The WebSwap Story
Swap Till You Drop
WebSwap officially launched February 2000 with $13 million in first-round VC funding. In 2001, the site claimed to have 250,000 registered users and 275,000 unique listings.
At that point, actual swaps make up fewer than 25 percent of WebSwap's transactions. But those people who make up that 25 percent can't say they didn't have other options.
Site offered dynamic pricing, fixed pricing, and bartering as ways to transact person-to-person business.
275,000 unique listings
250,000 registered users
1.5 million unique visitors
No. 7 Web site for women 25-34 (Media Metrix)
Services: Bulk loading, free image hosting, in-house escrow service, $300 transaction guarantees backed by certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London, 100 percent safe payment processing, and multiple ways to transact
Fees: Transaction fees for sellers run from 4 percent to 9 percent; no charges for buyers
Other Options: If bartering isn't someone's preferred method of striking a deal, WebSwap offers a virtual garage-sale option. With this dynamic-pricing method, prices on new and used merchandise fall hourly while a rock-bottom minimum price is maintained.
Tradia Inc. introduced its InstantXML software that the company claims can automatically turn Java-based applications into Web-based applications or Web services. Neguine Navab, Tradia’s (www.tradia.com) vice president of engineering, said that the program uses Java APIs to discover methods of a class, identify those methods and then generate a Web services application from those methods without the need to generate any new code.
She added that once a Web service has been exposed to the Web, it would be possible for Visual Basic programmers using .NET to find the service, bring it in and access it from within a VB application using the XML data types now available in .NET, essentially providing a way to use Java components within a Microsoft environment. InstantXML will be in beta testing until June; no prices have been announced.
After three attempts at finding the right business model, Tradia has gone kaput.
Started in 1999 as Webswap.com, a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce and swapping site, Tradia cycled through several of-the-moment attempts to become a viable business before closing its doors on June 25. In the process, it burned through $14 million from Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners, and angels Roger Sippl and Ron Conway.
Webswap.com debuted in February 2000, first allowing consumers to barter for items for free and later charging a sellers' fee, and even trying a "garage sale" model where prices dropped over time.
Hopping on the business-to-business (B2B) and application service provider (ASP) bandwagons in late 2000, Webswap.com relaunched as Tradia to sell hosted infrastructure software for corporate bartering based on its existing technology.
Tradia's Webswap.com subsidiary was shut down in March 2001, about the same time most of its competitors ran out of steam (including Swapit and Swap.com).
In a last-ditch effort, Tradia began marketing itself as a "Web services software company" in April 2001. Its core product was to be InstantXML, a tool that would allow Java and HTML developers to Web-ify existing applications. Again, it faced too many competitors.
Return to Webswap info homepage
WebSwap officially launched February 2000 with $13 million in first-round VC funding. In 2001, the site claimed to have 250,000 registered users and 275,000 unique listings.
At that point, actual swaps make up fewer than 25 percent of WebSwap's transactions. But those people who make up that 25 percent can't say they didn't have other options.
Site offered dynamic pricing, fixed pricing, and bartering as ways to transact person-to-person business.
275,000 unique listings
250,000 registered users
1.5 million unique visitors
No. 7 Web site for women 25-34 (Media Metrix)
Services: Bulk loading, free image hosting, in-house escrow service, $300 transaction guarantees backed by certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London, 100 percent safe payment processing, and multiple ways to transact
Fees: Transaction fees for sellers run from 4 percent to 9 percent; no charges for buyers
Other Options: If bartering isn't someone's preferred method of striking a deal, WebSwap offers a virtual garage-sale option. With this dynamic-pricing method, prices on new and used merchandise fall hourly while a rock-bottom minimum price is maintained.
Tradia Inc. introduced its InstantXML software that the company claims can automatically turn Java-based applications into Web-based applications or Web services. Neguine Navab, Tradia’s (www.tradia.com) vice president of engineering, said that the program uses Java APIs to discover methods of a class, identify those methods and then generate a Web services application from those methods without the need to generate any new code.
She added that once a Web service has been exposed to the Web, it would be possible for Visual Basic programmers using .NET to find the service, bring it in and access it from within a VB application using the XML data types now available in .NET, essentially providing a way to use Java components within a Microsoft environment. InstantXML will be in beta testing until June; no prices have been announced.
After three attempts at finding the right business model, Tradia has gone kaput.
Started in 1999 as Webswap.com, a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce and swapping site, Tradia cycled through several of-the-moment attempts to become a viable business before closing its doors on June 25. In the process, it burned through $14 million from Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners, and angels Roger Sippl and Ron Conway.
Webswap.com debuted in February 2000, first allowing consumers to barter for items for free and later charging a sellers' fee, and even trying a "garage sale" model where prices dropped over time.
Hopping on the business-to-business (B2B) and application service provider (ASP) bandwagons in late 2000, Webswap.com relaunched as Tradia to sell hosted infrastructure software for corporate bartering based on its existing technology.
Tradia's Webswap.com subsidiary was shut down in March 2001, about the same time most of its competitors ran out of steam (including Swapit and Swap.com).
In a last-ditch effort, Tradia began marketing itself as a "Web services software company" in April 2001. Its core product was to be InstantXML, a tool that would allow Java and HTML developers to Web-ify existing applications. Again, it faced too many competitors.
Return to Webswap info homepage
WebSwap
