Why We Built YardSwaps, a Local Marketplace for Used Equipment and Parts

The search every tradesperson knows

If you work in the trades, you know this search. A job needs one part: a pump seal, a hydraulic cylinder, a starter for a generator that has run fine for years. Or it needs one more machine for a few months. So you open every marketplace and classifieds app you can think of and start scrolling.

What comes back is mostly noise. Cars, couches, consumer gear that only shares a keyword with what you typed, and posts with no photo of the tag and no way to tell if the part fits. You try a different word, then another app. It takes hours, and a lot of the time you find nothing at all.

We went through that search more times than we can count. That is where YardSwaps started.

What it costs to buy new and wait

When the used search comes up empty, the fallback is to buy new and wait for it to come in, and the job waits with it.

A new part usually costs more than a good used one, and the wait is often the bigger cost. A machine that is down can mean a crew that is not billing, a job that slides, or a rental nobody planned for.

The frustrating part is that what you need is often already close by. A shop across town has a donor machine out back. A contractor who switched equipment has a spare pump on a shelf. A restaurant that remodeled has a reach-in cooler it no longer uses. Nobody knew to connect the two of you.

Where to buy used equipment and parts locally

YardSwaps is a marketplace only for industrial and commercial equipment and parts, so a search returns gear for work, from people near you.

Listings are sorted into categories that cover the range of the trades, from fleet trucks, trailers and generators to forklifts, welding gear, landscaping equipment and restaurant equipment. Anything that fits no category lands in Parts & Other, so a loose part still has a home. You can browse used parts and attachments right now.

• Search by part number. If you have the number off the tag, search for it directly instead of guessing at a description.
• Set how far you will drive. The distance filter keeps results to equipment you can actually go and get.
• Pick it up locally. You see the equipment in person and run it before you pay.

Where to sell used equipment that is sitting idle

It works the other way too. Most shops, yards and small businesses have equipment or parts sitting around that someone else needs, and a free listing can turn them into extra cash flow.

We wanted selling to take minutes, not an afternoon. Take a photo of the machine or the part and the app fills in the listing for you, such as the category and the make and model when they are visible. You check it, set your price and publish.

Listing is free, and there is no fee taken from the sale. New sellers get free boosts that move a listing up in search, and when you invite another seller, you both get a free 7-day boost. Start a free listing when you are ready.

That spare compressor, the old trailer, the donor machine out back: someone in the trades might be looking for one right now.

How a deal works

Every deal follows the same four steps.

Watch the app walkthrough to see each step on screen, or read more about YardSwaps and how we keep deals safe.

• Find a listing, then message the seller or send an offer.
• Agree on a price, a time and a place to meet.
• Inspect the equipment and run it before you pay.
• Pick it up and confirm the handoff in the app.

Built with the people who use it

We are a small team in El Paso, Texas. We want YardSwaps to be a community where tradespeople and small business owners source what they need from each other, so the work keeps moving. Every machine and part that gets listed is one more thing the next person can find close by instead of buying new.

So we want to hear from you. What is the last part or machine you had to buy new because you could not find it used nearby?