Finland�s online item
swapping (barter) service provider Netcycler acquired Boston
(MA)-based Swap.com, but didn�t really announce the deal at the time
� although the company sent an e-mail to Swap.com users that left
little to the imagination. Since then, the Helsinki-based company
finally confirmed that it has indeed acquired Swap.com.
Netcycler was founded in
2008 and currently operates item-swapping services in Finland,
Germany, the United Kingdom and now the USA. The European services
today have more than 130,000 registered users.
According to CrunchBase,
Swap.com (formerly known as Swaptree) had raised over $11 million
and is said to have attracted nearly half a million U.S. users. That
brings Netcycler�s total tally to over 600,000 registered members
today.
With little fanfare,
Netcycler recently launched a Swap.com �valet service,� which
initially focused on kids� clothes, toys, sporting equipment and
kids accessories. The service basically enabled parents to ship
unused items to Swap.com, so the company can photograph, store and
list them. To accommodate the new Swap.com �valet service,�
Netcycler has set-up its first logistics center, close to Chicago
(IL).
Netcycler co-founder and
chairman Jussi Koskinen remarked, �Trading pre-owned items is a lot
of work, and I can see why many people are not doing it. With the
new service, we completely avoid the inherent problems of C2C
(consumer-to-consumer) online auctions and marketplaces � like lack
of trust towards trade partners, unreliability of delivery, and high
shipping costs.�
Koskinen says the
acquisition of Swap.com came at a good time. �We are just launching
the Netcycler service in the U.S., and the well-known brand and
half-a-million users of Swap.com will surely help us grow our
presence there.�
