{"id":229,"date":"2014-02-06T16:34:07","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T16:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.swappa.com\/?p=229"},"modified":"2014-02-06T17:55:38","modified_gmt":"2014-02-06T17:55:38","slug":"our-listing-review-and-approval-process-part-1-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/our-listing-review-and-approval-process-part-1-of-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Listing Review and Approval Process – Part 1 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

One thing that separates Swappa from other marketplaces is our thorough\u00a0listing review and approval process.<\/p>\n

We wanted to take this opportunity to explain how we go about evaluating each listing for approval, and what goes into each decision. \u00a0We have more checks in place to protect both the buyer and the seller than any other site. \u00a0Are we perfect? \u00a0No – but nobody<\/em> is when you\u2019re dealing with used devices.<\/p>\n

The fact of the matter is – and this is important to understand for any potential buyer – any time you\u2019re dealing in the \u201csecondary\u201d or used market for devices (i.e. you didn\u2019t purchase directly from the carrier or an official retailer), there are no guarantees<\/em> – whether it’s Craigslist, Ebay, or even Swappa. \u00a0If you\u2019re buying a device from another individual or from a reseller (who buys from other individuals), the most you can do is lower your risk as much as possible, and our evaluation process does just that.<\/p>\n

Each listing is like a puzzle with many pieces that have to fit together in order to be approved. \u00a0Some of the puzzles are very easy – they\u2019re basically a bunch of squares that fit together perfectly with no difficulty. \u00a0But sometimes they can be really complicated with a bunch of tiny discombobulated pieces. \u00a0Of course, a majority of listings fall somewhere in between those two extremes.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the factors we check when we first look at a listing, along with a quick description of each:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ESN \/ IMEI \/ MEID Check<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our system checks an IMEI number to make sure it\u2019s clear for activation. \u00a0It can also tell if it\u2019s still active on an account, as well as a part of an Equipment Installment Plan with a carrier like T-Mobile. \u00a0It will also show us the history of that device on Swappa – previous sales, users, etc. \u00a0FAQ<\/a><\/p>\n

Verification Photo<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This helps give us added proof that the device exists and is being sold by a real person who has the device in hand at the time of the listing. \u00a0It forces a seller to use an updated photo of the device as well. \u00a0FAQ<\/a>\u00a0 More Info<\/a><\/p>\n

IP Address<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our system recognizes IP addresses, both when the listing is created, and if it is updated from another location. \u00a0It will show us if an IP address is tied to other listings, other accounts, etc. \u00a0This helps us if there\u2019s a scammer opening up multiple accounts and creating fraudulent listings, or an ornery user trying to get around our checks by opening a new account. \u00a0It also shows originating city\/state\/country for the IP address.<\/p>\n

Other Photos and Description<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We usually double check the other photos in a listing as well, combined with the description, to make sure it matches up. \u00a0For example, if someone is selling an AT&T Galaxy S4, but the picture of the back of the phone has a Verizon logo on it, we\u2019re going to question that. \u00a0The IMEI check should also verify the carrier, but it would cause us to hesitate and ask the question.<\/p>\n

Paypal Email Verification<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not a deal killer if someone has a Paypal email that isn\u2019t verified, but we still check it. \u00a0If there is another issue with a listing, that combined with the unverified paypal is potentially a problem in our minds. \u00a0FAQ<\/a><\/p>\n

Seller History<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If we have a user who has sold over 100 devices and has 60 five-star feedbacks, we\u2019re going to give less scrutiny to him or her than a new seller. \u00a0Not only have they earned it, but we can trust if there is a problem after a sale, they make it right. \u00a0We\u2019ll still check the essentials like the IMEI, verification photo, and IP address, but won\u2019t get hung up if, for example, the screen isn\u2019t on in their verification photo. \u00a0On the flipside – if a seller has a poor history, we\u2019re going to be extra tough on them because a part of our job as facilitators of these transactions is to keep the process smooth, from start to finish. \u00a0Therefore, if a seller has a history of bumpy transactions, we\u2019re going to be more hesitant to approve future listings from them.<\/p>\n

All of those are basically \u201cblack and white\u201d issues – they represent our main checklist that we do for every single listing<\/em>. If any one of those don\u2019t check out, we dig for more info, or simply don\u2019t approve.<\/p>\n

However, with every listing there is potentially an entire area of \u201cgray\u201d items that extend from each of the factors listed above, as well as items we simply have to be aware of on a consistent basis. \u00a0In part two, we\u2019ll visit a few examples of those gray areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One thing that separates Swappa from other marketplaces is our thorough\u00a0listing review and approval process. We wanted to take this opportunity to explain how we go about evaluating each listing for approval, and what goes into each decision. \u00a0We have more checks in place to protect both the buyer and the seller than any other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,36],"tags":[],"products":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-swappa-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229"},{"taxonomy":"products","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/products?post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}