First, for all you PF bloggers and Emergency Fund savers out there, here’s a shirt for you!  The link’s only good for 24 hours so after today you won’t see the money-loving piggy bank.

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Next, Barnes & Noble is having a 40-50% sale on DVD’s.  I’m not big on buying DVDs since I watch very few movies more than once.  My kids are more into owning their favorite movies and there are some that they’ve watched over again.  I’d say it’s a generational thing but I know of a lot of people who buy movies so I think it’s something I don’t get but lots of people do.  If you’re a movie-buyer, be sure to check out their sale — they supposedly have 1,000s of titles on sale.

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One of my absolutely most favorite products and one of the best purchases I’ve ever made is the Chicobag reusable nylon bag.  Greenfeet.com currently has the Chicobag on sale — they’re usually $5 ea but right now if you buy any 5 in the same color/design the price is $20 (for all five).  That brings the price down to $4/ea.  Of course, you do have to pay shipping but the cost to ship 5 bags is about $5 so you’re only back up to $5 per bag again.  If you’ve got a couple of earth-conscious friends, get everyone together to make a group order and you can probably bring the per item price down.

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Swaptree  is an interesting site I heard about recently.  The concept is a blend between Craigslist, eBay, and Netflix.  The site facilitates trades between people who have books, CDs, DVDs, and games they no longer need or want.  The concept is fascinating and the site seems to be extremely well-designed.  What makes Swaptree particularly interesting and potentially useful is that the program uses an algorithm that figures out complex trades — from simple 2-person swaps to 4-way trades.  That means you don’t have to wait for someone who has a title you want to want something you have.  Let’s say you want a book offered by someone in CA.  Swaptree can look through everyone’s wants and haves and figure out how you can send a CD to someone in NY who sends a movie to someone in TX who sends a book to CA who, in turn, sends you the book of your dreams.

The site is completely free to use.  The only expense involved is the postage to ship your traded items.  Since you’re paying shipping costs on your shipments, there’s no issue of inflated shipping costs (a pet peeve of mine).

I’ve only started playing around with the site but already worked out a three-way trade.  If all goes well, in a couple of days The Daughter will receive a copy of a movie she’s been wanting and someone else will receive a copy of a book they’ve been wanting to read.

I’ll be sure to post some follow-up thoughts, impressions, and reviews of Swaptree.  I see great potential here — but also a few potential pitfalls.  Only time will tell whether it will prove useful for us or not.

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