With unemployment on the rise, new entertainment purchases are last on our shopping lists. Now there is a new way to get movies without the extravagant costs. New websites like Switchplanet, Zunafish, and Flickflop, have been popping up as trade sites for DVD’s, CD’s, books, and video or computer games.

These sites are free to join. Once you have created an account, you post things that you are willing to trade or give away. Then you search for titles that you are interested in and offer a trade. Depending on which site a trade can be free to one dollar each. While trading DVD’s with friends and family is still cheaper, these websites come with a guarantee.

Flickflop is a company that collects the movies from members and has a list online to choose from. It is $1.99 per trade. This includes shipping costs. Once you trade a movie to them they let you know what movies you are eligible to choose, or you may upgrade to a movie off of this list for fifty cents more. This site is different from the others in that you deal with them directly and not other members.

Switchplanet is also a trade site that deals with other forms of entertainment as well. It is absolutely free, but it does ask for donations. You can also purchase switchbucks to trade with instead of giving up your movies. You trade with other members and pay for shipping, but can turn down trade requests if you don’t want to pay very much shipping. Zunafish is another member trade site much like SwitchPlanet. The only difference is a one-dollar fee per trade. You still pay for shipping and are requested to trade, so there is no obligation.