New Person-To-Person Barter Sites Underway

Today, on a much more modest but realistic level, the use of algorithms (for conducting trades) is again being implemented in the marketplace. And, assuredly, we will see advancements in this direction. Someday we may even see a workable UltraTrade model.

An online barter startup called www.Swaptree.com is presently getting attention, because of their ability to put together direct trades between two to 4 parties. To facilitate the trades, which are limited to books, CDs, DVDs and video games, Swaptree requires the use of UPC bar codes of the titles.

Most noteworthy is the attainment of a cooperative effort with Amazon, eBay, and nine other sites...whose users are notified when the book or CD they�re seeking is available on Swaptree. The company says no commissions will be charged for the arranged trades, as they anticipate obtaining revenue by selling ads.

Other Efforts. . .

Another online barter site, www.SwapThing.com, offers greater trading versatility than Swaptree in that users can use a combination of goods and services in their bartering efforts. Plus and when an imbalance occurs, cash can be used to even out the trade.

Several years ago we reported on Tom Langel�s TradeTracker, a matching tool for three and four way exchanges. It�s used to track real estate presentations and identify transactions for brokers (exchangors) specializing in 1031 exchanges.

TradeTracker was also used as a high-tech barter/auction system�matching product to product with different items or services on a multi-level platform. See www.tradeaway.com.