Home East County Local Swap Group Offers Amazing Deals

Local Swap Group Offers Amazing Deals

by ECT

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Everyone likes a good deal and the East County Families Swap and Sale Group has provided an opportunity for members to claim household goods at reduced rates.  This week, the group celebrated turning 1-year-old and is still going strong.

Alaina Nabas-Villeda, the group’s creator, explained how the group just happened by circumstance after cleaning out her home one day and trying to get rid of her children’s toys. She made a post on her Facebook Page—the items were “claimed” quickly. She tried it again with another household item—again; they were “claimed” quickly.

“I was feeling like I was onto something, but wanted to figure out how to make it grow and at the same time be good for the community,” explained Nabas-Villeda.

She describes the Facebook Group as a mix between Craigslist and EBAY. She chose Facebook after doing her research and finding something similar out in the Midwest. She took that idea, improved on it in order to make it relevant to East County.

She admits she makes no money from the group or exchanges, but does put in significant time answering emails (estimated at 4-5 hours per day), moderating the site and adding people to the group—it’s a part time job she explained.

The group currently stands at 2, 280, however, there is a waiting list of 900 people waiting to begin swapping. There is a method to the madness on “adds” because it keeps things civil and limiting those with access. She also wants to ensure the flow of the swapping does not get interrupted by adding to many people too quickly who may try and skirt the rules.

Following the rules is what makes the process of swapping smooth according to Nabas-Villeda.

“There are some members who do not agree with my rules which are basic, common sense, common courtesy rules and either have left or I kicked them out,” said Nabas-Villeda. “But it’s for the good of the group.”

The basic idea behind listing an item and “claiming it” is straight forward. A person posts a picture on the page with a cost associated with the item(s) and if someone wants it, they post the word “interested”. If you are second or 20th in line, you post “interested if passed”. That then sets the priority hierarchy to either make the deal or “pass”. It then goes down the list in order.

All the negotiations are done in public with the exception of contact information and address listings as the “honesty” portion of the site kicks in on claimed items. This prevents backroom deals or private deals being made—Nabas-Villeda admits this has happened and the people have been removed.

Oakley resident Valerie Castaldi uses the site and enjoys the fact you are dealing with someone you either know or someone who your friends know.

“I use it because Craigslist you don’t know who you are dealing with and in this group you have an idea who someone is. Even if I don’t know who they are, Aliana is a great moderator and keeps it moving forward,” explained Castaldi.  I had stuff in my garage I was going to throw away and threw it up there and people bought it. It’s a great concept,”

In EastCountyToday’s observation of the how deals are made on the swap site, it’s pretty amazing as there is a great amount of integrity in those using the system put in place by Nabas-Villeda. It is also a very civil process most of the time and a lot of luck is involved as to when someone logs in as to when an item is posted which keeps people coming back. Based off the system in place, there is a level of trust associated with the users as opposed to an alternate site when dealing with complete strangers.

In most cases, since a majority of the users are in East County, you either know of them or your friends know of them which further improves trust on deals.

Some of the recent items posted within the past 24-hours include: children’s clothing, washer/dryer, dog runs, sea shells. Leapster 2, child cups, a desk and chair and the list goes on.

The page is dedicated to providing the best possible deals for East County while helping folks reduce clutter in their homes while making a little cash.  It’s also a place where small businesses can plug their business which will reach thousands of people daily.

Still, its all about the deals being made.

“You get better deals online,” proclaims Nabas-Villeda. “The site was not created to take away from other businesses, it’s just reality that bartering is cheaper than retail stores.”

Although swap is the main focus, the site is more than just swap, they want to help the community on many levels such as those in need while being a source of community outreach. They even raised funds for the family of Matthew Ouimet while hosting a Christmas family adoption.

“There are a lot of good people in the swap meet group and donate what they can. East County is very giving community when you get the word out.”

In the future, Nabas-Villeda is contemplating the groups next steps with a possible swap-day event and is in works of creating a dedicated website to offer a better and long-term swap solution.

As the group grows, the more deals will be made available and we encourage you to “like” the page.

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39 comments

The Truth Jun 6, 2013 - 3:55 pm

HAH! She makes no money from the group? I guess Alaina fails to mention she charges people to “advertise” their business on her page that she created for FREE (against FB standards) and might I add it’s not just a few bucks. Furthermore, she didn’t “just come up with the idea” swap groups have been around on FB for YEARS before she started this one…Nice try Alaina you aren’t fooling any of us “Members”! There’s also another group in the area that is much larger than hers, runs much more efficiently, and people tend to enjoy it more. You should have done an interview with that site instead of wasting your time with this!

Laura Jun 6, 2013 - 9:57 pm

A little Jealous I see 🙂 what site are you talking about Oh yeah you can’t tell me cause you can’t even use your real name So Sad

The Truth Jun 6, 2013 - 10:09 pm

Jealous of what? I don’t have a site, so jealously is not a term I would be able to use. There isn’t anything to be jealous of. The correct term would be “Irritated”. It is just a little annoying, (as a person who hands money to this woman regularly) to advertise a business; that she claims she “doesn’t make money” from her site. Just be honest, it isn’t a secret that people pay her for this service. why was that not disclosed in the interview?

Laura Jun 6, 2013 - 10:51 pm

Maybe Mr.Mike will Re interview her.You shouldn’t advertise with her if your not satisfied.
Why can’t you let her know instead of making someone look bad on a website:(

The Truth Jun 6, 2013 - 11:02 pm

@Laura

You’re right I shouldn’t.

She definitely just lost a “customer”…. And I think she made herself look bad by not being truthful. :-/

burkforoakley Jun 7, 2013 - 6:22 am

For the record she was very upfront about the advertising. However, when you consider the hours put in to the group, I objectively stated that she wasn’t making any money and here is why.

Would you consider $20 an ad really making money? With 20+ hours monitoring the site and time to create an ad, its less than $1 an hour.

Working Mama Jun 7, 2013 - 8:51 am

It is good to know that she was “upfront” about the advertising. And that not making money off the site were not her actual words. I too am a paying customer and agree with Truth that it should not have been stated that she makes no money from the site, when indeed she does make money off advertising. Yes, it may be very little money, but there is still money being made just like any other person working from home. Also, for the record, it costs way more then $20/week and she has multiple customers. So the estimate of only $20/week is also false.

I believe that the article was very well written and does give an accurate account of the site. It does help so many local families. And I’m not saying Alaina does not put a lot of time and effort into keeping the site running smoothly and efficiently, but she DOES MAKE MONEY off the site (even if it is VERY LITTLE). The article should have stated this. I do appreciate you @burkforoakley explaining why you decided to write it the way you did. And like I said, it was very well written (except that little part).

Tammy Jun 7, 2013 - 10:04 am

Really, who cares if she makes money? She created the group, she moderates its,etc. She is not the only person who has created a group that charges for advertising and/or sponsors. If you are so bothered by this, then leave the site and swap somewhere else. Funny, how you are so bothered by this and don’t use your real name The Truth.

Move on, get a life, it’s just a community swap and sell site that many people enjoy and benefit from.

Laura Jun 7, 2013 - 10:59 am

Your upset cause no ones buying your CRAP!!!!!

The Truth Jun 7, 2013 - 11:05 am

@Laura

It’s “You’re”

Maybe you could pay her for grammar lessons?

Tammy Jun 7, 2013 - 11:12 am

@ The Truth

No, I’m not “Team Alania”. I’m not defending her…I just don’t see what the problem is. I appalud her if she wants to make a few extra bucks…don’t we all? Like I said, if you don’t like it, don’t be a part of the group. It seems like you have a vendetta against her…wonder why????

Your posts speak volumes about what kind of person you are, DISGRUNTLED AND BITTER ________ (You can fill in the blank).

Why not use your real name, you talk all this S&%T and hide behind another name (Bock Bock).

And you say you were one of her customers, do you mean you sold/bought items on the site or did you advertise with her? Hope you didn’t advertise with her, then your comments make you a hypocrite.

I do have a life and I’m moving on from this post…you have issues and hopefully you will just move on from this post…and get a life…seriously…

Laura Jun 7, 2013 - 12:50 pm

Move On:) What you sell is really crap. Cause i know exactly who you are Bye

Keeping it Real Jun 7, 2013 - 1:10 pm

What about it being illegal to charge for advertising on Facebook?

Sarah Jun 7, 2013 - 1:15 pm

I would like to add to this post, I am not a disgruntled person but it is correct it is not legal for her to charge to advertise (contact facebook and you will see) So in a sense there is illegal activity going on here. To say she makes no money is just crazy and if anyone thinks it is a small amount guess again. She is making a bunch of it, come on people do the math. No one is saying she wasnt smart to do this but just be honest about it and dont act like your helping the community when your really just helping yourslef out. There are plenty of swap groups out there long before she started this one. My issue is just tell the truth. So you found a way to make money well that is great, but dont lie to make yourself look better.

burkforoakley Jun 7, 2013 - 1:59 pm

I am going to come at this from a birds eye view since I’ve not personally sold anything… but, anyone using these swap sites makes money off selling used items. So lets be honest here on who is making money and who is not–its the people posting items!

She is promoting local companies for a small fee–nothing wrong with that unlike some people are claiming is against the rules–its not, she is simply changing her headline picture. To me, people promoting other sites bad mouthing Alaina appear to be sour grapes towards a competing site. In the end, their is room for everyone and as long as items are sold–users should be happy. If you prefer other rules and process, use that one instead just as people are free to read other news sources instead of EastCountyToday.

Maybe I could have worded it better on the “money” thing, shoot the messenger, not Alaina. She offered her total hours vs. rate which to me is NOT making money.

JimSimmons42 Jun 7, 2013 - 2:00 pm

I guess people really are jealous of success they have to bad mouth a nice group.

Keeping it Real Jun 7, 2013 - 2:17 pm

The advertising used in this group is not as simple as changing a picture, these are full blown advertisements. The fee is weekly and is not $20. Facebook does not allow this in group pages.

Most of the article is true, the only issue is what was omitted.

SittingBackAndWatchingTheShow Jun 7, 2013 - 3:15 pm

I think the article should have been written about people selling used underwear and half used bottles of cooking oil. The swap site is hilarious! The fact that the nonsense continues here is just downright fabulous! Keep fighting the good fight, ladies. You all are highly entertaining. Oh, and sometimes I sell some “crap”, too! Kudos!

The Truth Jun 7, 2013 - 3:45 pm

@Laura

Use your real name…It starts with an A and ends with an A, with a “lain” somewhere in the middle I’m sure! lol

@keeping it Real

THANK YOU!

@Sarah
SPOT ON at least there are a few smart cookies on this feed.

Alaina Jun 7, 2013 - 4:37 pm

To “the truth” it is apparent that you are not satisfied with the business relationship we had. I would have appreciated it if you would have contacted me so we could work out the issue rather than bashing me in public. After all we are community and its sad to see such ugliness.

FYI, some of the the money I received for my time to create and manage the ads has gone right back to the community, for example our Holiday Adoption where I drove around from Bay Point to Livermore collecting gifts for the needy families we adopted and then buying the supplies to wrap and deliver the gifts as well as any extra items that were needed that were not donated.

alana Jun 7, 2013 - 6:44 pm

I Have Always Been Honest, If You Took The Time To Read Mikes Comments Above You Would Have Seen That I Did Disclose To Him That I Charge A Fee For My Time Like Any One Would. I Would Bet That You Don’t Work For Free 🙂

Keeping it Real Jun 7, 2013 - 7:19 pm

Forums are people’s opinions based on how they were treated. It is hypocritical to keep some comments and delete others. Especially with the digs in the last comment above.

ECV Jun 8, 2013 - 9:46 pm

@Keeping it Real,

I’ll bite. You want real? It’s Burk’s site and therefore Burk’s rules. You don’t like it? There’s the door. Don’t let it hit you (or “The Truth”) on the way out!

Believe me, you won’t be missed.

Stacy K-H Jun 10, 2013 - 9:00 am

Well I’ve officially been kicked off Alaina’s site. I have an album of stuff for sale, I’ve complied to all the rules, I’ve helped numerous members when Alaina was too busy, I’ve been a member since day one, I’ve even gone as far as to post tutorials on how to do things on the site from your iPhone. And now I’ve been accused of writing the nasty comments above because I co- admin a swap site that is bigger than hers? Well gee thanks! Good to know my dedication as a member for the past year has been so appreciated. Lol. Yes, I run a swap group bigger than yours, that was created two months after yours and that runs more smoothly than yours. And yes, I disagree with the fact that you claim to be founded on “moms helping moms” and yet you’re making just under $500 a month (yes I have proof of this) charging them to advertise their small business on a site you created for free. Do I work for free? Ye!! it’s part of being an admin on a free site!! I do not, nor will I ever charge my members for anything. The site is supposed to be fun and helpful. Having said all that, this is my first time commenting here. The truth hurts lady. I’m not the person commenting as anonymous above.

burkforoakley Jun 7, 2013 - 6:58 pm

@Truth… your comments have been removed. You don’t get to bad mouth someone without proof. Email me offline if you have a problem with it.

alana Jun 7, 2013 - 7:01 pm

Thank You.

The Truth Jun 7, 2013 - 7:16 pm

@burkforoakley

You two must be in cahoots, my comments get removed; yet “Laura” can call me a (explicit) if you want to do stories like this and have a feedback forum you shouldn’t be biased. And as far as me not having “proof” what do you call the several people above who agree with me and vouch for her charging for advertising; oh I mean her “time”.

I am done here. This is a joke. I’ll go back to reading real news.

Have a nice weekend.

🙂

The Truth Jun 7, 2013 - 7:25 pm

@Keeping it Real

AMEN!

Laura Jun 8, 2013 - 12:16 am

Wow The Truth hurts .My name is Laura Harper look it up in the phone book, i don’t ;ive in Concord I’s Discovery Bay 🙂

Michelle West Jun 8, 2013 - 8:43 am

Keep up the great work Alaina and thank you for giving us moms a place to get great deals.

Keeping it Real Jun 9, 2013 - 7:44 pm

@ECV

Way to jump in.

The main issue is fair journalism….If there are “rules” they should apply to all especially the person who the article was written about.

As you can see in the earlier posts, the issue with the article was what was omitted.

#notrolling

moe Jun 9, 2013 - 9:33 pm

I have neither used the site in question, nor had I ever heard of it, before today. I did however, make a few observations as I read the comments following the article, that may help everyone here see things a little more clearly, especially coming from a truly impartial, outside person, who doesn’t know Alaina, or anyone else here (that I know of anyway, lol).

I never saw The Truth say that she was dissatisfied with the services she paid Alaina for, she just pointed out that fees were involved, legal by Facebook’s rules, or not. She did sound irritated, and under the circumstances, if I were in her shoes, I probably would have been irritated too. Although the author did take responsibility for the omission, unfortunately, that didn’t happen until after Laura got defensive, and attacked The Truth with snide remarks, in defense of Alaina. Although Laura’s feelings may well be justified, and she is certainly as free to express her opinion as anyone else, her remarks, in my opinion (and I am entitled to have one, just like everyone else), were rude and unnecessary. They are also the type of comments that are intended to inspire defensive feelings in the person to whom they are directed, which of course, is exactly what happened. Accusing someone of jealousy, who appears to be irritated, but is obviously trying to “set the record straight,” so to speak, was simply uncalled-for, and not very professional, in my opinion (yes, that again, lol). It is also understandable for someone who pays for a service to be upset, when the implication of the writer’s omission, is that Alaina did not disclose this fact. Which actually is exactly what The Truth said, in response to Laura’s remarks. Laura could have expressed her concerns about The Truth’s post in a much more positive way.

WorkingMama’s remarks were right on the money, and as a person in similar circumstances as The Truth, she agreed with The Truth’s concern. Yet, no one attacked her. This is most likely because her comments came AFTER the writer’s admission, and were expressed in a much more positive way. Had the writer not disclosed his culpability, perhaps she would have been equally irritated, and not sounded as positive as she did. It should have ended there, with perhaps an admission and acknowledgement by The Truth that her irritation had been misdirected. Unfortunately, others began to chime in, which is fine (that is exactly what I’m doing, after all), but again, some of the comments were very rude, uncalled-for, unnecessary and completely unprofessional. These comments, coupled with The Truth’s responses, pretty much backed her into a corner, where she can no longer do business with Alaina, when she never said she had a problem doing so. Other people made comments that clearly agreed with what The Truth’s original point was, and they were not attacked personally or professionally, in the way that The Truth was. This seems wildly unfair, IF the remarks to The Truth were not personal. The fact that no one else was attacked in the same way, is what shows that the abusive comments were indeed personal. It is this aspect of this situation that makes me sad and quite honestly, disappointed by the whole mess. It is also what inspired me to “put my two cents in.”

As I read the article, I had actually thought to myself, “Hm, sounds good.” I am the executor of an estate, and have an entire household of stuff to get rid of. I also run my own business, and thought the advertising sounded good too. However, I was not impressed with Alaina’s comments when she joined in the fray, and did not feel that her response to the situation was very professional. The Truth never said she was unsatisfied, someone else accused her of being unsatisfied, yet Alaina joined in on that aspect, with a defensive tone. It seems to me that she should have placed the responsibility for this situation where it belongs, and expressed her disappointment with the writer for his failure to report something she apparently did disclose. I also get the feeling that Alaina did disclose the fees she collects in order to avoid this sort for brouhaha.

Although I am quite sure that my business also “will not be missed” by Alaina, or anyone else herein, I am but one person. I am not interested in having Alaina’s friends and clients “come after me,” if I happen to express an opinion that they don’t like. That is drama I simply have no interest in introducing into my professional life. I am, however, quite certain that there are multitudes of others who feel the same way that I do, but have wisely decided to keep their opinions to themselves. This completely unprofessional display, not only by Alaina, but some of her clients as well, will likely lose business for everyone. I really hope that my comments do not incite the same sort of snide and hurtful remarks that were directed at The Truth, and I definitely have no interest in joining in a “tit for tat” discussion afterward, as that would be unprofessional, and my reputation is important to me.

I was very pleased to discover that the author had indeed reposted at least some of The Truth’s remarks, as it is a forum which is open to the public, regardless of how unpopular any particular opinion may be. Thank you for that expression of unbiased reporting, and for taking responsibility for your choice to omit something that is nontheless relevant, no matter how much or little it turns out to be in the end, as this situation clearly demonstrates.

Alaina Jun 9, 2013 - 10:28 pm

@moe, I appricate your unbiased thoughts on the situation. I do agree that I sounded a tad unprofessional, but I was being attacked and being accused of some horrible things. The sad truth is that the “truth” and “keeping it real” we’re never clients of mine, they started out as members of ECFSS and when they didn’t agree to some of the rules I had set in place to make sure the swap group runs as smooth as possible they created their own group and have since been attacking me everynchance they get. I don’t understand it, It’s really sad that others can be so cruel and jealous. I am a vey caring and giving person and when someone tries to spread defamatory lies about me, I am going to defend myself.

moe Jun 9, 2013 - 10:41 pm

@Alaina

I urge you to reread the comments that were made, after rereading my post. You will see that you were not accused of anything other than non-disclosure. The writer’s admission of his culpability in that, completely exonerated you. Keeping it Real actually pointed out the same thing, a couple of times. You had, and still have, nothing to defend yourself about.

I appreciate your kind and positive response to my post.

Alaina Jun 9, 2013 - 11:12 pm

@moe
Some of the “truths” comments were removed, so you aren’t seeing everything that was said.

moe Jun 10, 2013 - 12:21 am

@Alaina

I acknowledge that by the time I showed up, there may well have been things deleted, and certain comments that are still there, may have been in response to those deletions. My remarks did not take such comments into account, as I obviously didn’t see them.

However, I could have commented in my post that I may not have had the “whole story,” particularly because the moderator had said that he had deleted comments, and that my remarks were based solely on what was on the site at the time my opinions were posted. I say that now. I saw the part about deletions at the end, and because I had read numerous comments from the person who had been deleted, in all honesty, I assumed the remarks had been reposted.

I am sorry if I appear to have taken your experience of the situation lightly. That was definitely not what I was trying to convey.

Keeping it real Jun 10, 2013 - 6:28 pm

@Moe
Well said.

@Alaina
I never accused you of any “horrible” things. I simply stated that your advertising is not as cheap as was construed and that doing this on Facebook without Facebook approval was not right. Nothing personal was ever posted. And most of the article including the charity work is true.

Unfortunately you decided to continue to attack people, as your defenders did earlier, in the comments right after Moe. People can disagree just be professional about it.

EVCsBrother Jun 10, 2013 - 6:53 pm

Big bro you respond like a ho to simple varied opinions. Your arrogance is sickening. Anyone who is dedicated to journalism welcomes all sides of opinion. That’s why opinion pages are on every newspaper in the country. That’s why blogs were started. This sight will never gain any momentum if it is ruled by communistic attitudes. I think that MB has a little more class than that.
Open your mind Quaid big bro ho and accept that everyone is not like you, Thank God

Valerie Jul 19, 2013 - 12:52 pm

I also was deleted from this site because a “Co Admin” Stole some items I had set a side at a members house while I left for 8 min to get more cash…the “Co admin” told me to take the items with me when i left and I said I didn’t feel comfortable doing that, that I would leave them in the corner over here. As i pulled up to the house she drove off. I posted on the group a comment saying something in the nature of “hope the shirt was worth it” with her name and I got deleted from the group. i messaged Alaina letting her know this happened and her answer was “Shes been my BFF for years I doubt that happened”. Was I in the right for posting it on the wall probably not but getting deleted instead of the comment getting deleted and them asking me not to post to the wall was a little much….I thought since her being admin it should have been known she did this. We have to trust each other in these kind of groups and to feel like the “co admin” was not trustworthy and the admin plays favorites its not worth my business.

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