Free Stamps and a Digital Age take on Old-Fashioned Stamp Swapping

Back when I was a "junior" stamp collector, one of the most common ways to build a stamp collection was to "swap stamps" with your friends.

Of course, this was in the "brick and mortar" days of philately-- before there was "the Internet." Back then, my connection to other stamp collectors didn't come from blogs, or Facebook, or stamp forums-- it came from going to the local Stamp Club, and participating on "trade day."

The nature of "swapping stamps" has changed considerably over the years. Stamp clubs are still around, but not in the numbers they once were. These days, more people swap stamps through online groups than face-to-face.

For me-- as well as for many other collectors-- the appeal of swapping stamps was, and remains, that it didn't involve money. For many-- young and old alike-- that is still a large part of the appeal of exchanging.

The challenges of swapping stamps also remain the same, in our digital age. How do you swap? Stamp for stamp? 100-for-100? Catalogue value for catalogue value? One of my youthful frustrations was always that often there was one person who wanted the stamps I had to swap, and a different person had the stamps I wanted for my own collection. Arriving at an "even" exchange was often difficult.

Personally, I have always been a fan of "barter" economies... systems in which people can exchange goods and services (such as stamps) without money, but there is a common "trading unit" that (for example) allows a house painter to offer painting services to someone else who "pays" with fresh strawberries, which they in turn exchange for tools which are eventually exchanged for the fresh flowers the painter ends up taking home to his wife. Instead of just two people involved, a long chain of people complete the trade.

The benefit of barter systems-- as opposed to one-on-one exchanging-- is that you're no longer dependent on finding a "swapping partner" where you each have exactly what the other wants. You offer your items-- stamps, for us philatelists-- to the broader community, then you end up with "credits" and then you use the credits to "bid" on the stamps you want... potentially from several different people.

Over the past couple of years, I have been "experimenting" with an online barter marketplace called Listia. It has actually been around for quite a few years now (since 2009) and has become pretty stable and has a good user base. Over 10 million items have been traded. In many ways, it's like eBay USED to be (before it became over-commercialized), but there's no money... only trading credits. Like eBay, you "offer" and "get" items through a system of auctions you can "bid" on, with your credits.

I got involved because I thought about the idea of an online "barter marketplace" for stamps and stamp collectors. Of course, Listia has every kind of item under the sun... but there IS a "stamps" category that's seeing more and more activity.

Because I need another "pet project" about as much as I need another hole in my head... I took on a bit of the challenge of "spreading the word" about this site, as a potential "online swap meet" for stamp collectors. It's still in somewhat limited stages, but there are now several active stamp traders offering hundreds of stamps every month.

Of course, I've had to "put my money where my mouth is" and become someone who offers things for trade... which I have done. So far, so good. I've actually traded some of my unwanted stamps for both other stamps, as well as things that have nothing to do with stamps.

The stamps you see pictured on this page are actual stamps I have offered for trade. And as I write this, 100% of the stamps I've made available have changed hands to dozens of collectors around the world.

You can click on this link to see what I currently have available.

Just to clarify, these ARE basically "Free Stamps" in the sense that there is no money involved. Of course, you have to get some "credits" which you do by making some of your own duplicates available. Some people just buy site credits (with money) but that defeats the purpose of having an "exchange," to me.

You can get some starting credits for free if you use this signup link to get started. You see, I get to give away site credits to encourage people to sign up. There is no catch. You will NOT be asked for your credit card information. You will NOT be asked for money. You can even enroll with your existing Facebook account.

Of course, there's some old wisdom that says "There's a catch." And "there's no such thing as a free lunch." True... and part of the reason I didn't recommend this site a couple of years ago is that I wanted to see where the "catch" was. People were saying to me "Yes, but the site has to make money SOMEhow!"

Very true.

So after a couple of years of observation, here's the "catch" and the fundamentals of how the site "makes money."

Some people offer pretty good stuff for trade. Because it's popular, the bidding (with "credits") gets pretty competitive. Many people don't have the patience to wait until they've traded enough of their own stuff to afford some expensive item like an iPad or a $200 gift card. So they BUY credits from the site, with cash. The site also has a "Rewards Store" where they offer various things for traders to cash in their credits. Like a regular store, the site makes a profit from things they offer in the rewards store. So the "catch"-- in a nutshell-- is that they make some money from simple "human impatience."

Personally? I've never paid a single penny (of "real money") for anything on the site. But I'm patient.

If you're thinking you might be interested and would like to know when I have more free stamps available, you're also welcome to sign up to be notified when I list new items for trade... no telling what will show up! I have hundreds of thousands of stamps. To be notified, just fill out the form below, check your email for a confirmation request and you'll be "in the loop." Again, I'm not trying to SELL you anything, just sharing an opportunity to try a new and fun way to swap stamps.

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