Jeff Bennett's Blog

Swap is the barter and exchange of goods.   This was the predominant method of trading in the 17th and 18th centuries.  It is coming back and playing an important role in our economy.

The popularity of cashless deals tends be countercyclical to overall economic conditions, fading when times are good and growing when things are bad. But most economists are saying that the recent recession was so deep and long-lasting that it is likely to spur an extended period of frugality, we believe bartering activities in the U.S. will persist and flourish well after economic growth resumes.

The annual value of barter trade by North American companies expanded to $12 billion in 2008 almost double from what it was in 2001, according to the International Reciprocal Trade Association.

Craigs List and Swaptree are featured as consumer-to-consumer solutions for swapping. Boston based Swaptree is the leading site on the web for consumers to swap books, cds, dvds and games.  Swaptree has been featured here as a “cool site” since I have been blogging.  Swaptree allows consumers to cross trade any of these media types

Another Boston company, BzzAgent is also featured as a busienss-to-consumer solutions.  BzzAgent helps generate word-of-mouth communication for clients by recruiting unpaid volunteer “buzz agents” to talk up products and services to friends, acquaintances, and even total strangers in exchange for perks and gifts.

Check out the Wall Street Journal post here.