How swapping works
Swapping is the other way to move a bottle on ScentSell. Instead of selling for cash, you trade fragrance for fragrance — bottle for bottle, collector to collector. No money changes hands for the bottles themselves. Sales take 15%. A trade is A$4.99 each when we start taking it — taken once you have both handed over, not 15%, and not taken yet. Bottles marked open to swap sit in a list on /swap — the same compact rows as the marketplace. On a phone the first screen is those bottles; how it works sits underneath.
What a swap actually is
A swap is a private, agreed trade between two members:
- You offer one or more of your active listings (and optionally sample credits — more below), and
- You're asking for one of their listings in return.
You can only put up bottles you've already listed. Your cabinet isn't offered automatically — if nothing's listed, you'll be prompted to list a bottle first. That keeps both sides honest about what's genuinely on the table.
Swaps are a premium feature, and you'll need your phone number verified before you can make an offer. The free Starter plan is for browsing.
Equity — how fairness is worked out
Every listing carries an equity value — the same valuation ScentSell uses across the marketplace (Australian retail, fill level, condition, scarcity). When you build a swap offer, the proposal screen adds up the equity on each side and shows you a live fairness reading:
| Reading | What it means |
|---|---|
| Very Fair | The two sides are within ~10% of each other |
| Reasonable | A modest gap |
| Unbalanced | A noticeable gap — consider adding to one side |
| Strongly Unbalanced | A large gap — worth rebalancing before you send |
The fairness reading is a guide, not a gate. You're both free to agree on a trade that suits you — but seeing the numbers keeps surprises out of it.
Sample credits — closing a small gap
If your bottle is worth a little less than theirs, you can add sample credits to balance the trade rather than throwing in a whole second bottle. Sample credits are small decants you agree to send alongside:
| Sample credit | Indicative value |
|---|---|
| 2ml | $12 |
| 5ml | $20 |
| 10ml | $35 |
Sample credits only appear if you've turned on "I offer samples" in your profile. You agree the actual fragrances and sizes with your partner in the swap messages — the credit just balances the equity on paper.
Cash top-ups — closing a bigger gap
When the bottles don't quite line up, the person coming out ahead can add cash to level it. If you're getting A$312 of bottles for a A$265 bottle, you're A$47 ahead, so you add A$47. The equity bar spells it out: "You're A$47 ahead on bottles · your A$47 evens it up."
Authorising a top-up is not paying it. Tapping Authorise A$47 hold puts a hold on your card — Stripe reserves the money and takes nothing.
- It's taken only once you have both handed over: when the second parcel is posted, or, if you meet in person, when you have both confirmed the handover.
- If the swap falls over — declined, withdrawn, expired — the hold is released and you're never charged.
- Agreeing a top-up is not authorising it. Until you tap Authorise, nothing is held and your card has not been touched. The swap screen says so in plain words, and ScentSell will never tell you money was held or released unless it actually was.
- ScentSell takes 0% of a cash top-up. All of it goes to your swap partner. Sales take 15%. The A$4.99 trade fee is separate, and it is not taken yet. When it starts, you each authorise it once the trade is accepted, and it is taken with the top-up when you have both handed over. See Fees.
- A card hold lapses after about a week, so if a swap drags on you may be asked to authorise again.
Settling it between you
You don't have to put the top-up through ScentSell. If you'd rather sort it out yourselves — cash when you meet, PayID or a bank transfer — open the swap, go to The cash top-up on the Details tab, and tap We'll settle it between us.
- It only counts once you both agree. Your partner sees your offer in the swap thread and taps to agree. Until they do, nothing changes, and you can undo it.
- No card is charged for it once you have both agreed.
- ScentSell does not hold, take or guarantee that money, and can't help get it back if something goes wrong. Only settle directly with someone you trust.
- You can talk about paying directly in the swap chat — "I'll PayID you the $99" is fine inside a swap that's under way. Phone numbers and social handles are still kept off the chat.
- You can't settle directly while the top-up is already held on a card. Release the hold first.
Evening it up
Every bottle in a swap is counted at its asking price — the number the seller put on the listing, price drops included. Under the two sides you'll see one plain sentence: "Ricky's side is worth A$99 more than yours."
If there's a gap, an Even it up — or don't box sits right under it, with four ways to settle it. Use any mix:
- Cash. The person receiving the dearer bottle can add the difference (it's pre-filled). ScentSell takes 0% of it, and it's only charged once both parcels are posted. Only the paying side has that control — nobody can put money on someone else's card.
- Bottles. Change the bottles opens a counter-offer where you can add, remove or swap bottles on either side — two-for-one is normal. Add one of theirs lets you pick from their listed bottles.
- Words. Talk it through in the chat. "I paid $100 for the ticket to buy this" is a fair thing to say.
- Accept it as it is. A gap is only a number. Plenty of swaps aren't dollar-even, and that's fine when you're both happy.
Accept, Pass and Think about it sit right there too, above the chat, so you're never hunting for the button.
Nothing stops you posting before you've authorised the hold — but if you're the one who owes it, the Shipping tab reminds you right above the post button, because your partner is relying on it.
Invite them to browse
Not sure which of your bottles they'd want? You can tick Invite to Browse My Scents instead of (or alongside) picking specific bottles. That lets the other person look through your collection and tell you what catches their eye, then you firm up the trade together in messages.
One room per person
If the same person proposes swaps against more than one of your listings, it all lives in one room with them — not a separate conversation for every bottle. Open it and you'll see every live offer they've made stacked together, each with its own accept/decline/counter, so you can compare and respond without hunting across several chats.
The shape of a swap, start to finish
- Propose — pick what you're offering, what you want, and send it (with an optional message).
- Negotiate — they can accept, decline, or counter. Counters go back and forth until you agree. (Proposing and accepting)
- Accept — once accepted, you each have 48 hours to post. Addresses unlock in the Shipping tab. The one next step sits at the top of Shipping and on the swap card — same wording, same button. (Shipping a swap)
- Ship and receive — default is post + tracked. Confirm addresses, post road-only (tracking optional but kind), tap I've posted it, then mark each parcel arrived when it lands. In person is rare: only if you both choose it, and it is at your own risk.
- Done — when both sides confirm they've received (or both confirm the in-person handover), the swap completes automatically and you can rate the experience.
What ScentSell does and doesn't do
- We do give you the tools: equity valuation, a moderated room shared with that person (every swap you have with them together, not one thread per bottle), an address exchange that only opens once the deal is locked, tracking, and an AI mediator if something goes wrong.
- We don't hold the bottles' value, guarantee the other person, or guarantee the condition of what arrives. A swap is a trade you both choose to make. Trade at your own risk. Default is post + tracked; keep your photos. (Safety and disputes)
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