List Exchanges are also for one-time use but the rental fees are dropped. Instead there is an exchange fee charged by the list broker to the party taking the names. The party giving the names is also charged by their list manager or service bureau for running and shipping the file. Exchange fees are nominal and run in the range of $10-16/M.
Obviously, the cost of list exchanges is much less than rentals.
But can you exchange rather than rent? Not always.
First of all, you must have a list to exchange. If you have no list, or a very small list (under 5,000 names), or just do not want to give your names out, you are not going to be able to exchange names.
Maybe you have a list, but your list does not work well for the other organization or you already owe them a lot of names. You are going to have to rent.
Renting versus exchanging can be a tough decision for a list owner as well. If you rent, you make money. But if you do a lot of mailing, you can save money by exchanging names with an organization now and not having to rent their list when you mail.
What’s the right decision? It depends on your organization’s needs, the other mailer/list and a whole slew of other factors.
Think the process through and consult you list broker (if you are the mailer) or your list manager (if you are the list owner) for a particular transaction.
David