Tomorrow is set to be the busiest online shopping day of the year. We highlight the best sites to use and unearth the biggest bargains. Consumers are gearing up for the busiest online shopping day of the year tomorrow, so Money has put together a guide to the best festive shopping on the web ... 1 Groupon, 2 The Hut, 3 Pixmania, 4 Homes & Bargains, 5 Clearance Comet, 6 Topcashback, 7 Vouchercloud, 8 Schoolstrader ...

Schoolstrader - Parents are preparing to spend a collective £2.2 billion on presents for their children this year — an average £168 on each child ... Launched in 2006 from a garden shed in Sussex, Schoolstrader is a “community trading” website covering most of the 2,000 independent schools in Britain. The site, which is free to use, also has a section covering 30,000 school communities, while sister site Universitiestrader caters for students. Families can use the site to trade goods, services and even houses with each other, usually at a substantial discount. Last week, for example, there was more than £11m-worth of property for sale and users were buying Christmas gifts ranging from a £3,500 pony to a Topper sailing dinghy for £550. Many items are listed as free, with a piano and a rabbit on the site last week.

Case Study - Head for a Festive Bargain. Andrew Monk, the assistant headmaster of Woodcote House prep school in Windlesham, Surrey, is using the Schoolstrader website to pick up Christmas gifts for his sons, William, 8, and Andrew, 5. Schoolstrader is free to use and allows people at independent schools to trade goods and services with each other, often at a discount, or to pick them up free. Monk, 46, who lives at the school and is pictured with his wife Lucy, 38, said: “I have used the site for a few years and managed to pick up some great bargains. In terms of Christmas gifts, I have my eye on an 8GB iPod Touch selling for £50 — compared to a normal price of £189 — and have made inquiries about a pool table, which is in great condition and costs £150.” Monk has also made some spare cash by selling his unwanted goods on the site, including a car-roof storage box and a pair of ski boots.

The Sunday Times 17.4.11

Top Tips To Cut The Family Holiday (extract below)

As parents battle to make ends meet, we look at bargains for the Easter break, from reward schemes and UK holidays to staying in with a DVD. Parents are set to spend £3.5 billion on entertainment and childcare over Easter and the coming bank holidays, so Money has compiled a guide to deals offering discounts of 50% or more.

British Getaways - Families looking for cheap weekend or holiday breaks in Britain are turning to Schoolstrader, a community trading website that started out by connecting parents at more than 1,500 public and prep schools. It has now branched out into the state primary and secondary sector, covering some 29,000 communities. The site, which is free to use, allows families to trade goods, services and even houses and holiday jobs for their children with each other, usually at a substantial discount or free. Schoolstrader says it has tens of thousands of users, mainly families with school-age children, but is open to all. One of the growing areas of the site is the holiday homes rental section, whereby parents look for cheap deals or try to raise spare cash by letting out their second home. Properties from all over the world are featured but the UK section is the largest. Last week, it featured an advert for a three-bed Norfolk coast holiday home with a pool from £190 a week, while a cottage in the Lake District sleeping up to seven people was advertised from £250 a week.

Case Study - Lucy Howells, 40, from Hawkhurst, Kent, has been using Schoolstrader, the community trading website, to search for bargains on holiday homes for the Easter and bank holiday breaks. The housewife, pictured with husband Mike, 42, who owns a recruitment business, has also used the site to buy discounted toys, such as a portable DVD player, for children Iona, 9, Alexander, 6, and twins Holly and Elspeth, 17 months.Howells said: “Every penny counts at the moment so I am scouring the web for ways to save during the school holidays.”

The Sunday Times 17.7.11

Surviving University - How To Stay Afloat While You Study (extract below)

Cut Price Website Offers - You can also make substantial savings by buying items second-hand from community trading websites such as Schoolstrader.com. It was set up for families with school-age children but Neil Canetty-Clarke, the co-founder, said increasing numbers of students use it to buy and sell items such as textbooks, bicycles and festival tickets. The site can also be used to match students with summer jobs, such as au pair work and private tuition.

Case Study - Alexander Todd, 19, of Sussex, is using Schoolstrader.com to find holiday jobs before starting an economics degree at Bristol University, where brother Harry, 21, reads theology. Their mother, Melanie, 49, will get a part-time job to help cover future fees for Archie, 16.

The Sunday Times 1.1.12

Save £6000 On Your Bills (extract below)

Beat the squeeze in the new year by shopping around for the best deals.

Case Study - Having 4 daughters means that Arabella Bruce-Smith, 52, from Cheltenham, is keen to shave as much as possible off her household bills. The nurse ... also uses www.schoolstrader.com to trade goods with other families free or at a big discount.

Money Magpie 2011

"Make Up to £80 An Hour As A Private Tutor"

Tresco Times Summer 2012 Volume 6.4

"How Do You Find a Bargain Sailing Dinghy? ..."

... or a pony for your daughter or a drum kit for your son? Some second-hand trading websites are a bit daunting, so we were very pleased to discover ... a terrific simple website called www.schoolstrader.com

Sunday Times 2.9.12

"Go Online to Bypass The Costly Middlemen"

Consumers can cut costs and boost returns by using peer-to-peer websites that remove the need for traditional firms such as banks and estate agents.

Schoolstrader.com - This online marketplace allows parents to sell or buy everything from unwanted instruments to textbooks, sports equipment and school uniforms. Neil Canetty-Clarke of Schoolstrader said: "Every parent knows how quickly children can change their minds, meaning many expensive musical instruments are left to waste. This site allows parents to buy and sell unwanted items." The service, founded in 2006, is free to use and claims to have £10m of property for sale. Last week, a viola was available for £75 - compared with a typical retail price of £169. There was also a GCSE biology and chemistry guide for £2...

ITV, This Morning Show 6.3.13

"Schoolstrader - Fantastic Website"

"We are all sitting on between £500 and £1000 of stuff we could be getting rid of ... It has never been easier to do this ... The internet is the obvious place ... Schoolstrader - fantastic website if you’ve got school-age children. One minute they want to play the clarinet, the next minute they’re doing hockey, well ... in with the clarinet out with the hockey stick and vice versa - it can cost you hundreds of pounds keeping up with all their hobbies."

Independent School Parent Magazine 12.3.13

"Chickens, Ski Chalets and Second Hand Pianos"

The Guardian 24.8.07

"Second-Hand Needn't be Second Rate" (extract not available online)

"...increasingly parents are using the Internet to buy and sell second hand school uniform through established sites such as eBay aswell as Schoolstrader. Launched last September .... the free-to-use website enables parents, teachers and relatives with children at independent schools across the country to buy and sell almost anything online from Sherborne Girls uniform to Sony TVs and sailing dinghys. A new [Schoolstrader] site catering for the country's 17000 primary schools is being launched in the autumn ... "

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