Swapping your clothes is an inexpensive and eco-friendly way to revamp your wardrobe, so imagine a whole website dedicated to exactly this! Swapdom makes swapping simple and easy to use by creating group swaps that allow individuals to get the perfect item they want. This multi-person sharing site is leading the way in online swapping by expanding to include gear for even babies and kids. Below, Cliché caught up with Swapdom’s CEO and co-founder Petros Georgopoulos about his ever-growing (and genius) business.
Cliché: So, what exactly is Swapdom?
Petros Georgopoulos: Swapdom is an efficient tool that finds multi-party swaps. Our algorithm is a vital component for peer-to-peer exchange. We firmly believe that the sharing economy is our home, a space to develop peer exchange environments for physical goods. You simply post items you’d like to trade, then you browse for items you’d like to receive in exchange. Then the Swapdom algorithm does its magic to figure out a loop where everyone gets an item they’ve requested.
How did you come up with the idea for a swapping marketplace?
I realized that the classic form of swapping, where two swappers attempt to exchange items with one another, is rather inefficient as the chances of each person wanting what the other one is offering at the time are rather slim; sizes differ, tastes differ. Moreover, even if they find two items to exchange, the two swappers enter a bargaining situation where they have to mutually agree that it is a fair exchange. Swapdom is unique in featuring multi-way swapping, and changes your perception of what swapping is. It is a fundamentally different experience.
You recently launched a baby section on Swapdom. Why is Swapdom more convenient for parents to use instead of purchasing new items at a store?
Parents spend thousands of dollars on things their kids outgrow quickly. With Swapdom, they can trade gear their kids have already outgrown in exchange for items they need, or even exchange kids’ gear items for fashion or home finds.
What encouraged a baby and kids platform to be added to Swapdom?
We added the kids’ gear and (very recently) home marketplaces because we listened to our users. Our research showed a high demand for these marketplaces, so we decided to dive right in.
The fashion industry has made steps to be more eco-friendly. How does Swapdom contribute to environmentally friendly practices?
Swapdom’s fashion marketplace helps to reduce textile waste by finding new homes for unwanted fashion items, and it now does the same for baby and kids’ gear and home goods as well.
Where do you see Swapdom in five years?
We hope to be a leader in the sharing economy movement and plan to have many marketplaces available. Our app will be launched very soon, and in five years’ time, when people think of peer-to-peer exchange, we want them to think of Swapdom.
Swapdom Interview “Swap ‘Til You Drop” originally appeared in Cliché Magazine’s June/July 2014 issue.
All images courtesy of Swapdom
