get rid of things you do not like, for things you do !
Disadvantages:
double the postage, some members dont send, pop - ups sometimes get in way
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Imagine an eBay for children and you have captured the essence of Swapitshop. Designed as an auction site for children, it allows its members to auction off their old items such as CD albums, DVDs, toys, video games, books and more for "swapits" (the currency used on the website). You then use these "swapits" to bid on other items offered by the 300,000 members using the website and hurrah, you get your item!
There are in total 10 categories on the site, (they are noted below) and each category has several sub-categories so you know exactly where to put your item that you want to "swap" or to find the perfect item for yourself!
All you do to register on the site is press "Join" on the homepage and enter your details; such as your name, address, email, create a username and password and state where you heard about the site. Once you have done this, you are a member of the site and automatically receive 10 swapits just for joining. To be honest this is nowhere near how much you are going to need if you want to bid on serious items like video games, albums and even mp3 players or consoles, but as they say...it is a start!
Swapits and what it means:
Swapits are worth around 400 to a £1, so you will need to sell a few things to get you moving and the bank balance improving. The cheapest items on SS (Swapitshop) are usually trading cards like Pokemon or YuGiOh and these go for a few swapits per card, the most expensive items tend to be video game consoles and the latest box-sets of series like 24, The Simpsons, Family Guy and Lost which go around the 2k-5k mark depending on what console and how popular the item is.
There is an abundance of new special frenzy's on the website and these are items which are on promotion and sold directly by SS. The rest of the items which SS are not selling themselves belong to other members, there is a minority who do not bother sending in their items. I don't really want to drag on too much about these members but when you are a newcomer and bidding on items, always make sure that your seller has a high number and a gold or green star next to their id, as thing means that they are a good swapper and are trustworthy. Red star swappers should be avoided like the plague as they are untrustworthy and will fail to send in their items.
Selling your item/Sending it in:
When you want to put something up for auction, you grab the item and photograph it or scan it (this is very helpful to the bidders so that they know exactly what they are bidding on).
Then log in to SS and click on "Add Swap," choose the category that best befits your chosen item (e.g. Kodak Camera would go in the Gadgets section and then Camera sub-section).
In the title spot, describe what the item is called stating its condition briefly (Kodak Z730 New Condition!) and underneath describe it in under 255 characters, what it contains, how it works, even why you are selling it.
You now have a choice to add a photo of the item (the one you took/scanned before).
Then in the Star Value box, choose what would be the minimum price you would want to start the bidding off (say 5000 swapits for example) and in the close now value, how much you would be willing to let it go for. You do not have to fill this box, because if you want you can let it go to highest bidder after 7/14 days!
Then choose if you want to list your item for 7 or 14 days. Submit and hey presto, you've put it on a site viewed by 300,000 members!
Now, you would now have to wait until the item was won by another member, recieve an email from SS informing you that it has been sold and be told to send the item off to the Swapitshop Post Room so that it can then be forwarded on to the winning bidder.
Negatives:
1. You have to pay double the postage, so if you put a nunber of stamps on the front of the package, you will have to put the same number of stamps on the back of the package as it is you who is paying for the bidder to receive it, as well as the SS warehouse which forwards it on.
2. Some members do not send the items in, if this is the case they are given 14 days to send in the items, after 7 days they are sent emails warning them to send the item. If they do not send within the 14 day period, you are sent an email asking you if you would be willing to wait longer for your swap or if you want to cancel and be refunded the swapits.
3. Postage issues, sometimes when I have sent off items in the post they do not always make it to the SS warehouse, this is particularly frustrating as you have to ring up SS (they say you should email but the response takes 3 days) and complain. The same thing for when they say you have not put enough stamps on the package despite you weighing it down the local Post Office, just ring them up and explain the situation and all is cleared up within 5 mins!
In all, despite the problems that you may encounter, this is a gem of a site. You get the chance to get so many cool things like DVD's, promo games, albums posters for free, pretty much anything you want as long as you save up and commit to it, (and it helps if you have a ton of spare stamps!)
Please note that this review is also under dooyoo, with my username there kobbing
More details
Content Update
Very often
Security & Privacy Statement
Excellent
Search Facility
Good
Bid Tracking Function
Excellent
Ability to Customise
None
Customer Service Support
Good
Client Number / Order Number
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