Give It Swap It FAQ
What is Give It Swap It?
Give It Swap It (or GISI for short) is a place where you can find new homes for stuff that you don't need any more - anything from a shirt to a sofa, a fridge to a front door, a piano to a pancake maker. And, as well as giving things away, you can also swap them or post wanted adverts to let other people know that you're offering a home for things they don't want. It's all based on the principle that giving something away is better than throwing it away, while one person's junk is another person's joy!
What does it cost to join?
Absolutely nothing. That's in keeping with the guiding principle of Give It Swap It: no money ever changes hands.
How does it work?
Once you've registered as a member, you can post a "give it" or "swap it" advert whenever you want to. So if you've got things you no longer need, you can let other members know about them. You can only post a "want it" advert, though, if you've got at least one active "give it" advert. This is to make sure that the emphasis of the site stays on offering things to give away, rather than becoming a wishlist.
What about garage sales, yard sales, etc?
There's no option for these in the advert section, because they involve money and that's not what Give It Swap It is about. But you can mention them in the community forum, where the rules are a lot less rigid.
When will you add my country as an option?
Give It Swap It is currently restricted to addresses in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the USA because the location search facility needs a geographic database which converts locations to coordinates and we've currently only got that for these three countries. Other countries may be added at a later date if we can acquire the necessary geo-location data. Canada and Australia are the two we'd particularly like to add, but it's unlikely that non-English speaking nations will ever be a priority.
Who is behind Give It Swap It?
Give It Swap It is the brainchild (well, child, anyway - using the term "brain" may be pushing it a bit) of Mark Goodge, with assistance from a varied bunch of other people.
How is Give It Swap It funded?
Give It Swap It isn't a profit-making organisation - that's why membership is free, and always will be free. The cost of hosting the site is met out of the external adverts which appear on the pages.
The site is a bit bland and boring, isn't it? Can't you make it look nicer?
Well, yes, it's a bit dull. But we think that functionality is more important than appearance - what really matters is that it works properly. Maybe we'll tart it up a bit once we're happy that everything is running smoothly.