The swap at the present time, directions for use
At the moment of the on-line launch of the version 2.0 of easyswap, which is international, the swap will no longer be indexed on any existing currency. The swap will henceforth be its own reference. For which reasons?
Let’s imagine that the swap would be indexed on the Euro, the most frequently used currency in countries where easyswap intends to develop initially. How would the pricing of a good for sale in such case be fixed?
- For a French person, a good A would for example worth 50 Euros, which would be equivalent to a price of 50 swaps.
- This same user, living in Evian, France but working in Lausanne, Switzerland, links good A to his place of residence, in Evian but also with his worksite, in Lausanne.
- A Swiss Swapper, living in Lausanne gets interested in good A, worth 50 swaps, which amounts for him to roughly 75 CHF (1 Euro = 1.5 CHF).
- The buying power being superior in Switzerland and the average costs of goods generally being more expensive, there are strong chances that good A will represent a good deal for the Swiss user and this at the expense of an equivalent good put on-line by another Swiss user, for 60 swaps for instance.
It goes without saying that the situation becomes more dramatic to the extent that the strength of national currencies differs.
- Let’s take the case of a Romanian user. For the latter, a swap would approximately come close to 4 RON, while keeping in mind that the average wages in Romania are about 150 Euros per month, in other words 600 RON.
- The above mentioned user sets an intermediate level English course on-line. Basing his pricing on current Romanian settings, he charges his service 15 RON an hour or around 4 Euros and thus 4 swaps.
- As long as this swapper grants his English lesson in Romania, the situation would not represent a problem, except that ads with completely incomparable prices in swaps would be issued side by side in the same category on easyswap. Furthermore, as a fervent Skype user, the Romanian swapper would provide his service through this communication tool.
- A Swiss user in need to practice and improve his English stumbles on the upper mentioned ad. What a windfall! An English course worth 4 swaps an hour, whereas the same lesson is offered for 32 swaps an hour in Switzerland!
For the same reasons, every user of easyswap whose identity has been verified and whose account has been validated will see their account credited in the same way, where ever they are located:
- Sponsorship: 20 swaps for the sponsored; 20 swaps for the sponsor, under the condition that the new user gets his account validated.
- Identity validation: 30 swaps.
- Every on-line advertising for a new service gets your account credited with 3 swaps.
- Every on-line advertising for a new good to exchange against swaps (also called sale) gets your account credited with 3 swaps.
- Every on-line advertising for a new good to lend against swaps (also called rent/hire) gets your account credited with 5 swaps.
- Every new exchange gets your account credited with 5 swaps.
easyswap reserves the right to modify these amounts at any time.
It appears clear that there are consequences to the situation described above, where the swap would be indexed to the Euro (or any other currency), as the Romanian swapper, whose fictitious case has been described here, would receive a quantity of swaps offering him a potentially much higher buying power, than the one accessible to the Swiss or the French swapper.
An individual valuation?
Remember, the swap is a currency:
- usable only within the framework of easyswap;
- which cannot be the object of conversion into a national currency, whichever the latter might be;
- which usage on easyswap is not subject to border restriction of any sort;
- of which the purposeless hoarding is useless because it gets its value only through exchange;
- which, therefore, can be subject to no speculation.
Thus easyswap has decided to not reproduce the inequalities existing in the different countries of the world, inequalities which are in direct relation to the buying power, but as well to the foreign exchange market. The first rule is that supply and demand define the prices. The second and lasting rule is that ads put on-line after the launch of version 2.0 of the website serve as model and reference.
In fact, regarding the services, the reference value is the average service at 32 swaps the hour, wherever the location might be. This service corresponds for instance, to the upper mentioned English course, intermediate level.
Thus, easyswap distinguishes 3 different types of services, the hour being the reference
0 to 20 swaps an hour = light services - examples, listed from the cheapest to the most expensive:
- Water the plants during the absence of a swapper
- Get or keep the mail
- Looking after animals, dog-walking
- Reading for visually impaired
- Accompaniment and care for seniors
- Small purchases
- Light handcraft work
- Uncomplicated sewing work
- Simple gardening
- General repairs
- Easy ironing
- Daily household work
- Basic correspondence
- Babysitting
- Chess initiation for beginners
- Car sharing
- Art course for beginners
- First steps with internet
- Basic maintenance of computers
- Etc.
24 to 40 swaps an hour = services with physical or intellectual intermediate exigency - examples, listed from the cheapest to the most expensive:
- More consistent purchases
- Demanding ironing
- Critical sewing work
- Heavy household work
- Various cooking courses
- Relaxing massage
- More consistent repairs
- Moving help
- Heavy or creative gardening
- Wood felling
- School support
- Office work, simple bookkeeping
- Basic web design
- Teaching of user-friendly software or computer utilities
- Language course, intermediate level
- Personal coaching
- Various sport courses
- Chess initiation, intermediate level
- Art course, intermediate level
- Translations and corrections of written documents
- Etc.
44 to 64 swaps an hour = services with physical or intellectual high exigency - examples, listed from the cheapest to the most expensive:
- Complex maintenance or deep organization of computers
- Teaching of (highly) evolved software or computer utilities
- Intricate web design
- Art course, advanced level
- Therapeutic massage
- Intensive personalized advice
- School support, university level
- Language course, advanced level
- Intensive personal coaching
- Correction or elaboration of written documents
- Specialized translations
- Exigent accountancy
- Etc.
Regarding the goods, as you will have guessed, the rule is here as well: Supply and demand.
Conclusions
- Be flexible and adapt your ads, should you notice that the price in swaps for the latter is too high, or increase them, if you clearly are below the average pricing!
- In case of doubt please contact us via the Contact form but above all do not hesitate to consult the other ads to get more precise indications, as to the price setting in swaps for your services!
Even if the posting of ads for goods and services might take you a little time in the beginning, remember that you have a unique occasion to exchange your goods and services without reproducing the inequalities inherent to the monetary world system. Isn’t this worthwhile?
Historical background
In the first incarnation of easyswap, which functioned only in Switzerland, the swap was indexed to the Swiss franc (1 swap = 1 CHF), with neither the possibility to buy swaps nor to convert them into Swiss francs.
There were three categories (10, 20 or 30 swaps per hour, according to their physical and/or intellectual requirements) and the pricing of goods to lend (also called rent/hire) or to exchange (also called sale), against swaps, left to the users’ judgment.
The objective was clear: If a user considered selling a good for 50 CHF, on an advertisement site for instance, they were to be encouraged to put it on-line for 50 swaps on easyswap. This objective was achieved, in as much as prices in swaps for goods posted on easyswap, were similar to those placed on advertisement sites or auction websites.
Concerning the management of the money supply of swaps on-line, it seems advisable to mention however that easyswap undoubtedly had more difficulties releasing enough swaps on-line than too little. Given that easyswap is constantly exposed to a situation where offers are more frequent than requests (more ads than exchange demands), the injection of swaps appears appropriate. Were this situation eventually to be reversed, easyswap would take the necessary measures to withdraw swaps from its system by injecting goods within the framework of a partnership for instance, but also, through potential swap taxes on ongoing exchanges or a reduction of the swap amount offered to users in circumstances like sponsorship or the posting of ads.
To learn more about...
- Overview
- Registration
- To be a swapper
- Consulting and creating ads
- How to swap?
- Rights and responsibilities
