Domain Name Swapping Marketplace Launched

By Derek Iwasiuk
DomainInformer.com
July 24, 2007

SwapNames (www.swapnames.com) is a newly launched free marketplace for trading domain names and websites.

With SwapNames, domain name owners can search out domains of interest, offer their own domains to swap, and receive swap offers from other domain owners. Additionally, the site acts as a domain name marketplace where users have the option of buying or selling valuable e-properties. All listings on SwapNames have both a fixed selling price and a trade value, which creates valuable exposure to easily market and sell or trade domains.

Presently, there are no open, 'free-for-all' marketplaces just for domain name barter trading. All other domain name marketplaces are either auction houses or 'for sale listing' sites. With the launch of SwapNames, the domain name industry now has its very own true-blue barter trading portal.

The idea for SwapNames was inspired by a man named Kyle MacDonald who traded one red paperclip for a different item, and continued trading his items until, 14 trades later, he owned a house. SwapNames' founder Koay Al Vin, after reading about the One Red Paperclip project, immediately related the idea to the hundreds of domain names he had invested in.

"Most of my lesser quality domain names could not be sold, and were left undeveloped and gathering 'digital dust'. I could not properly monetize the names, and renewal dates were drawing nearer!" said Koay. "Because of the circumstances, I had to actively search out fellow domain owners to barter trade my names with theirs. Today, every domainer in the same boat can actively 'trade-up' their domains and that is an extra alternative instead of just letting their domains expire," he added.

"I knew that this industry was really in need of a platform for people to swap their existing domains. Now, everyone can diversify their portfolio of domains the way Kyle MacDonald did, but this time it will be for virtual pieces of properties: domain names."

SwapNames (www.swapnames.com) was founded by a Malaysian-based domain investor and entrepreneur, Koay Al Vin. SwapNames, Inc was incorporated in Delaware, USA and operates from a tiny, but beautiful, island in Malaysia called Penang. One other virtual property founded also by Koay is DNHour.com, another industry's first. It is a DIGG-style domain industry news portal.