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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Swapping Games - The Ins and Outs
The Definitive Guide
For step-by-step instructions to swapping games with Swopster, simply follow
our swapping guide
The Basics
 How It Works
Ranking
Introduce A Friend
More Help
If you can't find an answer to your query on this page, hop over to the forums
and ask it there for a prompt response.
If you're still stuck or have any comments, please e-mail us:
support@swopster.com
Quick Questions
How do I start?
Why do you ask for my full name and postal address?
What is a 'SwapList'?
What is a 'WishList'?
How do I list the video-games I want to swap?
My game isn't listed!
How does the swapping process work?
No-one wants to swap with me! How can I fix this?
Can I swap a copy of the video-game?
What if I change my mind about swapping a video-game?
Why do I keep receiving regular e-mails?
I have a game to swap - can I see all the possible matches?
I have more than one console - can I swap across platforms?
I've Been Sent A Game That Doesn't Work - What Do I Do?
I've registered but it now asks for a password when I try to login. I never typed in a password!
I'm still waiting for my password e-mail - I've waited 10 minutes!
Am I Just Swapping With Folks In My Own Country?
How do I start?
Simply register for free. You'll need to think of a
username (this is the
name other members will see when swaps are being offered). You will also need to provide
a valid e-mail address. This e-mail address will be used to send out a verification code
for your account and will also be our point of contact with you.
Additionally, you need to select the country you live in. Currently, the site is available
in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ. To ensure the simplest and cheapest possible
swapping (since you will need to post your games to other members), you are restricted to
swapping within the country you have selected.
Why do you ask for my full name and postal address?
After initially registering, you'll then be able to edit your account settings. This
includes your full name and current postal address. This is required because, when you
swap with other members, they will need to post their used video-game to you. So, when a
swap has been agreed, the member you have agreed to swap with will be shown your full name
and postal address (and vice-versa). They will then address their used video-game and
send it to you.
This is the only time anyone will see your postal address.
If you join a private community, your full name will be shown on the swapping pages to
other members of your community. This, and when completing a agreed swap, are the only
times your full name will be displayed within the site.
What is a 'SwapList'?
This is the list of games you currently own and (possibly) wish to trade.
What is a 'WishList'?
This is the list of games you would like to own.
How do I list the video-games I want to swap?
After logging-in, click on the relevant tab button at the top of the page relating to the
platform you want to select from. A list of all the video-games for that platform will
be displayed. The search box at top of the page and the category list can also
be used to narrow down the list by title or genre.
When you see a video-game listed that you own and would like to swap, click on the 'Add
to SwapList' radio-button. Similarly, if you see a video-game listed that you currently
don't own but would like to receive in a swap, click on the 'Add to WishList' radio-button.
You can see a list of all the games you've added to your SwapList and WishList on
your Profile page.
My game isn't listed!
If you can't find one of your games (or there's a game you'd like to receive in a swap that
isn't listed), you can simply tell us about it and
we'll add it to our database of games.
How does the swapping process work?
Whenever you login and visit your Swapping page, you will see the list of your used games
you've listed in your SwapList. If other members want one of your games and they also own
one of the games you've listed in your WishList, their game will be shown below.
If a particular swap interests you, you can click on the match link to see a list of all
the members who can match the swap.
Swap Matches
If another member has already requested a swap with you, there will be an 'Agree Swap'
link next to their details. This means you can immediately agree to the swap by clicking
on the members 'Agree Swap' link. This will also cancel any other swap requests either
member has made involving these video-games. Your SwapList and WishList will be automatically
updated to reflect the swap.
If other members haven't already requested a swap with you, you can initiate a swap request
with them. All you need to do is select the type of delivery method you'd like to use with
that member, the number of days the swap request will remain valid for, and then click on
the selected checkbox. After you've selected all the members you'd consider swapping with,
just click the 'Update Swaps' button.
You'll be notified via e-mail if/when another member completes the swap by agreeing to swap
with you. This will also cancel any other swap requests either member has made involving
these video-games. Your SwapList and WishList will be automatically updated to reflect the swap.
After Swapping
Once a swap has been agreed by both members, it is irreversible. You will need to deliver
your video-game to the other member by the agreed delivery method. Both members should
expect to receive their swapped video-games within 14 days of the swap being agreed.
After agreeing to a swap, you can communicate with the other swapping member through
private messaging on the site. Should anything go wrong (like a video-game not arriving),
you can give the other member a negative rating and change this at a later date when the
problem is resolved. Private messaging can be used during this period to communicate with
the other member to rectify the situation. Unlike swap feedback and ratings, private messages
cannot be seen by any other members.
No-one wants to swap with me! How can I fix this?
There are three main factors involved in how other members perceive you within the site: history,
ranking and usage. Your swapping history is up to other members (they need to agree to a swap
with you), but you can help yourself by taking steps to improve your ranking and usage.
History
The more swaps you complete, the more swap history you'll create. To provide as fair a system
as possible, your entire swap history can be seen be other members. This includes the feedback
and ratings you have received. You should do eveything you can to maintain a positive swap
history. Otherwise your ranking will suffer and other members may choose to avoid you having
seen your swap history.
Ranking
Your ranking is based on a number of elements and the calculations continue to change as the site
evolves. However, in the main, your ranking reflects the feedback received from the swaps you've
performed. If you receive a bad feedback rating for instance, this will severely impact your ranking,
although bad feedback ratings will eventually 'fade away' from your ranking over time.
Naturally, new members are at a slight disadvantage here. You have no history, so you'll have a
low ranking, so no-one will swap with you...and so on. To help combat this, there are a range
of secondary elements that are taken into consideration to help improve your ranking which don't
rely on your swapping history. For instance you can encourage your friends to join through
our introduce a friend scheme, you can create a healthy
balance between your SwapList
and your GameList (e.g. not just selecting a single game in each), and you can log-in to your account
regularly to show you're an active member.
As mentioned, though, the ranking calculation will evolve over time. However, it will always
try to reflect 'good' Swopster members. Those that swap regularly, encourage others to join,
visit the site often, etc.
Usage
Your pattern of usage is also publically available. This shows how often you have logged into
the site over the previous 5 weeks. If you are an infrequent visitor, you may find other members
hesitate to include you in their swap requests.
By visiting the site regularly, you are demonstrating that you are an active member and more
likely to respond to swapping requests.
In addition, if you have a group of friends or colleagues who would be interested in swapping
video-games, you could always set-up your own private community. This allows
you to swap with other people in your locality - this brings the added benefit of swapping with
folks you probably already know and means you can participate in face-to-face handovers (meaning
you'll not have any postage costs at all).
Can I swap a copy of the video-game?
Absolutely not! It's illegal and this site does not promote, encourage, or condone any illegal activities,
including violation of any copyright laws. Any member caught participating in such activities
will be instantly banned and be reported to the relevant authorities.
What if I change my mind about swapping a video-game?
You can either delete the video-game from your list (click on the relevant Delete button on
your Profile page) or disable it. Disabling a SwapList item prevents
it being offered as an alternative swap based on your preferences.
Why do I keep receiving regular e-mails?
The service will automatically aggregate together any relevant matching swap
requests over a period of days and e-mail them to you. This automatic notification can
be easily switched off in your account settings.
If you switch off this feature, you should be aware that you will no longer be informed via e-mail
when other members have initiated a swap request with you (you will, however, be e-mailed when a swap is
actually completed). To check your swapping status, you would then need to regularly
log-on and checking your swapping status.
I have a game to swap - can I see all the possible matches?
Sure. Just add the game to your SwapList then go to your Swapping page. You'll
immediately see how many alternative swaps are available. By clicking on the link, you
can then quickly add any of these alternative games to your WishList and
decide whether you want to issue swap requests to other members.
All these alternative swaps are based on your Platform and Category preferences (which you
can change on your Profile page). By default, you'll have been automatically subscribed
to all the different game categories and a single platform. You can easily subscribe to
more than one platform or remove game categories that don't interest you.
I have more than one console - can I swap across platforms?
Yes, you can. By clicking on the different platform tabs at the top of the page, you can
add games from any platform to your SwapList or WishList.
Additionally, you can subscribe to multiple platforms on your Profile page. This allows you
to see all the alternative swaps across a number of platforms for the game you wish to swap.
Why Do You Ask For My E-Mail Address? Will I Get Spammed?
You will definitely not be spammed by us or any third parties! We treat your e-mail address as private information and will not
pass it on to any third-parties.
We ask for your e-mail address as a basic verification test - we send out a confirmation e-mail when you initially register, which
contains the password you'll need to use to log on. This simply helps to reduce the chances of anyone creating fraudulent accounts.
We will also use your e-mail address to contact you if there are any problems regarding swaps. Occasionally (once a month or so) we
may also send out a newsletter to let you know when we've added new features or improved the service.
By default, the swapping service will e-mail you if other members have requested swaps with you. This is purely done to prevent you
missing out on swaps you may have been interested in. You can switch this e-mail notification off in your account settings if you
wish - however, you'll then have to remember to visit the site regularly to see if anyone has requested swaps with you.
I've Been Sent A Game That Doesn't Work - What Do I Do?
If the game is a Windows game, you should check the specification requirements listed with the
game. If your computer hardware does not support the hardware requirements (for instance, your
graphics card only supports shader 2 when the game requires shader 3), then the responsibility
for the game not working lies with you, NOT the member who you swapped with. It is your
responsibility to ensure your computer is capable of running the games you request.
Assuming you have the correct hardware/console required to run the game, but it simply doesn't
work, your first step should be to contact the member who sent your their game. You can do this
through the Private Messenging facility - History, click on the relevant swap link, and the
Private Messenging facility is provided at the bottom of the page. Simply type in a message
and the other member will see they have received it when they next log in.
Hopefully you will be able to resolve the issue through Private Messenging. However, if the member
does not respond, or is simply unwilling to resolve the issue, you can select the 'Non-Working Game'
option for their feedback rating and provide details of the exchange.
Giving a negative feedback will have a significant detrimental impact on the members rating. Member
ratings and feedback details are public and highly visible during the swapping process, so other
members will be fully aware of the details of your transaction with this member.
The consequences of giving negative feedback should be carefully considered - the other member could
retaliate by giving YOU an unwarranted negative feedback rating. If this happens, you can counter
the feedback rating in the feedback details for the swap.
I've registered but it now asks for a password when I try to login. I never typed in a password!
When you initially register, a password is automatically generated for you. It is sent to the e-mail address you entered. Your first
port of call should be to check your e-mail mailbox for any messages from Swopster. Note that e-mails can take a little while to
travel through cyberspace, so you may need to wait a little while (up to an hour).
If no e-mail has been received, you can ask for it to be sent again by clicking on the Forgotten Password link at the top of the page and entering
your e-mail address again. Again, you may need to wait a little while for the e-mail to arrive.
I'm still waiting for my password e-mail - I've waited 10 minutes!
It can take a while for e-mails to be sent/received. We have no real control over this and can only ask folks to just be patient. Your
e-mail with registration information should arrive within an hour or so. If not, you can manually request another one via the Forgotten
Password link at the top of the page.
Am I Just Swapping With Folks In My Own Country?
The quick answer is yes.
Swopster can be used by anyone who is a resident of USA, UK, Canada, Australia or New
Zealand. However, when you initially create your account, you'll need to select which
one of these countries is appropriate.
After that, all game-related lists and statistics will only apply to your chosen
country.
If you accidentally select the wrong country when you create your account, simply
e-mail us to let us know and we'll sort it out for you.
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