“Capture the Crown” Winner
The inaugural Capture the Crown Contest, run by the Home Exchange Queen and Know Your Trade closed on June 15th and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to direct visitors to the winner’s listing on the ExchangeHomes.Com web site.
Unfortunately, the person the Queen selected as the winner took so long to reply to her initial email that she had just reached the point of deciding he was no longer interested. He replied in the nick of time before the prize was awarded elsewhere. But things have still not improved because I too have been emailing him, trying to encourage him to set up his prize membership, but his response to me is no better. Ten days and three emails later, I’ve heard nothing either.
To me this is a perfect example of how I see a great many of the listings displaying on the current proliferation of “free membership” home swap sites. No fee is involved therefore no commitment is implied. I believe that having to reach for a credit card in order to activate a membership really does separate the frivolous, spur-of-the-moment sign-ups from those genuine, responsible home exchangers.
I certainly don’t believe in charging disproportionate fees to ExchangeHomes.Com members. To do so would fly in the face of the true concept of home exchanging. However, I do need to cover my business expenses and, at the end of the day, make a moderate amount as a reward for my efforts.
We receive phone calls several times a week from people, wondering if it was our web site they joined a couple of months before. Possibly, had they been required to pay a small fee to join, they would have made more of an effort to note which one it was. Plus they could refer to their credit card receipt!
