TradeYa Inc secured $1.1 million in a seed round, The Wall Street Journal blog Venture Capital Dispatch reported. In an interview, TradeYa Inc Chief Executive Officer Jared Krause told Venture Capital Dispatch that the mobile app enables users to locally trade goods and services online. The app is scheduled for release in the first quarter of this year.

The round was backed by angel investors Chris Hameetman and Joe Addiego. Hameetman is the Vice President of Tech Coast Angels based in Los Angeles while Addiego is a Partner at Alsop Louie Partners. Proceeds from the round will used to get more developers to the team and for its marketing and advertising efforts. It will also be used to introduce the mobile versions of the bartering app which is currently available only on the Web. TradeYa now has a workforce of 12 people, the report said.

Krause said that users can go through their homes and take pictures of things that they have for barter and write descriptions of them to form their own personal inventory. If they wish to trade something for service, they can write down their skills and reference as well as the amount of time they are willing to allocate for the barter, the report said.

The report said TradeYa sets itself apart from other startups like Listia, Yerdle and other bartering sites online. Its applications enable users to find what barters are available in their area in the event that they would be more comfortable meeting someone personally to do the swap or send items through mail, the report said.

Krause said, "Nobody's going to want to swap very large items like televisions or sofas cross-country. Some things just need to be done in person, including some services."

After the terms of a barter have been completed on the TradeYa platform, the company charges both parties $3 per transaction so that the deal can push through, the report said.