Trading up

The motto at Caretotrade.com is "What you want for what you've got." Brian Karpf, a 26-year-old Weston attorney, established the site when he became frustrated with the rising cost of college textbooks while attending Florida International University. The books, he said, would cost as much as $150, and he'd need about eight of them every semester. "When you sell them back," he says, "they give you like $50 or something."

A few weeks after the site was up and running, users started posting items other than books. "The first thing that someone posted after books was an iPod," Karpf recalls. "And as soon as I saw that, it dawned on me, 'Why am I limiting this?'"

Within a few months, the nonbook postings prompted him to redesign the site and assign categories such as electronics, collectibles, cars and an "everything else" category for unusual items such as a "UFO tracking device" and farm animals. A recent visit to the site found no listings for college textbooks, but shoppers looking for a car, video game or panini-maker would have been in luck. The problem with trading by mail is that there's no guarantee the other person will ship the product, so Karpf's site offers an optional escrow system for the wisely mistrusting.

Care To Trade, however, isn't the only barter site online. Here are some others:

Swapacd.com: People can use this site to find new homes for the CDs they've grown tired of hearing and to add new albums to their collections. Recent finds include Bikini Kill's Pussy Whipped and an Australian release of an 'N Sync CD with bonus tracks.

Swapvideogames.com: After visitors to this site select the game they want and post those they're willing to trade, they will be advised whether they will be charged a fee or if their new game will be free. Whether or not the game is free depends on the condition of the games being traded. For example, games that have the original box and instructions are valued higher than those that do not include these items.

Myfashionswap.com: This site is a trading place for clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories. It includes links to authentication sites and guides to assist members in swapping decisions. A forum allows members to rate their exchanges with others.

Paperbackswap.com: Bibliophiles simply post at least 10 books they're willing to swap, and receive two free book credits to get started.

— Colleen Dougher

Click and score

Sailboats and original works of art aren't just for the affluent few. Following is a list of top sites for thrifty people with top-shelf or name-brand tastes.

Craigslist.org: Click on a city and then on the "Free stuff" section, where users give away everything from a sailboat to an old Pepsi machine. Occasionally, this list will even include ads for free haircuts at various Supercuts locations by hairdressers in the process of taking advanced classes.

Freecycle.org: Plenty of free goods are offered here, but visitors must register with the site to get them.

Ugallery.com: This online gallery features affordable art by emerging artists from art schools across the nation. Prices range from $20 to $5,000, and more than 350 of the artworks sell for less than $100.

1001freefonts.com: This site offers just what its name indicates.

Free-ed.net: Don't expect a diploma from this site, which bills itself as "the largest, most popular, fastest growing and most highly regarded source of totally free education on the planet." It's strictly about education in a wide range of areas such as carpentry, art, culinary arts, PowerPoint and Web design.

Retailmenot.com: Discount coupon codes that can be used when shopping online at Target, Victoria's Secret, Papa John's, Amazon and more than 13,000 other stores are available on this site.

— Colleen Dougher

Blogs for freeloaders

The Internet is rife with companies hawking free samples and other giveaways. Here are three sites that will tell you how to score big (and small):

Mrcheapstuff.com: Mr. Cheap Stuff's bloggers report on bargains and freebies in this informative and frequently updated blog. Recently reported items include Krispy Kreme doughnuts, movies at Regal theaters, coffee samples and, for new Snapfish customers, 50 photo prints and a photo book. The blog also includes occasional features such as "10 Cheap but Fun Dates."

Cheapfree.com: Cheapfree founder Ian Grant started this blog in his high school computer lab 12 years ago. Now, it's the grandfather of blogs about cheap and free stuff, from the useful to the weird. Among the freebies are a spider-identification sheet, sunscreen samples and a Nutri-Grain bar. Cheapfree also maintains a list of contests for things such as a $10,000 scholarship, a year's worth of dog food and $15,000 gift certificates for Old Navy and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Shop4freebies.com: This blog features a new list of freebies every 24 hours. Sample packages are abundant here, including a purse-size first-aid kit, dental floss, a hair de-frizzing product, tea bags and Teddy Graham cookies.

— Colleen Dougher

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