Feedback from gamers wanted/needed!

Gingivitis

Gingivitis

CAG Veteran
I know, I’m a new guy, but don’t write me off just yet… here’s the deal. I googled around the net to find the best group of hardcore gamers. Gamers who know there stuff and aren’t afraid to speak up. I found you guys.


About two years ago I decided that getting screwed every time I walked into a game store to trade in my used games wasn’t much fun. I tried trading online, sometimes I got my games and sometimes, I apparently, just sent money to “DEaThlord59” for the hell of it. So I rounded up some up my programming pals and we went to work.

We need your expertise. We need you to rip it apart. Tell us what you hate, what you loath, what makes you throw up a little. Do you love certain aspects or think we should get rid of them entirely. Do you think it is a fair deal or a rip-off? BE BRUTALLY HONEST! After all, we built this site for gamers like us, and if gamers hate it… what’s the point.

The site is www.playswitch.com.

Thanks for all your help.
 
[quote name='Derrick1979']If this is Cheapy D ok'd then why has he not posted on this to confirm that>?[/QUOTE]

Becuase he often doesn't.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Becuase he often doesn't.[/quote]

OK then Mr Unoriginal go ahead and trade some of your games to these people and let us know how it works out...

im just a bit leary about this site because even down the the little art they use explaining the system they run reminds me a lot of those Gamestop/Ebgames trade-in Guides you see in store...

Alright original poster seeing you run a similar system to GS/EB with your own form of instore credit how much credit would you give for Guilty Gear X2 (PS2) and also the more people that sign up and start trading stuff in eventually wouldn't your trade in values go lower depending on the stock of certain items??
 
[quote name='Derrick1979']OK then Mr Unoriginal go ahead and trade some of your games to these people and let us know how it works out...

im just a bit leary about this site because even down the the little art they use explaining the system they run reminds me a lot of those Gamestop/Ebgames trade-in Guides you see in store...

Alright original poster seeing you run a similar system to GS/EB with your own form of instore credit how much credit would you give for Guilty Gear X2 (PS2) and also the more people that sign up and start trading stuff in eventually wouldn't your trade in values go lower depending on the stock of certain items??[/quote]
We started www.playswitch.com to avoid places that you had mentioned. We were tired of getting taken. We are gamers, just like you, and have been working, over two years, to get this site together. We really think it is a way to trade, buy, and sell games for value!

We DO NOT set prices or values for any games. It is up to you to set the value to trade, sell, or buy. Trade values are only what you make them and based on each user NOT the number of a certain title available. (If a user doesn't really want your game, they probably won't want to pay or trade a high amount for it.) So I'm not sure what you would get for Guilty Gear X2, it depends on what other people would pay for it.

We did have to make our own type of credit because the banks wouldn't let us use cash. The credit is used if two games are not equal in value (which users determine), users can then trade a game/credit amount for another game to make it even. It is a barter system that works. Game trades go directly to other traders not us.

It's free to use so take a look.
 
PlaySwitch.com uses advanced web technology, which relies heavily on Microsoft's .NET architecture.

PlaySwitch.com has been optimized for Internet Explorer 7; however, we are currently working on optimization for other browsers, which will be available soon!
Click to expand...

IE 7, no thanks bub. Even if I didn't use a Mac I wouldn't touch IE 7 with a 10 foot pole. It's caused us nothing but grief at work. It's not a good start to lose customers before they even get into the store.
 
[quote name='Gingivitis']We started www.playswitch.com to avoid places that you had mentioned. We were tired of getting taken. We are gamers, just like you, and have been working, over two years, to get this site together. We really think it is a way to trade, buy, and sell games for value!

We DO NOT set prices or values for any games. It is up to you to set the value to trade, sell, or buy. Trade values are only what you make them and based on each user NOT the number of a certain title available. (If a user doesn't really want your game, they probably won't want to pay or trade a high amount for it.) So I'm not sure what you would get for Guilty Gear X2, it depends on what other people would pay for it.

We did have to make our own type of credit because the banks wouldn't let us use cash. The credit is used if two games are not equal in value (which users determine), users can then trade a game/credit amount for another game to make it even. It is a barter system that works. Game trades go directly to other traders not us.

It's free to use so take a look.[/QUOTE]

ummm isnt there already a site like this (ebay or switchplanet)

way too many switch places online now
 
[quote name='macdude22']IE 7, no thanks bub. Even if I didn't use a Mac I wouldn't touch IE 7 with a 10 foot pole. It's caused us nothing but grief at work. It's not a good start to lose customers before they even get into the store.[/QUOTE]

So the workers are idiots. IE7 works just fine for 90% of the population - which is exactly why they used it.
 
IE7 users only?! what the crap is that?!

theres probably going to be alot of lowballing on this site if people are to trade for equal value. kinda like gametz. alot of lowballing idiots. but i wouldnt know for sure since its IE7 only.
 
Great feedback everyone!!! Keep your thoughts coming. We'll tweak the design to work around your ideas and what gamers really want! We want this site to truly be... build for gamers... by gamers!
 
Well to give you something to start with, make your site work with firefox! I'm not going to bother looking at it unless you make that change. Maybe you should tell us what the site is for? If you want help, then you need to give us everything you can :)
 
[quote name='CHARYODA']Well to give you something to start with, make your site work with firefox! I'm not going to bother looking at it unless you make that change. Maybe you should tell us what the site is for? If you want help, then you need to give us everything you can :)[/quote]


Ok, here's a little blurb that should help.

[FONT=&quot]www.playswitch.com is a FREE peer-to-peer game trading, buying, and selling, site with no user ranking system to climb. Playswitch.com uses safe online trading where all transactions can be guaranteed. Site users determine game value by turn-based, real-time bartering to get real value for used games. A powerful search engine will match users based on games they have and games they want to make trading easy and safe.

So that's it in a nutshell.

Believe me, Fire Fox is the first tweak we're making. IE was easier to work with because the site was created with [/FONT][FONT=&quot]ASP.NET AJAX. [/FONT]
 
dude, another thread about your site? you can either choose between this or the other... they might close one of them.

but yeah you pretty much came to the right place.
 
[quote name='phear3d']dude, another thread about your site? you can either choose between this or the other... they might close one of them.

but yeah you pretty much came to the right place.[/quote]

I've been reading a lot on these forums lately and everyone has great insight. Ditch the other thread if you can. I'd really like input from this thread.
 
[quote name='Gingivitis']I've been reading a lot on these forums lately and everyone has great insight. Ditch the other thread if you can. I'd really like input from this thread.[/quote]

if you could develop a great system to determine the value of games i think you might be on the right track there.
 
So there is no rating system for users? Sounds like the value of your switch points will degrade quickly once everyone starts getting ripped off and you have to give everyone points to make up for it...
 
[quote name='DreamSymphony']So there is no rating system for users? Sounds like the value of your switch points will degrade quickly once everyone starts getting ripped off and you have to give everyone points to make up for it...[/quote]


We’ve actually came up with a different way and have that covered. Each user has a status with the site itself based on positive and negative trades. Other traders can't see this rating so all users, new or long-time, will have equal trading power. We thought this would help with fair trading, and to not leave new users in the cold.

New users start of with two "stars". After one fraudulent act, they loose one star; after two, their account is cancelled. Positive transactions give you back "stars", but many more positive transactions are needed to receive just one star.

We also have a guarantee so people can't get taken, and have features in place for switchbuck buybacks in the future. So switchbucks will NEVER lose value. (We've thought about the economy of supply and demand in depth.)
 
[quote name='Diamondcrusher']your site works with firefox now. good for you.[/quote]

We still have some tweaks with FF, but it is well on its way. (FF is my browser of choice as well.)
 
[quote name='phear3d']if you could develop a great system to determine the value of games i think you might be on the right track there.[/quote]

Great idea! Maybe we could figure out a way to determine a fair price based on fair market value and supply/demand. Then we could give a ballpark estimate what we think the game is worth. Traders would still have the option of bartering any price/trade they want, but at least they would have an estimate.

One of the great things about the bartering system we created is that if you don't like where the deal is going, just cancel, or put in a value and send them a final offer which they have to take or leave. You’re never locked in, until you make an offer of your own or accept an offer made to you.
 
[quote name='slidecage']ummm isnt there already a site like this (ebay or switchplanet)

way too many switch places online now[/quote]

We made this site different. Instead of going to the highest bidder, or trading games for equal value (even when they are not), or selling to get credits and then buying. PlaySwitch.com is set up to actually barter for the price that both sides want. This promotes fair trading for buyers and sellers, not just one side. The barter (GameHaggle) system gives A LOT of flexibility.
 
[quote name='Gingivitis']Great idea! Maybe we could figure out a way to determine a fair price based on fair market value and supply/demand. Then we could give a ballpark estimate what we think the game is worth. Traders would still have the option of bartering any price/trade they want, but at least they would have an estimate.[/quote]
they started doing this on ebay awhile back. when you sell a game, you will also see how much the average selling price for your item. in my opinion, the only true value of a game is based on what people are buying them for on ebay.

i completely disagree with amazon.com's prices because they are heavily inflated due to the fact that a) they pay no fees to list their items, b)they can have their items listed for as long as they want c) they charge 15% for every item sold. so say i have a brand new copy of radiant silvergun, i'll sell it for $500, they get $75 off of that! this is why i dont base the value through amazon.

edit: $75 not $150
 
[quote name='phear3d']they started doing this on ebay awhile back. when you sell a game, you will also see how much the average selling price for your item. in my opinion, the only true value of a game is based on what people are buying them for on ebay.

i completely disagree with amazon.com's prices because they are heavily inflated due to the fact that a) they pay no fees to list their items, b)they can have their items listed for as long as they want c) they charge 15% for every item sold. so say i have a brand new copy of radiant silvergun, i'll sell it for $500, they get $150 off of that! this is why i dont base the value through amazon.[/quote]

Yeah, I know what you mean. Places like that love their profit margin. Hmmm... We've been talking about how to implement this concept and have a couple ideas the works.

Right now, it's set up this way.
If trader A believes - Metal Gear Halo is worth $50 and trader B believes it is worth $20 they can haggle until they find a price and/or trade that is somewhere in the middle. Both traders have equal input in a barter (GameHaggle).
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']So the workers are idiots. IE7 works just fine for 90% of the population - which is exactly why they used it.[/QUOTE]

Well good for them, doesn't change the fact they lost a customer before I even got in the door when by adhering to some more supported standards they could have had a wider audience. That's their business choice. It may or may not be the wrong one, but I've never heard that more customers over less customers is a bad thing.

And for your information IE7 broke a lot of our web services which are purchased from 3rd parties and beyond our control, it's taken these vendors months to patch their products, some still haven't approved IE 7 for use (though it may or may not work).
 
[quote name='macdude22']Well good for them, doesn't change the fact they lost a customer before I even got in the door when by adhering to some more supported standards they could have had a wider audience. That's their business choice. It may or may not be the wrong one, but I've never heard that more customers over less customers is a bad thing.

And for your information IE7 broke a lot of our web services which are purchased from 3rd parties and beyond our control, it's take these vendors months to patch their products, some still haven't approved IE 7 for use (though it may or may not work).[/QUOTE]

They are adding more browsers. From a business standpoint, if you had to pick one browser to start with, it'd be IE, hands down.

And no offense, but I might work with more competent third parties.
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']They are adding more browsers. From a business standpoint, if you had to pick one browser to start with, it'd be IE, hands down.

And no offense, but I might work with more competent third parties.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately Blackboard is the industry standard company in the biz ( university online service type systems) , there's not much else to go to. Maybe Desire2Learn but Blackboard in general offers more compelling features. We had blocked Windows Update from installing it on our university owned units, but alas there was little that could be done to stop MS from forcing it down to all our students. The simple fact is that these type of "niche" vendors are notoriously slow to react to any major changes in OS's and Browsers, and what are you to do, they really have you by the balls a lot of times. Some of our library databases had/have issues as well with IE7. But alas enough of the thread jacking.

I understand your position on the situation, and I can understand Playswitch's decision to only support IE at this point. However they want comments and until I see at a minimum their site is well supported on Firefox I won't be trying them out. I like the idea, but the execution doesn't work for me right now.
 
[quote name='macdude22']Unfortunately Blackboard is the industry standard company in the biz ( university online service type systems) , there's not much else to go to. Maybe Desire2Learn but Blackboard in general offers more compelling features. We had blocked Windows Update from installing it on our university owned units, but alas there was little that could be done to stop MS from forcing it down to all our students. The simple fact is that these type of "niche" vendors are notoriously slow to react to any major changes in OS's and Browsers, and what are you to do, they really have you by the balls a lot of times. Some of our library databases had/have issues as well with IE7. But alas enough of the thread jacking.

I understand your position on the situation, and I can understand Playswitch's decision to only support IE at this point. However they want comments and until I see at a minimum their site is well supported on Firefox I won't be trying them out. I like the idea, but the execution doesn't work for me right now.[/QUOTE]

Are you saying it's Blackboard that can't adapt, or the 3rd party vendors to Blackboard?

BB works fine for me in every browser I've tried it in.
 
Blackboard works now (they patched it earlier summer), at the time when MS started pushing down IE7 as a recommended update there were some glitches. Datatel also had some IE7 growing pains, but recent patches seems to have cleared them up as well.

Again if you like IE, thats fine as can be but I don't and won't be considering this site until they at least support Firefox (and ideally Opera and Safari, but thats more of a want, I expect sites these days to support Firefox and IE, I'd like them to support others after that but by no means do I expect it).

Like I said I understand their decision but I'm not going to change my computer usage for some random company, as a business it's their job to try and woo me. If that means supporting other browsers then so be it. I'm not convinced of the sustainability of the company either. Since it appears the only form of revenue is the playswitch guarantee for a dollar. If everyone chooses to go that route maybe, but if everyone goes the free route there's no revenue. I'd rather see them charge the buck per trade all the time, not just for the guarantee but simply for the fact that there needs to be some sustainable revenue for them. I've been happy with goozex, but I like the playswitch trading model and even if I don't use them I'd like them to succeed because I hate seeing people go to GS and get 10 bucks for a 40-50 dollar game.
 
[quote name='phear3d']IE7 users only?! what the crap is that?!

theres probably going to be alot of lowballing on this site if people are to trade for equal value. kinda like gametz. alot of lowballing idiots. but i wouldnt know for sure since its IE7 only.[/quote]

There's also alot of the same HERE, with people saying 'my game or guide is worth more than that' or 'i'm also charging xyz for my time packaging it and travel time to the po to ship it out'.

Yet, if you try the same, it's OUTRAGEOUS.

This is why, if I'm interested in someones stuff from their TL on here anymore, I shoot them a PM for a trade only and make sure I either have or can get something they're looking for.

If they don't wanna trade and fire back an outrageous quote for the item I want, I tell them no thanks and move on.

As for this site that's being :spam: here, I just gotta say ANOTHER TRADE SITE?!?!
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']
As for this site that's being :spam: here, I just gotta say ANOTHER TRADE SITE?!?![/quote]
thats what i thought about of this site. too many trading sites. i usually only trade on cag and goozex cause its easier. gametz is good but theres just way too many idiots floating around. plus im not really sure if i like it anyways thats probably why.

luckily though, on cag there isnt really as much. i mean there are the usuall "im trading you 2 games, and youre only giving me one" bs and the stuff you mentioned about how people usually have no general idea on how much the current value of X.
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']Are you saying it's Blackboard that can't adapt, or the 3rd party vendors to Blackboard?

BB works fine for me in every browser I've tried it in.[/quote]

Can you and macdude start a new thread to argue with each other? Thanks...

Back on topic. The site looks pretty cool, but I would take the lame cartoon characters off. It makes it seem kinda seem like a junior college for video game design site. Just my 2 cents.
 
[quote name='phear3d']thats what i thought about of this site. too many trading sites. i usually only trade on cag and goozex cause its easier. gametz is good but theres just way too many idiots floating around. plus im not really sure if i like it anyways thats probably why.

luckily though, on cag there isnt really as much. i mean there are the usuall "im trading you 2 games, and youre only giving me one" bs and the stuff you mentioned about how people usually have no general idea on how much the current value of X.[/quote]

Of course, there's also the sought after guide for game trades. I just did a trade not long ago where I swapped a Shadow Hearts: FTNW guide for a mint, complete copy of Rygar for PS2. So, I gotta say that was definitely a great deal. And just after that, I traded a disc only Poy Poy for a disc only Treasures Of The Deep. Both deals from CAG, both from great traders.

I'd be confused by the 'you gotta buy a token to do a trade' or whatever the currency for that particular trading site is called. I mean, many claim 'free' trades, but yet you have to buy a token or whatever to do it? Anyway, best of luck to whoever joins the site in this thread, but the only reason I'd join a site would be for a contest(ala the Goozex PS3 or Wii contest for new members a bit ago).
 
they gotta do something to bring people in like promotions and contest like what goozex does. in a site where you know nothing of and a community that has yet to proove its own i think a few people would be a bit skeptikal to join.
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']So the workers are idiots. IE7 works just fine for 90% of the population - which is exactly why they used it.[/quote]


I respectfully disagee with you. IE7 causes no end of grief in a corporate environment.
 
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