Archive for services
New Web Site Makes Swapping Items and Services Easy for Consumers and Small Businesses
Posted by: | CommentsNew Web Site Makes Swapping Items and Services Easy for Consumers and Small Businesses
Cupertino, CA (PRWEB) January 26, 2005
SwapThing.com officially launched today, giving individual consumers and small businesses the ability to swap goods and services quickly, efficiently and affordably.
“Everyone has items to swap, making the potential market for barter among individuals huge,” SwapThing CEO Jessica Hardwick said. “Just think, for example, about all the gifts people receive each Christmas that aren’t quite what they were looking for. Now, they have a great way to trade them for something they want.
“SwapThing makes swapping easier and more accessible than any other service,” Hardwick added. “We help people get what they need without spending much money. This is particularly important for individuals with limited incomes and small businesses minding their cash flows.”
By matching people who each have what the other wants, SwapThing enables users to trade any combination of items and services.
Barter has a very long history. In fact, the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) reports there are approximately 500,000 existing retail trade members and corporate barter trade members worldwide, representing a $ 16-billion-a-year business. However, individuals and small businesses have been hindered by high transaction costs and the difficulty in matching people who each have what the other needs — what economists call the “double coincidence of wants.” SwapThing eliminates these barriers with innovative search and matching technology that eliminates most of the time needed to match people who each have what the other is looking for.
“It’s very time-consuming to find someone who wants what you have and has what you want,” Hardwick said. “”But SwapThing helps these people find each other.”
Jennifer Ayre and Barbara Griffin of Seattle agree. Using SwapThing, Ayre traded a weekend at her vacation home for Griffin’s seamstress services.
“I wanted some custom duvet covers for my vacation home, but I don’t sew and didn’t have any money to spare,” Ayre said. “I made contact with a person offering seamstress services. She jumped at the chance to get away with her husband. In less than one day, the deal was done.”
Griffin added, “I was only on the site a few minutes when an ‘offer’ came. Now that I know how well SwapThing works, I’m going to list all the baby stuff that I need.”
Unlike barter sites, SwapThing provides the option to use cash as part of trades. This helps balance swaps of differing values and enables people to get what they want if they don’t have items to trade in return. SwapThing also has a rating system so traders can build reputations for trust and reliability.
SwapThing has no membership fees, listing fees or fees to browse the site or make queries about listings. SwapThing charges just $ 1 per item trade and $ 10 (one-time) for trades involving services. It is the only site offering both goods and services for trade or sale. There are no auctions. Renewable listings last for 90 days — far longer than on competing sites — to give people better chances of finding people with whom to trade.
“I’ve always been a big fan of barter, but my hectic schedule makes it difficult to find people to swap with,” said Southern Californian Julie Pliska. “But SwapThing made it quick and easy for me to find someone. I was able to get the voice coaching I had always wanted in exchange for hairstyling services. I hate to shop and love to swap! Thank you, SwapThing.”
SwapThing partners benefit, as well. There is no cost to join, and partners enjoy discounted fees, while receiving quality service and support. Trading on SwapThing helps partners grow their businesses, expand profits and improve asset management.
About SwapThing
SwapThing is the ultimate marketplace, enabling people to swap virtually anything, including non-traditional goods and services. With sophisticated search technology and low fees, SwapThing brings swapping into the mainstream by making it much faster, easier and less expensive for individuals and small businesses-creating access they previously had lacked and greatly increasing the market for swaps. SwapThing is headquartered in Cupertino, Calif. For further information, visit http://www.swapthing.com or email info@swapthing.com.
Contact:
Stephen M.H. Braitman
(415) 626-3762
braitman@mindspring.com
Brent Harrison
(650) 868-0212
bharrison@swapthing.com
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©Copyright 1997-
, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
SparkPeople.com Shakes Up Online Diet Industry, Offers Premium Services for Free
Posted by: | CommentsSparkPeople.com Shakes Up Online Diet Industry, Offers Premium Services for Free
CINCINNATI (PRWEB) December 29, 2005
SparkPeople.com (http://www.sparkpeople.com), a leading diet and health website, announced today that it will begin offering its services to consumers for free. This move is significant in an emerging $ 200 million industry, led by subscription-based players like Weight Watchers Online and eDiets.com, which charge between $ 100 and $ 300 per year for their services.
Only a few days after switching from a subscription-based to a free site, word of the announcement is spreading quickly in health and diet blogs and message boards. Diet-Blog.com featured the news this week with a homepage article about SparkPeople exclaiming “A Truly Free Weight Loss Program!” The story went on to explain “(SparkPeople’s) tools are every bit as powerful as eDiets (or better depending on your opinion).”
SparkPeople’s goal is to give away at least $ 100 Million worth of online services in 2006. Before switching to the free, ad-supported model the company charged users approximately $ 100 per year for membership to their premium diet and health site.
Chris Downie, SparkPeople.com’s founder who sold his first company to eBay in 1998, commented on his company’s decision saying, “The free, ad-supported model fits our mission of helping millions of people reach their goals using health and fitness as a springboard to success.” Downie explained that “a convergence of factors including the dramatic increase of online ad spending, a growing obesity problem, a strong consumer demand for personalized online programs, and our expertise managing large online communities all played heavily into this decision.”
The company has been further encouraged by the early success they have seen with their healthy pregnancy website, BabyFit.com (http://www.babyfit.com), which made a similar move in February 2005.
Online diet and fitness sites like SparkPeople.com, Weight Watchers Online, and eDiets.com, help users lose weight by providing them with personalized fitness programs, interactive meal plans and calorie counters, support message boards, healthy living tips, motivation, and information. Upon registration, users customize their nutrition and fitness programs to suit their personal goals, body type, and preferences.
Online diet user Kelly Elle from Ontario, Canada commented on her results using an online program saying, “I’ve been on SparkPeople for about 5 months and, gratefully, have lost about a pound a week. Far more than that, though, I have made some big adjustments in the way I live my life. I have lost a total of 26 pounds—that’s 12.6% of my weight. I realized though, that I have stopped striving to lose weight. Instead, I live a different life. It’s not difficult. It’s not deprived. It’s healthy.”
The elusive lifestyle change that Elle mentions is what SparkPeople wants for their members. Rather than teaching users to stay on a diet or continue counting points, SparkPeople gives members specific nutrition and fitness plans that are easy to follow, gradually helping them transition to a healthier lifestyle as they gain confidence and learn new skills. Becky Hand, R.D., SparkPeople’s lead dietician, explains that “this is the approach that consumers must take if they want to get off the diet rollercoaster forever.”
A recent survey of over 1,000 SparkPeople.com members supports the idea that people have indeed been on a rollercoaster of weight-loss ups and downs. The survey revealed that SparkPeople’s average member has tried four other diets before joining (44 percent had tried Weight Watchers, 18 percent tried eDiets, 32 percent gave “low carb” diets a chance, and 53 tried and failed their “own version of a diet.”)
“People are frustrated with traditional diets,” Downie said. “They are looking for a lifestyle that they can live with long-term, one that doesn’t feel restrictive, but instead feels very positive and motivating. We work hard to make SparkPeople.com feel this way and our users seem to love it. We hope that by making our site free, millions more people will experience lasting weight-loss success.”
About SparkPeople
SparkPeople.com is a premium weight loss and healthy living website that guides and supports people who are ready to stop dieting for good and make the transition to a permanent, healthy lifestyle. The SparkPeople philosophy, combined with smart motivational strategies and a collection of personalized online tools, has helped thousands of members lose weight and keep it off. SparkPeople.com is the only premium diet site to offer their services for free.
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©Copyright 1997-
, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Real Alternatives to Abortion 8
Posted by: | CommentsSuccess Stories Part 3 … “Real Alternatives” “life aid” birth abortion life “life affirming” pregnancy teen help support childbirth counseling free unplanned Obama crisis teenager teens pregnancies mentoring positive test women woman procedure boyfriend contraceptive contraceptives parents parent Pennsylvania Texas National services confidential caring comprehensive parenting parenthood alone assistance America Government Funded Care Network
Real Alternatives to Abortion 7
Posted by: | CommentsSuccess Stories Part 2 … “Real Alternatives” “life aid” birth abortion life “life affirming” pregnancy teen help support childbirth counseling free unplanned Obama
Sac Valley Pregnancy Clinic
Posted by: | CommentsPregnant? Sac Valley Pregnancy Clinic is a free and confidential pregnancy help center, with branches in Sacramento and Roseville, California. All services are provided by licensed professionals, including medical practitioners and counselors. If you have an unexpected pregnancy, get confidential help at Sac Valley. Visit us http://www.yellowpages.com/info-21968386/Sac-Valley-Pregnancy-Clinic
Sac Valley Pregnancy Clinic
Posted by: | CommentsPregnant? Sac Valley Pregnancy Clinic is a free and confidential pregnancy help center, with branches in Sacramento and Roseville, California. All services are provided by licensed professionals, including medical practitioners and counselors. If you have an unexpected pregnancy, get confidential help at Sac Valley. Visit us http://www.yellowpages.com/info-21968386/Sac-Valley-Pregnancy-Clinic …
The Unplanned Pregnancy
Posted by: | CommentsThe Unplanned Pregnancy
The Program That Works Part (2)
Posted by: | CommentsThe Program That Works Part 2
Adoption and Abortion
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the touching story and counsel about adoption from Tamra, a birth mother. Please watch it and share it with others to understand the perspectives, peace and joy that can come from adoption.
If You Are Pregnant…
Its not uncommon to feel that your only options are abortion or raising your child on your own. There are other options; and the decision is yours.
No one else will live daily with your decision, which is why no one else can make this decision for you.
The best thing you can do for you and your future child is to educate yourself about your options and feel confident that you have found the solution that is right for you.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.itsaboutlove.org
