Chinanews, Chongqing, October 10 – Exchanging one item for another, the oldest form of trade, has become many young people’s favorite in China. With the help of modern communications like the Internet, this time-honored trade has surely found its second prime.

 

Young “exchangers” first make a list of things they don’t need anymore (most of them are the results of impulse buying), and then paste an introduction to the items (usually with pictures and specifications) on an online forum, to trade for things “they really need”.

 

Sometimes, the items exchanged are not of equal values. In fact, “exchangers” concerns themselves much more about the “usefulness” of the items, rather than prices, not to mention that “exchange” like this is also a communication of experiences and emotions to make new friends.

 

For example, Miss Li, an office lady in Chongqing, once traded a very expensive LV purse for an ordinary pet dog. Many of her friends thought she had been deceived, but she did not think so, as she believed the lovely dog could bring much more happiness to her than a purse. “We exchangers never talk about money or prices,” said Miss Li.

 

The items to be exchanged on the forum can really dazzle one’s eyes. An exchanger may want to trade some grain ration coupons of the 1950s for some baby appliances, while another may want to exchange his cell phone of the newest model for a Zippo lighter of limited edition, etc.

 

In Chongqing alone, there are more than 10,000 exchangers. Besides getting what they really need and dispose of what they don’t, they also strike up friendship with each other.