Spring Awakening! Instead of More Shopping, Try Swapping

If simply unloading your stuff is too much of a cold-turkey approach for you, consider swapping. Ideally, it’s a zero sum gain in terms of stuff, with one item gone for every “new to you” possession you acquire. And unlike shopping, post-swap you’re no poorer than when you began.

Avoiding “America’s Biggest Rip-offs”

CNNMoney put together a list of “America’s Biggest Rip-offs,” which include things like text messages (marked up 6500% with some cell plans), college textbooks (which cost the average student $900 a year), and popcorn at the movies (no surprise here, they charge nine times what it costs to make it). But for every rip-off, there’s [...]

After-the-Fact Gift Strategies: Swapping, Selling, Returning, Regifting

Maybe, just maybe, you got what you wanted under the Christmas tree. As for the rest of us …

Top Swaps: The Year’s Most Popularly Traded DVDs, CDs, Books, and Video Games

In a year when a barter economy got new life, when consumers became more comfortable trading services or goods for everything from health care to a new wardrobe, some items switched hands a lot more than others. Among the most popular goods to swap were “The Dark Knight” on DVD, Taylor Swift CDs, Wii Fit, [...]

Shout-Out: Buxr’s “Swap-portunity” Roundup

The coupon-crazed deal-posting website Buxr rounded up a whole mess of the best sites for swapping your stuff, free of charge.

Unemployed? Ten Quasi-Productive Things to Keep You Busy and Maybe Accomplish Something

Here are ten things to do this summer that are free or cheap, and that are at least more productive than loafing on the couch. You’ve got the time, right?

Q&A with the Co-Founder of Swaptree.com

The bartering site Swaptree was conceived on the idea that you shouldn’t have to buy a new bestseller when you have last month’s sitting on your bookshelf.