Unique form of recycling

What: Kashless, in the Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle

Who: Martin Tobias, 45, founder and CEO

Mission: Create a channel for people to give away items of value; extending their useful life and keeping them out of landfills — at least for a while.

Garage beginnings: Serial entrepreneur Tobias developed the idea for Kashless while cleaning out his garage, where he found several items he had no room for. He tried to sell some, but found the cost of advertising and lost time exceeded their value. So a giveaway made sense.

Common courtesy: The rules differ from standard monetary transactions, The transportation burden falls on the "buyer" to pick up the item. But Kashless will soon institute a shipping service, where the buyer provides the seller with a postage-paid label. Tobias also thinks buyers in a Kashless transaction are more reliable than those he has met through the classifieds. "When I was trying to sell my things, people would say they were coming over and just didn't show," he said. "I wasted several weekends waiting."

Employees: 6

Financials: The venture-funded company does not disclose any financial details, and Tobias won't project when profitability will occur. He expects all operational revenue to originate from advertising.

Get more out of life: The economy has forced people to consider other ways to replace a broken component than just by purchasing a new one. "If we don't have what you want, you can enter a search and we'll notify you if one turns up on the site," Tobias said.

Mixed results: The company has more than 8,900 items now listed. Tobias expects it will become a default choice for people who want to get rid of things.

— Charles Bermant