Cheap stuff for gamers, readers, watchers and listeners

My Xbox 360 is only a fairly new addition to my electronic family. Thus, my collection of games is pretty skimpy. Aside from Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and BioShock, everything else in my collection I'd borrowed from my brother.

On the other side of the spectrum, I had a wide variety of Wii games. Most of them I beat long ago, never to be played again. Of course, there are a few mainstays in the collection that will never leave, namely Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Perhaps the greatest thing to happen to my video game collection is Swaptree.


Here's how it works: you pick a bunch of stuff that you want. Then you list a bunch of stuff that you're willing to get rid of. Finally, the website will lead you to trade directly (or through a three-way trade) with someone who has what you want. The only cost is a couple dollars for shipping.

Here are some examples of my recent trades:

1) WarioWare: Smooth Moves for Halo 3
2) Burnout Paradise for Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
3) Super Paper Mario for Left 4 Dead

But it doesn't have to work that way. You can trade your copy of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" for a used copy of "Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly." Perhaps you'll trade your old copy of Office Space for a used copy of The Buddy Holly Story.

Swaptree is cheap, effective and addictive. I'm a little worried about running out of stuff.

Oh, and don't try to swap those 30 copies of Shark Tale you found in a garbage can on 10th Street. Nobody will ever take you up on those. Do you seriously blame them?