Loose Ends: Can you get into ‘swapping?’

Talk about it

During this economic turmoil one of the best things we can do is save money.

Admit it. We all have a bit of “penny pincher” in us, even in the best of times, and right now is probably perfect to release your tightwad tendencies. Learn to channel your “inner cheapskate.”

And to help you with that, the Journal is offering a new classified section: “Swap Shop.”

This is another “go green” effort by our classified staff to encourage folks to reduce, reuse and recycle items no longer needed.

The Journal already features “bargain” ads — items priced under $250 run at no charge. And we’ve always run a “free” column… free for those with give-away items.

There’s even a section, “Deals on Wheels,” for vehicles priced under $3,000. Yep, we’ll run them for free, too.

Lost and found items? Again, no charge. If you’re honest enough to report finding something, we’ll try to help you return it to its rightful owner. And if you’ve lost something, we’d rather not make a profit on it.

And now we offer the Swap Shop where you can barter your stuff for other people’s stuff. It’s a win-win situation, all at no charge to either the swapper or the swappee.

The Duluth News Tribune, another newspaper in our organization, has been carrying a Swap Shop section for a few months. Some of their ads have been very interesting. I wish I knew the background story of many like: