{"id":17717,"date":"2020-12-07T11:12:38","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T17:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/?p=17717"},"modified":"2023-07-06T14:59:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T19:59:32","slug":"its-a-10-year-swappaversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/its-a-10-year-swappaversary\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s a 10-year Swappaversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Happy 10th Swappaversary!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the year 2010 \u2014 The Social Network and Toy Story 3 were out in theatres, Angry Birds was the \u201cit\u201d game of the moment, auto-tune songs were all the rage, the first iPad was released, and we saw marvels like the Galaxy S and iPhone 4 launched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also the year that Ben Edwards, CEO and founder of Swappa, bought a Motorola Droid on Craigslist and got ripped off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Swappa started<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ben, a mobile developer, was interested in test devices for Android development projects that were cheaper than retail. Facebook Marketplace and refurbished smartphones weren\u2019t an option. eBay was a disaster, as a search for Motorola Droid came back with everything from Star Wars Droids to Droid phone cases. With too much junk to wade through and leery of scammers, Ben turned to Craigslist. While slightly better, he dealt with missed meetups, terrible communication, and scammers by the dozens. Finally finding a device at the right price, he arranged to meet the seller in the parking lot by his house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the phone (that cost a few hundred dollars) appeared to be in top shape, Ben knew he had been scammed when the seller sped off into the night, running red lights after the deal was done. Sure enough, upon an activation attempt, the phone was blocklisted and rendered worthless. Sick of blocklisted phones, junk devices, inefficient communication, and sites fraught with scammers and fraud; Ben knew there had to be a better way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spurred on by that frustrating and expensive experience, Ben started building Swappa on mornings, nights, and weekends. On December 5th, 2010, Swappa was launched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The O.G. or original logo that is<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Swappa\u2019s Early Days<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Swappa catered exclusively to Android devices and developers at the onset. Popular iPhones, MacBooks, and other categories have been added over time as Swappa has grown. In the early days, when a new phone was launched it carried huge feature changes, but people welcomed the opportunity to buy gently used devices from real people at a lower cost. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Swappa\u2019s Original Site, 2010<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the early days, there was only a team of 1, building and perfecting the tools that would become today\u2019s marketplace. A strong product catalog and fraud tools\/methods that weeded out scammers and junk devices became the Swappa way. Word started to spread in the Android community, with orders jumping from ten to twenty a day. As any small business owner or entrepreneur will tell you, it\u2019s an incredible feeling when your idea starts to gain traction. Not only was there a Lifehacker<\/a> mention that drove early adopters and media exposure, but Swappa even sponsored a Big Android BBQ Developer event. We sponsored the keg and showed up with a big ol\u2019 bag of Swappa t-shirts. Let\u2019s just say we walked away with a lot of new friends and Swappa awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Swappa forms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After 2 years of running Swappa as a side gig, Ben finally quit his day job — and with his second hire (Wes, a Swappa force still to this day), was able to take his first Saturday night off in years. The community began to grow and more Swappa users became Swappa employees. Swappa has been remote from the start, founded by the belief that talent isn\u2019t bordered by geography or even regular 9 to 5 working hours. Today, Team Swappa can be found all over the world, working to make the best possible experience for our community of buyers and sellers. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Ben (pictured standing) and Team Swappa\u2019s Campfire Sponsorship at Big Android BBQ<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It was decided early on that customer support was the most important place to invest, so we could remain true to delivering literally the opposite of eBay and other marketplaces — a good, safe experience. By the time we made our 7th hire, our goal to have 24\/7\/365 support was realized. Those first 7 hires were in fact, customer support and moderation. True to any start-up, everyone was wearing multiple hats and filling in wherever they could.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Team Swappa, as seen on Android Central, at IDEAA\u2019s second DC Code Kitchen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That\u2019s how Swappa was built and continues to operate today. Through grit, determination, and tackling problems that others didn\u2019t think could be done, we simply put in the work on complicated issues. Buying used tech online simply and safely is no easy task. There\u2019s a reason why other marketplaces don\u2019t put in the time and effort.  It\u2019s incredibly labor-intensive to review every listing and maintain an average response time within minutes. It takes a highly knowledgeable staff and ongoing process improvements, not to mention close coordination with the development team. It\u2019s what sets us apart, and has from the very start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a reason we put this into every single job posting: \u201cThough we\u2019ve been around awhile, are bootstrapped and profitable, Swappa still operates a lot like a startup. Everyone on our team wears many hats and does whatever it takes to get the job done. Egos are left at the door and the phrase \u201cthat\u2019s not my job\u201d never flies here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re brought together to make a difference for our community and each other, building a platform with a small but mighty team that\u2019s laser-focused on doing good in the world. Sure we\u2019re stubborn at times, but we\u2019re all trying to improve Swappa and you can hear it in every corner of the world in which we work and collaborate. And you find everyone, from Ben to the latest hire, truly believes and practices this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to grow this company you deserve a better experience that saves you money, makes you more money, and extends the life of a device. It\u2019s a valuable and needed service and damn, we\u2019re proud to be a part of building it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Director of Support, Lucas, leading by example<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot to be proud of here at Swappa:<\/p>\n\n\n\n