There is an ongoing discussion in the home exchange community about these two fundamentally different concepts.
The big advantage of free sites, of course, is that you don’t pay for a membership fee. If you are new to home exchange, becoming a member of a free site might be a good option to explore the concept further. However, scams and uncommitted exchangers are more frequent with these home exchange clubs.
What I noticed since JewettStreet has become fee-based is that we attract more of the experienced home exchangers. They have tested the waters and are convinced swappers. That is certainly one reason why you are much more likely to find a swap on a fee-based site.
Eileen, a seasoned home exchanger from California, wrote to me recently about her experiences with free sites. With her permission, I would like to share her insightful thoughts with you.
“Hello,
Thank you for your email. I took a moment to look at your site which is quite impressive and very user friendly.
I am a “seasoned” home exchanger having started in the 1980’s. At the moment, I have rather inflexible dates for being in Paris (mid-December through January 20th, 2010). My partner is a university professor so we must travel during break-time. It is difficult to find people who want to swap during this time, without going with a site that has a large database. Craigslist was something I decided to put out there (I’m from San Francisco which is the birthplace of the site), although, I am quite hesitant to go that route. I’ve found that sites who have free listings (i.e. itamos) have people who are not interested in swapping; hence, do not respond or really have no idea what is entailed. Most are quite young and are used to couchsurfing (We are way too old for that…). There is also the scam factor as I’ve been alerted to several scams that have operated on Craigs.
I will certainly consider signing up on your site. I also appreciate your link to knowyourtrade.com. It seems like a very useful resource. Thank you again, Ursula, for your time and efforts.
Regards,
Eileen“
And what are your experiences?
