Monday, August 14, 2006

The eBay For Bar Codes

Can you see how using a camera phone to scan a barcode could create a powerful ecommerce site?

Next month, Boston-based entrepreneurs Greg Boesel and Mark Hexamer plan to launch Swaptree.com , a website to help consumers trade books, CDs, DVDs, and video games.

Using complex algorithms, the site immediately calculates what traders can receive after they create "have" and "want" lists.

Customers list what they have to trade by entering the product bar code, which allows the site to post a picture, third-party reviews, and to automatically identify details, ranging from the particular edition to whether a book is hardcover or paperback or if a DVD is in normal or widescreen format.

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