How does sw0p work?

sw0p is community driven and takes the best bits of online auctioning, recycling and LETS systems and combines them into a simple and free item and skill bartering service.

We allow listings of used or homemade items as well as an individual's skills. Each item or skill is given a value by their owner based on a virtual currency, Bitcoin, and when a trade completes the agreed amount is passed onto the recipient to be used fund further trades.

We've prepared a small FAQ below, if there's anything else that you'd like to know then please feel free to email us.

How does it work?
You list your own used or homemade items and skills on the website. You give each item or skill a virtual value (which can be zero for free things), denominated in 'bits'. When trading with other users, bits are swapped when an agreement on value is reached.
Hang on, I thought the point was no money changing hands?
After (years of) careful consideration we decided that some form of underlying currency was needed for the site to really work. It's too hard to match one person's items (that will have a different value from one person to another) up with another user's items or skills. So, we eventually decided to use a virtual currency.
Ok, so what are bits?
Bits are our name for fractions of a unit of virtual currency called a Bitcoin, an open-source, peer-to-peer & decentralized system that is almost impossible to counterfeit.
How do I get some of these Bitcoins so I can trade on sw0p?
Post some items and skills up and get paid for them, you've now got some fractions of a Bitcoin.
But the system needs some 'money' in it to start things off, right?
Well spotted. Yes, whilst the preference is for the Bitcoins to keep moving around the system changing hands between buyers & sellers, we do see the need to allow for deposits and withdrawal. Therefore we will allow people to purchase Bitcoins within the site, this will be especially useful if you see an item or skill that you want to secure but you've not built up a trading balance yet. Likewise should you build up a large balance after trading lots of things you can change your coins for hard currency.
Do Bitcoins have a monetary value?
Yes, there are a number of sites that give detailed stats on the exchange rate from Bitcoin (BTC) and sovereign currencies like USD or GBP. Mt.Gox seems to be the most popular of these.
Why Bitcoin, why not just make your own internal currency up.
We really like the philosophy behind Bitcoin, it serves our purposes well and if take-up on sw0p is good we'll also be helping the currency become more established.
Will you charge me to use the service?
Listing and trading is unconditionally free. To cover our costs we will take a small cut when you buy or sell Bitcoins through us. If you start off slow, selling a few items to build up a reserve then you don't need to buy Bitcoins so you'll never need to pay us.
Why wouldn't I just use Freecycle or Freegle?
They are both very useful tools but you are only allowed to give items away, there is no ability to trade your items or skills with other members. Anyone that uses Freecycle - as we have done for years - knows that there's not really the ability to search historical items and that the volume of emails can sometimes be quite high. We feel we've addressed these and a number of other usability issues and by including distance based searching you're not limited to a distinct geographical area.
If I trade or give stuff away I'll still have to post it, who pays for that?
Whilst ideally you'll be trading with people that live near you there is the ability to charge for postage. Over time we'll hopefully tie in with a courier that will accept bitcoins direct.
What happens if I get ripped off? Or I got no-shows like I do on Freecycle sometimes?
Like eBay there is a feedback & rating system, tell everyone.
Actually, if we're using money, why not just use eBay?
You have to pay to use eBay and you can't give stuff away or lend stuff.
What is LETS all about then?
LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems) allow local groups to share skills, normally for units of an arbitrary currency. We've borrowed from the basic premise of LETS and are simply allowing people to trade their skills without the administrative overhead of having to manage a virtual currency. We do that for them. You can read more about LETS here.
What is sw0p's geographical focus?
sw0p will be useful to the inhabitants of any country as the distance based searching is not tied to any particular country. However, the first version will only support the English language, sorry.
Are there any conditions?
Items that you trade must either be used or homemade. Don't do anything illegal.
Who's paying for this?
Version 1 is being funded by Geekowarriors a small independent company baseded in North Shropshire, UK. Primarily we've built sw0p as it's something we really wanted to use ourselves although we also figured that it was high-time we built our own web app after ower a decade of building them for others.
When will it be ready?
We aim to have users beta-testing the site during 2012.