Newbie Video

How to bid

1)  Click on ‘Swap Zones’ to see what’s available.

2)  Search for something or

3)  Read the items description carefully and make sure it matches the posted photo and title. Tip: Watch out for certain wording. Something that is described as “like” a brand name item, isn’t the brand name item.

4)  Check the Seller’s star rating. Avoid sellers who have received a lot of negative ratings. Sellers with high ratings have completed lots of successful transactions and are more likely to send the item as described with no hassle

5)  Get bidding – type in your bid. Swapit will notify you if another bidder outbids you!

6)  Bidding will hot up towards the end of the auction, start monitoring your auction a few minutes before it ends so that you can place a counter bid if necessary

How to earn

You can earn swapits in four ways:

1)  Doing fun stuff like playing games, entering competitions and filling out surveys. You invest your time, we reward you.

2)  Trade things you don’t want anymore – e.g. DVDs, computer games, toys, makeup etc. Click here for how to swap.

3)  Invite your mates to join Swapit

4)  Unlock badges by doing things on the website - look up your badges on your dashboard here to find out how.

How to add a swap

1)  To add a swap click on the ‘Add a Swap’ tab at the top of the page. To show what you’re selling, choose a specific category for your auction.

2)  Title your auction and write a nice, detailed, honest item description. Include some keywords in the description to make it easier for others to find your auction through searches (i.e. “DVD, Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, Hogwarts etc”).

3)  Add a photo. Click the ‘select files’ button under ‘Upload images’ to upload them to your Swap. Make sure the photo is clear and well lit.

4)  Set the opening bid for your auction by entering your Swap’s start value. The lower you set it, the more bidders you will attract – if you are unsure have a look at some similar items.

5)  Choose the length of time you want your auction to remain open for – typically 5-7 days. Tip: Avoid ending auctions on weekdays before 3pm though, potential bidders won’t be around!

6)  Spell check your title and description to avoid a lower auction price.

7)  Once the auction has ended you will need to post your swap to Swapit. If you are unsure how to do this, check out the  next help section.

8)  It is important that you are certain you are able to send in your swap. Members who don't send in their items on time will lose star rating points and receive a warning email. Further cancellations in the future may result in their accounts being closed.

How to post

1. After your swap has been sold you have 14 days to send it in to Swapit. However, if we receive it within 5 days you will receive 15 bonus swapits and extra user rating points for each item.
2. Be sure to wrap you items carefully and securely. Any items that get damaged on their way to Swapit will be returned to the swapper.
3. Once your item is packed, write your username and swap number(s) on the outside. (You will get a swap number via email for each item you sell after it has been sold)
4. Stamps - First, affix enough stamps for your item(s) to get to Swapit. Then you need to include the same amount of stamps again for us to send the item to the winner (Forwarding Stamps). If you're not sure how many stamps you need, have a look at the Royal Mail price chart.
5. If you have more than one swap to send, it's cheaper to send them together in a single package. Simply:
   
   • Pack each item individually with your username and its swap number written on it
   • Affix enough stamps to each item for us to send it to the winner
   • Affix a single set of stamps to one larger package containing all of your swaps

Confused? Give us a call on 0800 56 77 340

Standard, Recorded or Special Deliveries

All standard, Recorded or Special Deliveries should be sent to:

Swapit Postroom
PO Box 70160
London
WC1A 9GP

For items sent via Special Delivery, please do NOT use a 'Deliver by 9am' service as no-one will be available to sign for your package.

Sending multiple swaps via Parcel Force or Courier

If you are sending large numbers of swaps in a single package via Parcel Force or courier, please only use our street address:

Swapit HQ
4th Floor
Parker Tower
43-9 Parker Street
London
WC2B 5PS

Please be aware that couriered mail cannot be delivered to a PO Box under any circumstances.

What if you haven't received my swap?

If you think your swap has been lost in the post, you can click here to get more info on how to get compensation from Royal Mail for lost post.
Then email us at info@swapit.co.uk with your nickname, swap number, swap title and date when you posted it – or give us a tinkle on the Swapit Hotline: 0800 56 77 340.

	First Class		Second Class
	Stamps / Online Postage		Stamps / Online Postage
Weight	Price		Price
Letter
0-100g	60p		50p
Large Letter
0-100g	90p		69p
101-250g	£1.20		£1.10
251-500g	£1.60		£1.40
501-750g	£2.30		£1.90
Packet	Small parcel	Medium parcel	Small parcel	Medium parcel
Up to 1kg	£3.00	£5.65	£2.60	£5.20
Up to 2kg	£6.85	£8.90	£5.60	£8.00
Up to 5kg	-	£15.10	-	£13.35
Up to 10kg	-	£21.25	-	£19.65
Up to 15kg	-	£32.40	-	£27.70
Up to 20kg	-	£32.40	-	£27.70
Inclusive compensation	£20	£20	£20	£20
Prices in this table are exempt from VAT.

Badges

What are Badges?
Swapit Badges are awesome; that’s what! They are rewards that you unlock based on your achievements and activity on the Swapit site. Once you’ve unlocked Swapit Badges, you can proudly show them to friends and compare them with other Swappers. And when you’re sizing up other Swappers to see how active or trustworthy they may be, check out their Swapit Badges – that’ll show you how they roll!

How do I unlock Badges?
Simple. To see how to unlock the Badges, just check out your dashboard or your public profile. As well as the Badges that we DO show you how to unlock, we also release occasional ‘stealth Badges’ – a bunch of special Badges which we DON’T tell you how to unlock; you have to work those badboys out by yourself! We do release little clues though, particularly through our Facebook and Twitter – so make sure you follow us on both those web-spaces and keep your eyes peeled like an orange!

So how does it work?
When you unlock a Badge, a message will pop up on-screen telling you which one you’ve unlocked. Then you’ll be able to view your shiny new treasure on your dashboard and public profile. Other Swappers will also be able to drool over the Badges you’ve unlocked when they visit your profile page.

How do I know how close I am to unlocking a badge?
There is a small Badge icon on the Toolbar at the bottom of your screen. When you click on the icon, a screen is shown with a list of Badges that you are close to unlocking, with tips on how to unlock each one. Have a nosey through the tips then you’ll be ready to get un-locking!

What are Stealth Badges? Why can't I see a list of them?
Stealth Badges are special Badges that are either super-challenging or no longer possible to achieve. You may stumble across some by pure luck; others may be part of a promotion. We’ll occasionally give you clues about unlocking Stealth Badges on our Facebook and Twitter pages. When you’re lucky enough to unlock a Stealth Badge, pat yourself on the back and take pride in being part of a very exclusive Swapit club. Then go and brag about it to all your mates! :)

Why are certain Badges not showing up as unlocked when I know I did them but others are?
Even though Swapit is the greatest site in the history of the flippin’ interweb, even we are not perfect. The site was created in a land before Badges, which means that whilst we were able to back-track most Badges, some Badges that you may have already completed actions for before the feature launched will need to be completed again.

The all new Badges have been launched in September 2010. We have done our best to credit as many Badges as possible to our existing Swappers. Members of the Swapit Support Team will not be able to unlock any Badges for past achievements.

Will there be any more Badges in the future?
Absolutely! Our Swapit scientists are currently brewing-up some new, weird and wonderful Badges that you Swappers will be able to get your paws on by doing all manner of swap-tastic tasks! Watch this space and hold on to your hat. And your Badges.

Friends & Followers

Friends
You love Swapit right? Well don’t just keep us to yourself, amigo; tell your friends and earn loads of swapits for doing so! For every one of your friends that accepts an invitation email from you and joins Swapit, you'll get 25 swapits!

Spread the word and earn swapits

Followers
Following is an awesome new feature on Swapit that lets you keep an eye on your favourite swappers! So if you’re bananas about computer games, and there’s a Swapper who regularly swaps cool ones, you should click ‘Follow’ on their profile. Then every time they post a new item, you get an alert! Cool huh? Damn right.

As soon as any Swappers you are following add a swap, they will appear on the activity section on your dashboard.

Other Swappers can follow you too! When a Swapper is following you, it means that they get an update every time you post a new item. The more followers you have, the more eyeballs you’ll have eyeballing your newly added auctions!

Rules

Dear Swapper, please follow these simple rules and guidelines to make sure that Swapit.co.uk remains a lovely place for Swappers to swap!

Joining
1.  Check that your mum, dad or guardian is happy for you to join Swapit.co.uk
2.  Only open ONE Swapit account
3.  Enter your correct details when you join

Swapping
4.  To prevent any disappointment, it is important that you are absolutely certain you are willing and able to send in your swap. Members who don't send in their items on time will lose star rating points and receive a warning email. Further cancellations in the future may result in their accounts being banned from the site.
5.  Only swap stuff that belongs to you
6.  Only swap stuff that you can send in within 14 days
7.  Don’t swap stuff that is damaged or in bad condition
8.  Don’t trade any items on our ‘Swaps you cannot trade’ list (see below)
9.  Always include enough forwarding stamps
10.  Always send your swaps in as quickly as possible
11. Always explain EXACTLY what you are swapping in your swap title
12. Bids cannot be cancelled so always be absolutely sure you want the swap before you make a bid

Swaps You Cannot Trade
•  Anything rude or offensive, including attached images
•  Any rude words/swearwords in your description
•  Copied/fake items (it is illegal to copy and sell copied CDs, DVDs etc)
•  Items that may be dangerous
•  Items that are damaged or in bad condition
•  Items too large/heavy to be sent by normal post
•  Anything containing personal messages, links to websites, email addresses or any other personal information
•  'Lucky dip' or 'mystery' swaps that do not explain EXACTLY what the bidder will receive
•  Used make-up
•  Aerosol sprays
•  Used pierced jewellery
•  Dirty clothing
•  Underwear
•  Any kind of weapon
•  Internal PC components
•  Food
•  iTunes vouchers
•  Gift cards with silver panels scratched off
•  Legal tender/current currency
•  Voucher codes
•  DVDs from regions any region other than Europe (region 2)
•  DVDs or video games rated 18
•  Laser pointers
•  Reserved Swaps, e.g. Swaps that are described as for a particular person

* Swapit may also remove other items if we think they shouldn’t be traded on Swapit.co.uk

Star Rating

You can check how many successful swaps a Swapper has made by checking how twinkling their star rating is! Each swap shows the coloured star for that swapper and if you click on the swapper’s nickname you can also see their rating points score.

The stars

	Negative rating
	0-4 rating points
	5-24 rating points
	25-74 rating points
	75-249 rating points
	250-999 rating points
	1000+ rating points

The rating points

+3 rating points	Successful swaps received in 5 days
+1 rating point	Successful swaps received in 14 days
-3 rating points	Cancelled swaps not sent in on time
-4 rating points	Cancelled swaps not as described

Reminders

Get your last minute bids in!
To help you get a crafty last-minute bid in, ALL Swapit auctions allow you to set reminders you can set email reminders 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes before any auction ends. Your reminders can come by email or SMS text message.

SMS reminders
As well as setting email reminders to alert you when an auction’s almost finished, you can also set a reminder to alert you via text message. Email reminders are unlimited and free. However, at the mo, SMS reminders are free but are limited to 5 per account. This might change soon though – and if it does, you can bet your bum that we’ll let you know right away!

Click here to register your mobile number

My Account

Your Dashboard

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Your dashing Dashboard is the page where you’ll land every time you log-in to your Swapit account. It’s kinda like your front-door (if Swapit was your house!). The dashboard is broken up into the following bits:

Home

Statements

My Details

Public Profile

Your Public Profile

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Your public profile is the page that other Swappers will see when they click on your username link anywhere on the site. It’s all about YOU!

Don’t worry though, it’s not personal info (such as who you fancy and embarrassing stories and stuff) it’s just the following:
Your usernameYour Star RatingYour account ageThe amount of followers you haveAny badges you may have unlockedYour Top WantsYour Top 5 interests Your current live Swaps

o	Your username
o	Your Star Rating
o	Your account age
o	The amount of followers you have
o	Any badges you may have unlocked
o	Your Top 5 interests
o	Your current live Swaps

Sensitive info such as your date of birth, your address or your email address will never be disclosed on this page or any page on Swapit – we like to keep your private stuff private, thank you very much.