Technically Not Tech: Swapagift.com

Somebody doesn’t know what to buy you for your birthday, so you get a gift card that you either don’t want, won’t use or will surely lose.
There’s a solution, of course.
From its launch in October 2003 to February, SwapaGift.com had been “the leading online marketplace dedicated solely to buying, selling, and trading gift cards,” said Mike Kelly, who was the early Web adopter who launched the site with his wife Mary Jane out of their Langhorne home.
Last month, a deal was announced in which Swapagift.com was bought by Wolfe.com, the Pittsburgh-based online marketing company and parent of GiftCards.com, which included a drop of their trading option.
That makes the Eagles departure from the NFL playoffs and subsequent Steelers Super Bowl victory the second indignity Pittsburgh has bestowed on our fair metropolis this year.
While their operation has largely moved to Pittsburgh’s GiftCards.com processing facility, the marketing, promotion and business development remain with the Kellys in Langhorne.
Mike Kelly, 45, declined to disclose financial details of the acquisition, but he said business is good and that his company’s ties to Philadelphia won’t falter.

Today, their in-person, gift-card repurchasing services can be found in 500 retail locations nationally, including five in Philadelphia and others in the region. They expect more than 1,000 by year end.
That’s quite a surge since the end of 2006, when SwapaGift had just 35, most of which were only in the region. From 2004 to 2008, SwapaGift.com saw revenues grow at an average annual rate of more than 200 percent, Kelly said. Despite the recession, Kelly still estimates a full 100 percent boost in 2009.
Below, watch how their business works.
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Kelly said Jason Wolfe, CEO of GiftCards.com, was interested in SwapAGift.com’s acquisition strength of cards in the secondary market. The Kellys liked their technology investment and that potential to increase their sales reach.
“In the end, both parties saw the opportunity to bring together and leverage our unique capabilities so we decided to make it official,” he said, noting both company’s customer satisfaction. “Our customer base prior to the acquisition was over 50,000 registered customers, with very high repeat customer loyalty. We were the first web site to offer this service. ”
Kelly said he and wife Mary Jane, 38, are proud it happened in the Philadelphia area. Mike graduated from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, and Mary Jane received an MBA from LaSalle University.
“We have every reason to believe in the Philadelphia area continuing to develop its strong tech reputation. There’s an enormous pool of talent right here, coming from great universities and world-class private organizations in pharma, biotech and technology,” he said. “Philadelphia is well-positioned to strengthen it’s tech reputation.”
Every Monday, Technically Not Tech will feature people, projects, and businesses that are involved with Philly’s tech scene but aren’t necessarily technology focused. See others here.