When you Show interest, you are looking to see if anything you have to offer appeals to the other user. Showing interest is a non-binding way to start communicating and showing the other person what you can offer for their item. When you Show interest you are able to select as many or few of your listings to show the other user and there is an area where you can add a message that you think may help a deal progress.

Once you have sent your Show of interest, the other member will get a Swapz message telling them you are interested.

Within the swapz message is a blue link that will take you to see what item(s) they are prepared to offer for yours.

At this point you can reject their show of interest or you can view the full item details by clicking on the thumbnail image.

If you like what they have offered simply reply to their swapz message and ask them to make a Proposal.

Clicking this link will take you to a new screen where you can firstly select which of your items you’d like to offer for theirs and also add a message for the other member. The other member get a swapz message notifying them of your proposal and within it will be a blue link to take them to see what you are offering them.

Clicking the blue link takes you to a page where you can click to view the full listing of what has been offered or reject the proposal. If you do reject a proposal please reply to the other member as you would like to be replied to yourself!

When you view the full listing you have 3 options – Accept the proposal, Reject the proposal or Ask a question if you feel you need more information before agreeing a deal. Again, if you do reject a proposal at this stage please reply to the other member as you would like to be replied to yourself!

Accepting the proposal starts the full Swapping Process.

You are taken to a new screen where you enter your name and address for the other user to send their item to.

When your details have been filled in and you click on the blue ACCEPT button 2 messages are sent to the other member. One tells them that you have accepted their proposal – the other tells them that you have set up your delivery address which they can view at any time, along with other swap details at My Account > Swaps in progress. The other user is also prompted to set their delivery address.

Once both members have set their delivery addresses they are prompted in My Account > Swaps in progress to send their item to the address you have provided.

You can still withdraw from a swap at this point – it only once one user has marked their item as sent that it is not possible to do so.

When you do mark your item as sent, you select the date you sent it, choose how it was sent from the drop-down menu and there is an area to add comment or tracking numbers.

It is most important that you only send items when the swap has been completed through the system. This ensures visibility on the rare occasions problems occur and all information regarding the deal is needed.

Once both members have confirmed their items have been sent, the next stage is for them both to confirm they have received their expected items. This is also confirmed in My Account > Swaps in progress. Just find the swap in your list and click on the grey coloured VIEW button. At the top of the swap details you will be prompted to confirm receipt of your item.

When both members have confirmed receipt the swap is completed and it is now time for the final stage – Rating the swap.

Rating the swap is hugely important to both swappers and the whole community. This lets other users know how prompt, reliable and easy to deal with you are. Your rating profile is often a decider in if another user wants to deal with you!

To leave your rating go to My Account > Swap history and on the left hand side there is a Feedback required link and a number next to it showing how many feedbacks you need to leave.

Clicking on the Feedback required link takes you to the list of swaps needing feedback. To the right of each swap in the list is a grey VIEW button to click on. This takes you to a page showing all the swap’s details and at the top is the blue prompt to rate the deal.

Rating is marked in 3 areas, each out of 5 marks: Description accuracy of the item, quality of communication between the 2 members and the speed in which the item was sent. You can also leave comment about your swapz experience. Please only leave comments that will be helpful to the community and of the type you would like to receive yourself!

You can view the rating you have left and the rating left for you by going to My Account > Swap history  and using the grey VIEW button to see the whole’s swap’s details and comments.

Or you can add it from the My Account > My Listings page

First you select whether the listing is for Something you have or Something you want. If you are listing something you have, it is at this point that you select whether it is a Swap item, an item for Sale or something you just want to Give away. You then choose which main category and subcategory your item belongs in. It is important to choose your category carefully as other members will be searching for items based on the category they belong in.

Following the simple on-screen instructions you will now give your listing a title, add a description, define the area of the country you live, add the name of your town or city and finally confirm your postcode. Other users do not see your postcode but it is used by the swapz system for calculating the mileage distance between swappers.

Next you the chance to add notes of what types of item you would like to get for yours. You also use the drop-down menu to show a value range for the item you are listing. Users who are more interested in getting something they want for something they no longer need tend to set the value at 1 penny – this shows the swap is more important that the item’s correct value.

Now it’s time to add images to your listing – you can add up to 8. You can do this by either clicking the Attach picture link and browsing your computer for files – or you can drag and drop an image file into the Drop files here area.

You now review your ad before either Listing it or saving it to Drafts. If you are Facebook Connected you can also post your listing to Facebook at the same time.

At any time during the process you can use the back button to change something you have previously chosen or written. Alternatively, you can edit a listing at any time in My Account > My Listings > Edit Info.

Finally, listings can only be made when you agree to and accept the swapz Listing Rules. These are linked from the foot of every page of the site. Ads that break our Listing Rules may be removed without any warning or notification.