YOUR MONEY by Naomi Caine

ONLINE swapping could replace online shopping as a favourite pastime as the credit crunch bites down hard on family finances. Swap sites could even take on the mighty eBay, if customers lose faith with the internet auctioneer.

EBay has not been having the easiest of times lately, having last week been ordered to pay 40 million (£31.5 million) in damages to LVMH, the French luxury goods group, for selling fake handbags, perfumes and haute couture.

The ruling comes amid a flurry of court cases against the auctioneer brought by a number of French firms. In another case this month, it was ordered to pay damages of 20,000 to Hermès. Last year L'Oréal, the cosmetics group, began legal action against it in five European countries, including Britain, over the sale of counterfeit perfume.

The American internet auction giant has pledged to appeal against the latest judgment, but the case has cast doubt on the authenticity of the goods on the site.

This could be an opportunity for swap sites, which are growing in popularity. With some of the best known including ReadItSwapIt, Hitflip and SwapitShop, they also play to our current financial and environmental concerns. No money changes hands, so there's no strain on the budget. And if you swap stuff you cut down on waste.

ReadItSwapIt is probably one of the simplest examples of a swapping site. It's designed for people who love books and would like to swap them with other readers, with nothing to pay but the postage.

First you register the books you no longer want. Then you find a book you want to read in the site's library, which lists all the books available for swapping. You click Swap with this member' and a request is sent to the owner of the book, who will automatically be invited to view a list of all the books you have registered. And if one takes the owner's fancy, he or she will agree to a swap. You will then each be sent an email showing the other's postal address so you can send the books.

You can reject a swap if they don't want any of the books on the other member's list. Swappers also give feedback to weed out any dodgy users.

ReadItSwapIt was set up about five years ago and it estimates that its users have saved £350,000 and more than 300 trees by swapping instead of shopping for books. Andy Bathgate, one of the founders, says: "We have kept the site very simple and it seems to be working well. We have more than 35,000 registered readers and a swap is requested every 90 seconds."

Hitflip is another site where you can exchange books. You can also swap DVDs, computer games and CDs. However, it operates a slightly different system. Again it is free to register your unwanted items in the library. But you trade with flips - a virtual currency - which you get hold of by making swaps. So, if you have a DVD to swap, you list the item and ask for a certain number of flips. If another user wants the DVD, they buy it with flips. They also have to pay 79p to Hitflip. It's a bit more commercial and a bit more complicated, but the Germany-based firm argues that the virtual currency gives members greater choice because they don't always need an item to swap. It's also cheaper than buying or renting a DVD or game. Plus, you aren't adding to the global mountain of unwanted CDs and DVDs.

If you are more interested in fashion, visit whatsmineisyours. The site was founded in 2004 by stylist and personal shopper, Judy Berger, so fashionistas can swap designer dresses, bags and shoes.

Some sites are more general. SwapitShop lets you swap stuff you don't want to earn swap it' points to spend on stuff you do want. Or there's iswap, where you can currently get hold of a car, a pair of signed Umbro football boots or a collection of Tetley tea folk - as long as you have something decent to offer as a swap.

Swapping is not entirely without risks, however. Some experts, for example, are wary of sites that allow you to earn points in return for swaps in case the site goes bust, or is the victim of a hacker. Nevertheless, if no money is involved the risks are limited. Most sites also operate a rating system so you can monitor the trustworthiness of other users.

So what are you waiting for? Let's swap until we drop!