Playswap (was Goozex back in time): gone for good?

babaz75

babaz75

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hi fellows,
maybe someone else among you has noticed that PLayswap.eu (a swap trade gaming site born in february 2009 as Goozex.eu and later renamed) the site is OFFLINE since a week or so

up to a couple of days ago it showed a laconic "site is under an important upgrade. please be patient"

right now, it seems totally offline, no screens showed anymore.

so, is this the end? they surely had such a low profile status that i'm shocked they had not gone out of business well before, honestly...
 
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Yeah, I'm pissed off about this. I've got 2000 points sitting in my account, but it seems as if the site is pretty much unusable at the moment - and when it was online, there wasn't anything available. I'll see if I can find out anything about it.
 
[quote name='John']Yeah, I'm pissed off about this. I've got 2000 points sitting in my account, but it seems as if the site is pretty much unusable at the moment - and when it was online, there wasn't anything available. I'll see if I can find out anything about it.[/QUOTE]

yay John, pissed off here too. fortunately i had narrowed down my "exposure" lately with a bunch of DS games (anything ever available, that is...). I'm stuck with 750 points and 1 trade token since months...
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what a shame. such a nice idea fucked up by primitive and lacking administration.... they never gave a sh1t to the thousands of suggestions i left since the very beginning.
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well, i though it was just a matter of time...
 
so any news?
i sent out a mail yesterday afternoon... to the italian support center, as of now no reply inbox :(
btw: site seems to "react" again, showing something...

john, wassup?
 
Yeah, this really sucks... The site went offline somewhere last week. Then one day it seemed to work, but the points were somehow wrong - looked as if they had restored an older copy of the system from some backup tapes...

Just before the crash, I sent out 500 points worth of games, and was matched with a REZ owner...
 
I've received a few emails about my account becoming inactive after a 3 month period and like others when it did work I had an old figure of points and tokens.

My guess it the site broke and they only had a backup from over 3 month ago. If they can't restore a more recent backup, they wont come back. I feel sorry for people who are out of pocket but you must have seen this coming, it was dying a slow death.

Babaz you might have better luck by contacting Saori on facebook.

OT: Has anyone used Gaboom.co.uk as an alternative trading site?
 
[quote name='SirStuie']I've received a few emails about my account becoming inactive after a 3 month period and like others when it did work I had an old figure of points and tokens.

My guess it the site broke and they only had a backup from over 3 month ago. If they can't restore a more recent backup, they wont come back. I feel sorry for people who are out of pocket but you must have seen this coming, it was dying a slow death.

Babaz you might have better luck by contacting Saori on facebook.

OT: Has anyone used Gaboom.co.uk as an alternative trading site?[/QUOTE]

yeah, it happened to me too, the mail thing... it somewhat was like a flashback, mails from the past. weird, indeed. i could almost ear it slowly dying and pushing out desperate SOS messages.. yay!

it was a slow death, indeed.

i'm off facebook, hate that service. maybe (maybe) i have some personal emails lying around ... let's see what can be done

gaboom? let's have a look :)
 
I have (had?) over 3000 points and 2 trade credits.
This should in theory have gotten me 3 new games, as new games never come up it's not like I was expecting to get £120 of games from that but I'm still a decent amount out of pocket.
For months now i'd stopped adding my used games to my selling list and was going to quit once my points were used but nothing ever happened and I've been stuck with them for months.
I also got the inactive user for 3 month emails (6of them) despite checking in regularly.
 
quick update
the italian support mailer ([email protected]) replied to my asking mail. it turns out that SirStuie was pretty spot on. They're experiencing massive site trouble (likely, distruption of data, data loss and the like...) and trying their best to be back online.
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if it's taking so long (10 days are ages in web-time...) it could very well be a lack of recent and usable backup.
Pretty screwed up indeed
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let's see how it's goin on
 
[quote name='TheToiletDuck']Playswap.eu is working fine for me, i've logged in and everything[/QUOTE]

Dude, I can only admire the way you've travelled from an alternate dimension to boast about that, cuz as far as I can see it be dead!!

They best get it up and running again soone enough, by my reckoning 2 weeks is a bit of a long time for people to not start looking for alternatives (already checked out gaboom as mentioned above). Any longer and they're running the risk of people not even caring to check anymore.

On the brightside, I did just get an email telling me that PlaySwap misses me, which is nice as finally I have proof that there's an afterlife and at least one way communication is possible.
 
[quote name='monkelus']Dude, I can only admire the way you've travelled from an alternate dimension to boast about that, cuz as far as I can see it be dead!!

They best get it up and running again soone enough, by my reckoning 2 weeks is a bit of a long time for people to not start looking for alternatives (already checked out gaboom as mentioned above). Any longer and they're running the risk of people not even caring to check anymore.

On the brightside, I did just get an email telling me that PlaySwap misses me, which is nice as finally I have proof that there's an afterlife and at least one way communication is possible.[/QUOTE]

monkey, is it you?
how awesome, i was just missing your fine, writty hand...

those shitty Playswap times... how crap
 
I got 2 emails from them today. Apparently someone wants my copy of Boom Blox, which is nice. If only i could visit the website to accept or decline the trade. The other email was the game point change one they send out every few days.
Something must be working somewhere, just not here
 
[quote name='zzebedee']I got 2 emails from them today. Apparently someone wants my copy of Boom Blox, which is nice. If only i could visit the website to accept or decline the trade. The other email was the game point change one they send out every few days.
Something must be working somewhere, just not here[/QUOTE]

it works... in afterlife :)
 
[quote name='monkelus']Dude, I can only admire the way you've travelled from an alternate dimension to boast about that, cuz as far as I can see it be dead!!

They best get it up and running again soone enough, by my reckoning 2 weeks is a bit of a long time for people to not start looking for alternatives (already checked out gaboom as mentioned above). Any longer and they're running the risk of people not even caring to check anymore.

On the brightside, I did just get an email telling me that PlaySwap misses me, which is nice as finally I have proof that there's an afterlife and at least one way communication is possible.[/QUOTE]

Actually at the time i posted that I DID log in and stuff. I even added things to my queue and saw i had 2400 points to use.

It's down for me now as well but i wouldn't have posted that at the time just to troll.
 
A Polish website run by Italians, it was inevitable really.

Even if it does comeback (unlikely) the trust is gone. Someone here should test Gaboom and let everyone know if it works and is legit. I would test it myself but erm... ...
 
I've registered with Gaboom but i've not got round to trying owt yet. One of their options involves no cash changing hands so no risk of ripoff, might give that a try this weekend
 
[quote name='SirStuie']A Polish website run by Italians, it was inevitable really.

Even if it does comeback (unlikely) the trust is gone. Someone here should test Gaboom and let everyone know if it works and is legit. I would test it myself but erm... ...[/QUOTE]

i dont like the "sligthly" racist message, but in the end i agree with you. such an amatourish effort, deserved no right to endure the proof of time.

by the way it was NO polish site at all, it wa an italian firm all round. just it happened one of the main admins (saori) had a polish last name (macjiejak) but was totally italian...

about gaboom, does it support continental swappers too? it seems to me its' UK only... but i could be wrong
 
[quote name='babaz75']about gaboom, does it support continental swappers too? it seems to me its' UK only... but i could be wrong[/QUOTE]

Not officially, it seems. I registered on the site, and while it does allow you to select your country, it doesn't actually show up in the country field on your profile (which remains empty). Furthermore, even though the site gives you the option select your country, it also forces you to fill in a valid UK post code (I just went with AA00AA).

I did some research and found an interview with the founder of the company where she stated she plans to expand to Europe in the near future followed by the rest of the world at some point, so I guess they've already future-proofed the site somewhat.

Since you can get real cash for your games and have it wired to your PayPal account (and from your PayPal account to your bank account if you want), I suppose you could at least sell your games on Gaboom no matter where you live, but the UK members might not be too happy if they have to ship a game to Continental Europe, so buying/trading is probably out of the question. You could always PM the seller first though to see if they're OK with it and offer to cover the additional shipping costs.

I think I'll put up a few games with a note saying I live in The Netherlands and see how it goes.

Sucks that PlaySwap probably won't be coming back though. Sure, it was mismanagement hell, but at least the site was automated enough that it didn't matter most of the time. What it really needed was more members. I recognize many names in this thread because you were the only people who actually used the site.
 
[quote name='TheToiletDuck']Actually at the time i posted that I DID log in and stuff. I even added things to my queue and saw i had 2400 points to use.

It's down for me now as well but i wouldn't have posted that at the time just to troll.[/QUOTE]

Damn it, must've missed the magical window of opportunity. I knew it was phasing in and out of existence for a while.

I don't think we should count PlaySwap out completely just yet. Yes, it's run by amateurs (I hope anyway, if this is what counts for professional in Italy I'm a bit frightened), but the way the site randomly pops up with the build moving slightly further toward the present, it does seem like they're trying.

Hell, if they wanted to just screw us over and carry on bumbling around trying to make money they'd just whack up playswap circa 2009 and ignore the pain of the users. Then again I'm guessing the only reason that hasn't happened is they've tasted SirStuie's sweet wrath in the past and might be a bit scared themselves.

I'm gonna give 'em a month, then check out alternatives. In the meantime I'll whack PES 2010 on Gaboom and let ya know how it goes.

oh, and Babaz - yes it's me. I'm your internet stalker don't you know!?
 
@axersia
too complicated and - btw - i would not trust a company led by Mrs. Purple Tentacle "i'll take over... THE WORLD (lightning and thunderstrikes ensue...)"

@monkelus
you little noisy monkey. how can i get rid of you, HOW? :)
hope you find your place in Gabon... (lol)
 
Well they updated the page saying not to contact Goozex.com which is a bit rich considering they used to known Goozex name to get people in the door at the start...

At least it seems someone is still working on it. I hope no one lost too many points.
 
[quote name='SirStuie']Well they updated the page saying not to contact Goozex.com which is a bit rich considering they used to known Goozex name to get people in the door at the start...

At least it seems someone is still working on it. I hope no one lost too many points.[/QUOTE]

i lost :D 750 points and 1 trade token... not bad, considering the great amount of games i got from it since it's inception back in feb/2009
 
Well holy shit, they're back!

Too bad I kinda don't wanna continue using them at this point... But I'll at least try to get rid of those 350 points I still have left in my account.
 
It says I have 0 points... although I remember having 2000, but it was so long ago I can't be sure anymore. Either way I've completely lost confidence in the site, I won't be using it again.
 
well, colour me impressed!! i'd have gambled my house (which i don't own, of course) they would never ever come back from the land of the dead.
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and LOL, i got back with 2000 points and 5 trade tokens. When they died, i had just 750 points and 1 trade token left.
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i'm in shock
 
[quote name='babaz75']well, colour me impressed!! i'd have gambled my house (which i don't own, of course) they would never ever come back from the land of the dead.
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and LOL, i got back with 2000 points and 5 trade tokens. When they died, i had just 750 points and 1 trade token left.
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i'm in shock[/QUOTE]

Well if you don't tell anyone, neither will I:)

I notice they've canned the forums, can't blame 'em really. There was enough bitching about the site before this happened, I'm guessing at this point there are a lot of people out there wanting blood!

Now if you'll excuse me I've got a lot of randomly occuring points to spend before the site breaks again

[EDIT]

Bollox, all the games are rubbish... guess I'll have to risk waiting
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='monkelus']Well if you don't tell anyone, neither will I:)

I notice they've canned the forums, can't blame 'em really. There was enough bitching about the site before this happened, I'm guessing at this point there are a lot of people out there wanting blood!

Now if you'll excuse me I've got a lot of randomly occuring points to spend before the site breaks again[/QUOTE]

so we have a deal uh?

yeah, forums are canned and with them hundreds of rants and unusefull suggestions. funny enough.
to me it appears they have restored a site backup about a couple of months old.
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i don't know what to get, but defnitely wont use them in the future. that's been bad enough
 
might be worth leaving it a bit anyways, just had to clear out a load of games I've already traded from my offers list so who knows if there will be any left at all by the end of the week. Silly playSwap, if only they were run by anything even almost resembling a professional organisation. Ho-Hum...
 
Yeah, until most users clear their list, you will probably mostly get matched with outdated offers (sellers who have sold their games months ago).

It seems like they've restored a copy of the database from July or early August. I hope they've learnt their lesson to make daily backups!!!
 
Im quite surprised they restored such an old backup. Im only up 2 credits but imagine many have been more significantly affected, not to mention that every list must now be wrong.
 
This just in (mail box)

Playswap is back!
Hello ,
we are glad to announce that we fixed the tremendous problems that occured during these days.
We are awfully sorry for the inconvenience and, as a sign of goodwill, we are happy to give you 700 bonus points!
To redeem your bonus write an e-mail at [email protected], subject "700 bonus points" and specify your nickname.
You can contact us at help@playswap. eu if there is anything that doesn’t work properly.
Playswap has a new administration and we deeply believe that the site will grow very fast.
- The Playswap Team -
Click to expand...

now given the site resembles mostly a wasteland right away, i'm very tempted to ask for my bonus 7 hundred free points (on top of the other 1250 and counting)
because i'm filthy greedy, you know
 
and i've just red it carefuly... playswap does have a new administration? grow very fast?
well, it's a bit of a coincidence that a major breakdown occurs at the same time ownership changes hands... mmm, so suspicious. i'm in for a "bankrupcy" bailout (this would eventually explain the LOOOONG wait we saw...putting back online a simple backup usually does not require more than a month over the internets)
 
Yep, I got that too. The problem is that they can give away as many points as they want, people aren't going to trade there anymore... I have a huge request list and 2000 points to get rid of, but I'm not holding out much hope.
 
[quote name='John']Yep, I got that too. The problem is that they can give away as many points as they want, people aren't going to trade there anymore... I have a huge request list and 2000 points to get rid of, but I'm not holding out much hope.[/QUOTE]

yes, they somewhat lost the little userbase that was left after months of problems and ranting. They simply destroied their already thin user base.

good thing the queues has been shotnened dramatically, of course that means little when NOBODY won't ever trade out th egame you need.

let's see how things turn out.
 
So, I guess this is where everyone ended up.

Looks to me like the site is from sometime towards the end of July, probably the 21st-22nd? I'm amazed they could lose 3 months of data, and even more amazed they actually re-launched the site.

There are just loads of issues with the site design atm, links that don't work, error messages, etc, etc. And i've had two matches stuck with 1 hour remaining for about 12 hours now, so I guess that is broken too.

The thing that annoyed me the most wasn't the site going down (I understand these things can happen), but the lack of communication. There was just nothing out there.

The thing is, will anyone actually be selling any games on there atm? I certainly won't until i've shifted all these points, and I imagine everyone else will be feeling the same.
 
[quote name='Stefarno']So, I guess this is where everyone ended up.

Looks to me like the site is from sometime towards the end of July, probably the 21st-22nd? I'm amazed they could lose 3 months of data, and even more amazed they actually re-launched the site.

There are just loads of issues with the site design atm, links that don't work, error messages, etc, etc. And i've had two matches stuck with 1 hour remaining for about 12 hours now, so I guess that is broken too.

The thing that annoyed me the most wasn't the site going down (I understand these things can happen), but the lack of communication. There was just nothing out there.

The thing is, will anyone actually be selling any games on there atm? I certainly won't until i've shifted all these points, and I imagine everyone else will be feeling the same.[/QUOTE]

glad to read you again, stefarno - it's a safe harbor here on CAG :)
the lack of comunication has always been a major flaw in the Goozex/Playswap story, and one of the very causes to its failure.

i'm still trying to "siphoon-out" (ouch!) the most i can, but surely i'm not offering anything up for sale as long as anything MAJOR happens.

they say they have changed their administration... what does it mean anyway? have they changed the ownership or just the "tech guys" ?!?

that was so stupid and dumb, since the very beginning...
 
yes, i got matched up a couple of times... one answered he will ship it out on monday, the other one (a well known user...) got matched 2 times in a row but in the end will never ship.
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still life, but soooo small
 
I've got 2 games on the way now, so things are moving.

Had loads of matches for my games, but I have around 4000 points, so i'm getting some of those spent first.
 
You lucky bastards - been matched and cancelled with lost planet 2 twice now... still, can't complain. This is exactly as playswap has always worked and by my reckoning I'll be playing FFXIII for the next 5 years anyways...

...stupid titan trials!
 
I've seriously had about 15 offer matches. Delayed them all, for now at least.

Got 3 games on the way now (one from everyone's favourite trader). They are all old and overpriced, but at least it's something.
 
[quote name='monkelus']You lucky bastards - been matched and cancelled with lost planet 2 twice now... still, can't complain. This is exactly as playswap has always worked and by my reckoning I'll be playing FFXIII for the next 5 years anyways...

...stupid titan trials![/QUOTE]

only god gave me the patience and the piece of mind to complete FFXIII ... oh lord, why?
 
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