-functional nightmare. I have emailed, used the webform, telephoned (never able to speak to a person, voice mail only), all repeatedly. ST has not responded.

    Today, finally, ST responded by email. I had requested a phone number so I could call, offering to call at a specific time. ST refused.

    Instead, ST stated I could “expect a phone call from a support representative sometime this afternoon.”

    Although I thought it unreasonable to specify such a wide window, I waited. I waited by the phone, loathe to chance missing ST’s call. I waited from 11:00 am Central (noon Eastern) to 5:00 pm Central (6:00 pm Eastern).

    ST never called.

    Until now, I have been willing to ascribe ST’s lack of response to simple incompetency. ST’s action, or inaction, of this afternoon persuades me this is all a result of unmitigated gall and hubris. Whose? I have no way of knowing.

    Caveat emptor!

  2. Padget says:

    SwapTree was the worst trading site I had ever used. Their were rarely swaps offered, and when there were you would be expected to trade for an item worth considerably less than what they what I was expected to trade for it (e.g: They would expect me to trade a brand new item for an item in acceptable condition only).
    One time I did do a trade, but the item I sent was lost in the mail. The other person was writing the most horrible things about me for something beyond my control (this was before media mail had tracking), and even though I had offered to send something else listed as compensation.
    SwapTree did nothing to intervene, and [I believe] at that time they suspended MY account even though I was a member consideded to be in good standing previous to this,and the other person had claimed several items unreceived.
    Other sites provide allowances for one or two items to be lost in the mail.
    And at that time there were several cases of not sending items even after they had received the item they requestedfrom you.

Leave a Reply to Qaterra Harvey