FORMER LINEMAN CREATES ON-LINE SWAP SITE
The economic downturn is forcing a lot of people, including former IBEW members, to scale back spending or seek additional sources of income.
“In these economic times I’m having a tough time,” says John Walthall, a former PG&E lineman now on long-term disability. He was in the middle of a fruitless attempt to trade a boat on Craigslist when an idea came to him. John Walthall created tradeitfast.com
John Walthall created tradeitfast.com
“I thought there ought to be an easier way,” he says. So he got together with a website developer and created tradeitfast.com.
“All you do is type in what you want and what you have and the site makes a match. I think it’s going to be a useful tool for businesses and people, including IBEW members who might want to stretch a penny by swapping something instead of buying,” Walthall says.
Originally he envisioned the site strictly as an on-line bartering directory, but quickly discovered it’s just as easy to let people “buy and sell anything.”
He says it’s “more targeted” than searching on Google, and he hopes people will find it easier to use than Craigslist.
A yacht dealer recently listed 50 yachts on his site and Walthall is negotiating with others to list automobiles and properties.
Walthall hired on at PG&E in 1972, worked as a GC lineman for many years, and finished up in Sierra Division as an Inspector.
You can check out his new venture at tradeitfast.com