chanceXchange: Think Freecycle without the freeloaders
The best ideas are the simple ones, and this clever new recycling site has homed in on one of the most basic: ditch the stuff you don't want and get stuff you do want in return. Unlike Freecycle, chanceXchange discourages freeloading, since users must offer something before they can receive. It's mostly CDs, DVDs and books being traded, but I can see it growing into a big, sprawling (free) online junkshop.
I spoke to chanceXchange founder, Chris Timms, to discover more about the ideas behind his recycling revolution...
Chris told us it was festive season excess that prompted him to create the site: 'I set up chanceXchange about two months ago, just in time for christmas. I wanted to help stop waste and promote the recycling of unwanted products.'
He'd originally wanted the exchanges to be random, hence the name chanceXchange. 'I thought it could have been fun to send in something you didn't want without knowing what was going to turn up in the post in a few days later', he said. 'But I soon realised I already had enough random junk lying around that adding to it didn't really appeal, and the whole idea behind the site is everyone ending up with things they actually want'. So while the name stuck, the concept changed to one that keeps everyone happy.
'The idea of chanceXchange was to create a community where I could pass on my unwanted items in exchange for things that I haven't read or watched', Chris adds. 'I mean does anyone really need three copies of Robin Williams movie RV? I'd never have thought so. But chanceXchange has shown me that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Even a Robin Williams movie!'
The project was never intended to be a money-spinner, and Chris gains satisfaction from seeing how much waste is prevented while the users have fun making trades. Since Christmas, the site's grown from just me to having over 1,000 active users now who have listed over 2,000 items and to date 350 exchanges have been successfully completed. Try it out for yourself by signing up here.
