Starting today, we’re completely eliminating audits from the SWAPD ecosystem. This change was discussed and voted on a few months ago, and today, we’re enforcing this new rule site-wide.
What will change?
Here is a recap of our new rules and policy changes.
- Our checkout ticket system will no longer allow buyers or sellers to opt for an audit.
- Personal audit requests will be rejected.
- The responsibility of vetting properties will now entirely fall onto buyers.
- Sellers will be closely monitored and their claims validated if the items/services they’re selling are not as described.
1. Our checkout ticket system will no longer allow buyers or sellers to opt for an audit.
We’ve upgraded our website, and our /start page will no longer give the option for an audit. Buyers are encouraged to thoroughly investigate what they’re purchasing before accepting a transaction.
2. Personal audit requests will be rejected.
SWAPD will not accept audit requests, even if a paid request is opened. However, if asked, we can provide guidance and help.
3. The responsibility of vetting properties will now fully fall onto buyers.
Buyers will have to do their own research to establish whether the property/service they’re buying is what they’re looking for. Buyers will be protected by our 24-hour mandatory grace period.
4. Sellers will be closely monitored and their claims validated if the items/services they’re selling are not as described.
SWAPD will closely monitor sellers claims and take swift action if untruthful statements were made in their listings and checkout tickets. Offending sellers will have their membership status demoted or receive a permanent suspension from SWAPD.
Why are we doing this?
- Automated audit software tools are often wrong. For example, SocialAuditPro.com , the software we used to audit Instagram accounts, only analyzes profiles and their behavior. It doesn’t consider things like overall activity and engagement levels. Quite often, this causes false-negative scores.
- Fanpages are hard (and expensive) to boost with fake activity. We don’t even recall the last time we had a fanpage filled with fake followers. That stuff happened years ago, but Facebook is pretty tight on security now.
- Twitter offers no valuable stats. Their analytics platform consists only of activity. Therefore, there is very little to go on when checking Twitter accounts.
- TikTok. We don’t even audit TikToks, and we never had a problem.
- YouTube. While iffy YouTube channels still get caught in our audits, the overall number is low. Buyers will now be able to upload one test video (with sellers approval of the content) to test the activity.
Transfer procedures are unaffected.
SWAPD will still conduct normal checks during transfers, and make sure the transaction goes through smoothly. This includes checking for things such as the OG email, if requested.
In conclusion…
This may sound a little harsh, but if you’re buying something you aren’t sure of, you shouldn’t be buying it in the first place. Novice users are encouraged to brush up on the world of social media before venturing into it. SWAPD will do everything in its power to make sure the sellers stay honest, that the transactions are conducted safely, and that you get what you paid for. We will do our best to actively weed out untruthful sellers and hold them accountable.
