Q: Is HelpExchange.com membership free? Back to top
A: Yes, the HelpExchange.com membership is absolutely free.
Q: Can a company or store apply for HelpExchange.com membership? Back to top
A: Definitely, companies and stores are more than welcome to join HelpExchange.com. As a matter of fact, HelpExchange.com is designed with small businesses in mind. You can enter your business name when you register your membership.
Q: Does HelpExchange.com membership expire? Back to top
A: HelpExchange.com membership will never expire. However as part of our house-cleaning process, we will send an email message to a member who has not logged in for more than a year. Membership will be inactivated if no response is received. Inactivated members can contact us to re-activate his/her account.
Q: Why was I prompted to sign in frequently? Back to top
A: This is one of HelpExchange.com features designed to protect your rights and interests. You will be prompted to sign in only when you haven't accessed HelpExchange.com web pages for more than 30 minutes. It may cause a bit of inconvenience but it will protect your interests in such case as you walk away from your desk.
Q: Under what circumstance, will HelpExchange.com revoke membership? Back to top
A: Every member is HelpExchange.com's most important asset. However in such case where a member breaks the law of the United States or violates the terms and regulations of HelpExchange.com, we have no choice but to terminate the person's membership. This is the only way we can protect the rights of all other members and the community as a whole.
Q: Does HelpExchange.com help members market their listings? Back to top
A: You bet. We strongly believe that we grow as you grow. We do our utmost to help market your listings. In addition to listing in major search engines, we are exploring all different possibilities to increase your exposure. As we grow financially stronger, we will invest more on marketing and we will make timely update here. Your ideas and suggestions
are also welcome and most appreciated. Meanwhile, you can go to My Account -> My Listing and click on "Marketing my listing" link or simply click here to invite friends to your listings.
Q: I did not receive a confirmation email from HelpExchange.com. Back to top
A: HelpExchange.com sends confirmation email messages to you on almost every important move you make. Some mail services, such as Hotmail or Yahoo, leave our confirmation letters in the junk-mail folder. If you do not see our confirmation letter in your Inbox, please check your junk-mail folder before contacting HelpExchange.com. To make sure that you receive our confirmation emails in your Inbox, please add our email address (Service@HelpExchange.com) to your list of contacts/address book and configure your mail service setup so it will leave any future confirmation messages in your Inbox.
Q: How many types of accounts does HelpExchange.com have? Back to top
A: As you might have different accounts, such as checking and money market accounts, with your bank currently HelpExchange.com has four different accounts. They are HE Bonus accounts, HE Gift Card accounts, HE Dollar accounts and Cash accounts. While the HE Bonus account holds all of your bonuses including the opening bonus, the referral bonus etc., the HE Dollar account contains all the revenue you have earned. The HE Gift Card account holds all gift cards you have received from your friends and relatives. Every dollar you deposit via checks or bank direct deposit (not available yet) goes to your Cash account.
Q: How many accounts can I have? Back to top
A: Every HelpExchange.com member can have up to four different
accounts, i.e. an HE Bonus account, an HE Gift Card account, an HE Dollar account and a Cash account.
Q: Can I transfer funds between my accounts? Back to top
A: Each different type of account is designed to serve a different purpose and hence has different characteristics and limitations. For example, the member can not withdraw cash from his or her Bonus account while no redemption fees will be charged when withdrawing cash from a Cash account. To prevent confusion, transferring funds among accounts is not available.
Q: Can I withdraw cash from my accounts? Back to top
A: Members can spend every dollar in all their accounts to make purchases at HelpExchange.com, including the HE Bonus account, the HE Gift Card account,
the HE Dollar account and the Cash account. In addition, members can withdraw cash from either the HE Dollar account or the Cash account any time. While members will be charged redemption fees to cover processing costs when withdrawing cash from an HE Dollar account, there are no fees involved when withdrawing cash from a Cash account. To withdraw cash, go to My Account -> My Money and click on "Redeem cash" link or you can simply click here.
Q: How can I earn more bonus dollars? Back to top
A: HelpExchange.com offers different kinds of bonuses to members, such as an opening bonus and a referral bonus. From time to time, HelpExchange.com provides special buying or selling incentives to promote sales too. The easiest way to earn a bonus is to refer your friends to join HelpExchange.com. The more friends you bring to HelpExchange.com, the more referral bonuses you'll earn. To invite your friend, go to My Account -> My Referee and click on "Earn more referral bonuses!" or simply click here.
Q: Will my bonus dollars expire? Back to top
A: HE Bonus dollars are designed and presented to you so you can experience the taste of HelpExchange.com. We intended to offer bonuses without an expiration date. We were advised to change our policy due to legal implications and accounting processing. We reckon that 365 days should provide plenty of time for our members to try out our features. All HE bonuses expire one year after its issue date.
Q: Can I withdraw cash from my bonus account? Back to top
A: The HE Bonus dollar is actually only a credit, not real money.
We are so confident that you will enjoy the rich features we have to offer once you try it out. We design and give our members HE Bonus dollars so you
can experience the taste of HelpExchange.com without any risk. Their sole purpose is to make purchases at HelpExchange.com. They are not meant to be redeemed as cash.
Q: Does HelpExchange.com offer gift cards? Back to top
A: Yes, HelpExchange.com does offer gift cards to our members. As a matter of fact, it is a very good and thoughtful idea to give HelpExchange.com gift cards to your friends and relatives. For example, your friends can use your gift cards to hire a baby sitter so they can enjoy a quiet and romantic dinner on their anniversary day or have someone clean their house during holiday seasons. To buy gift cards, go to My Account -> My Money and click on "Purchase Gift Card" link or you can simply click here.
Q: Will my HE Gift Card expire? Back to top
A: Many gift cards on the market expire in one year. We feel it is unreasonable. We intended to offer gift cards without expiration. We were advised to place an expiration date on our gift cards due to legal implications and accounting processing. All HE gift cards expire in two years from the date it was purchased. We will also send an e-Mail reminder to gift card holder 15 days prior its expiration day.
Q: How can I withdraw cash from my accounts? Back to top
A: To withdraw cash, go to My Account -> My Money and click on "Redeem cash" link or you can simply click here.
Q: How can I deposit money to my cash account? Back to top
A: Before we can accept direct deposit online from your bank, please mail your check, payable to HelpExchange.com, to the following address: HelpExchange.com
P.O. Box 674
Wayne, PA 19087-0674 |
Q: Into which account will my “Money Back” funds go? Back to top
A: The one percent “Money Back” funds you receive from your purchases will go to your HE Dollar account. That means you can either withdraw cash from it or spend it at HelpExchange.com to purchase services.
Q: Can I send an invoice through HelpExchange.com? Back to top
A: Yes, to help you better manage your receivables, we do provide tools so you can easily send and manage your invoices. Simply go to My Account -> My Listing, browse through the list and click on the "Invoice" link of the selected listing. You will also receive a confirmation email on every invoice you sent through HelpExchange.com. You can view all the invoices you sent and received by going to My Account -> Invoice Sent and My Account -> Invoice Received. We are sure that you'll soon find these features helpful when it comes to manage your invoices.
Q: Can I use my own company's invoice number? Back to top
A: HelpExchange.com is aware of the fact that most businesses have their own invoicing system. With this understanding in mind, we designed our invoicing feature to assist your existing system instead of replacing it. As a supporting tool to your invoicing system, we provide a field called "Internal invoice number". Simply enter your regular invoice number from your traditional invoicing system to that field. In case you leave "Internal invoice number" empty, HelpExchange.com will assign a unique invoice number for you for future tracking purpose.
Q: Can I pay cash at HelpExchange.com? Back to top
A: The foremost rule at HelpExchange.com is nobody pays cash at HelpExchange.com. We strive for your full satisfaction. If you feel our service does provide you with a great value, please support our business by observing our rules and regulations. Only with your support, can we continue to provide the service you need.
Q: How can I make a payment? Back to top
A: All payments have to be made from your HelpExchange.com accounts, including HE Bonus, HE Gift Card, HE Dollar and HE Cash accounts. This is vital to ensure HelpExchange.com's survival and to serve the whole community.
Before you make a payment, make sure you have enough funds in all your accounts to cover the payments. If not, you may earn more bonuses by referring friends or deposit more cash to your HE Cash account.
There are two ways to make a payment. At the main page of the listing, you can click "Make payment" link inside the "Purchase the Offer" box. There are many different ways to go to a listing's main page. For example, you can click the photo or title of the desired listing from your search result. To
view the Help-Wanted listings which you have posted, simply go to My Account ->
My listing -> My Help-Wanted Listings. The easiest way to make a payment is simply clicking on a link in the invoice which you receive.
Upon making the payment, you will receive a confirmation message in your mail with a link to write a review on the purchase. Please take a few minutes to write your review. Upon submitting the review, you will automatically be put into our next lottery pool. We wish you good luck to win a big prize.
Q: When should I collect payments from the buyer? Back to top
A: You can collect the payments before or after you provide your service. It all depends on your preference and how well you can trust your customers. Please note that HelpExchange.com cannot guarantee your receivables if you decide to offer your customers terms, i.e. late payments. On the other hand, should a dispute arise between members, HelpExchange.com may hold the payments in question for up to 180 days as appropriate until the dispute is settled. Alternatively you can ask your customers to pay a certain amount of deposit before you start your service.
Q: As a buyer, what benefits will I get when making payments using HE accounts? Back to top
A: Buyers who make payments using HelpExchange accounts will enjoy the following benefits:
- One percent (1%) money back: Imagine you can earn 1% of all of your purchases through HelpExchange.com, including the money you pay for your baby sitting or your children’s piano lessons. If you spend $10,000 a year, you will earn $100 as your money back.
- Chance to win a big prize: Only when you make payments through HE accounts and write reviews on your service provider, will you be included in our (weekly, monthly or quarterly) prize drawings. The frequency of our drawings and the value of our prizes will grow as HelpExchange.com grows.
- Power to review the service provider: You will enjoy the power to review your service provider only when you make payments through HE accounts. Bad reviews will dramatically reduce the service provider’s business potential. Because of this reviewing power, you have leverage on your service provider to perform their best.
The most important of all, you help keep HelpExchange.com in business by making payments using HE accounts. We can continue to provide you valuable service only when you pay by HE accounts.
Q: As a service provider, what benefits will I get when receiving payment from HE accounts? Back to top
A: As a HelpExchange service provider, the most important benefit you will receive by receiving payments from HE accounts is countless business potential. “Trust” is the number one key element in online business success.
People are willing to pay higher prices for a trustworthy vender/provider rather than a cheap, unknown one. The easiest way to build up trust is to collect high performance reviews from fellow members. “One good word from a customer is better than a thousand commercials.” By receiving payments from HE accounts, you increase the chance to get good reviews from your customers.
You pay a small sales fee but you dramatically increase your business potential. Your gain on business will eventually outnumber the impact from the sales fees you pay. This is analogous to retailers accepting credit cards to expend their business.
The most important of all, you help keep HelpExchange.com in business by receiving payments from HE accounts. We can continue to provide you valuable service only when you receive payments from HE accounts.
Q: Can I view my invoice and payment history? Back to top
A: Yes, we provide many managerial features for your convenience. Go to My Account and you will see "Invoice Sent", "Invoice Received", "Payment Sent" and "Payment Received" tags at your left hand side. Click on the tag and you will see the information of your choice. All items are listed in chronologically descending order, meaning you will see the latest item first.
Q: Do I have to pay fees to post a listing? Back to top
A: No, there is no posting fee at HelpExchange.com. You can post as many listings as you want and don't have to worry about a fee, not even a penny. You can leave your listings as long as you wish too.
And if you believe "A photo is more than a thousand words," you will love posting at HelpExchange.com even more. You can post as many as four photos with each of your listings. The beauty is they are all free, unlike other sites which charge extra for each additional photo.
Q: Do I have to pay fees for sales of my listing? Back to top
A: Yes, HelpExchange.com charges a small percentage of your sales to cover our expenses. Here is the sales fee schedule we use to calculate your sales fee:
| Sales Amount |
Fee |
$0 < amount <= $50 |
5.75% |
$50 < amount <= $500 |
4.75% |
$500 < amount <= $2,000 |
3.75% |
$2,000 < amount |
2.60% |
Example:
| Amount |
Calculation |
Fee |
Buyer gets 1% back |
$35 |
35 x 0.0575
|
$2.01 |
$0.35 |
$199 |
50 x 0.0575 + 149 x 0.0475 |
$9.95 |
$1.99 |
$5,500 |
50 x 0.0575 + 450 x 0.0475 + 1,500 x 0.0375 + 3,500 x .0260 |
$171.50 |
$55.00 |
You may click here to try out our HelpExchange.com fee calculator for more scenarios.
Q: Do I have to pay fees when withdrawing cash? Back to top
A: Yes and no. You don't have to pay a penny when withdrawing money from your Cash account. However, there is a flat charge of $0.25 plus percentage redemption charge to cover processing cost when you withdraw cash from your HE Dollar account. After you enter the cash amount of your withdrawal, our system will calculate and show you the redemption fees needed. Here is the chart that the calculation is based upon:
| Cash Amount |
Fee |
$0 < amount <= $1,000 |
4% |
$1,000 < amount <= $5,000 |
3.5% |
$5,000 < amount <= $50,000 |
3.2% |
$50,000 < amount |
2.85% |
Example: Assuming the withdrawal is made 100% from your HE Dollar account. If part of your cash withdrawal comes from your Cash account, that portion is free of charge.
| Amount |
Calculation |
Fee |
$35 |
0.25 + 35 x 0.04 |
$1.65 |
$1,150 |
0.25 + 1,000 x 0.04 + 150 x 0.035 |
$45.50 |
$5,500 |
0.25 + 1,000 x 0.04 + 4,000 x 0.035 + 500 x 0.032 |
$196.25 |
You may click here to try out our HelpExchange.com fee calculator for more scenarios.
Q: Can I file a complaint on a buyer? Back to top
A: Our review system is designed so the buyer can write reviews on the seller. In some rare cases, the seller may have something to say about the buyer, good or bad. In that case, please click Comments on buyers. We will respond to your comments on a timely manner after thorough investigation.
Q: Report a violation of membership terms and regulation. Back to top
A: In some rare cases, should you notice or discover any violation of the law or membership terms and regulation, please contact HelpExchange.com or click Report violation. This is vital to keep our community clean and protect the rights and interests of the honest and law-abiding majority.
Q: Can I write comments or reviews on HelpExchange.com. Back to top
A: You are more than welcome to send us your comments. If we do something good please kindly tell us so we can continue the good work. If we fail to meet your expectation, your comments can only help us improve our service. If you need something and we do not have it, please tell us your needs and concerns and we will do our best to satisfy your needs. We would appreciate your help if you could click Feedback and Suggestion to let us know how to better serve you.
Q: Do you require any qualifications
for membership? Back to top
A: Any person who is twelve years or older is welcome to join HelpExchange.com.
Q: Do I have to answer all the questions when registering? Back to top
A: When registering membership, some questions are required, such as email addresses, while others are optional, such as introduction and picture. We use a red asterisk (*) next to the question to indicate a required field.
Q: Why it is important to register with accurate information? Back to top
A: We need your email address, for instance, to send all confirmation letters and post mail address to send your cash checks. We use birthday and phone number for verification purpose. It is important to answer questions as accurate as you can for your own benefit.
Q: Can I edit my profile after registration? Back to top
A: It is easy to edit your profile at HelpExchange.com anytime. Simply go to My Account -> My Profile and click on Edit Profile link. For example, you can change your address, phone number, email address or add, change, delete your photo.
Q: Will HelpExchange.com reveal my personal data? Back to top
A: To protect your privacy and security, HelpExchange.com displays part of your information to registered members only. For example, we only show your first name and initial of your last name (ex. John S. for John Smith) and city, state and ZIP code (ex. Philadelphia, PA 19107) for your address (i.e. no street address). We will display either your phone number or email address according to your "Preferred mode of contact" setup when you applied membership. Under no circumstance does HelpExchange.com reveal your birthday.
Q: Why can't I log into HelpExchange.com after registration? Back to top
A: There are several possibilities:
- Both username and password are case sensitive. Check to see if the Caps Lock key was inadvertently pressed.
- Registered members need to activate their accounts before they can log in. Check the Inbox or Junk Mail folder of your email and look for a confirmation message. Simply click the link inside the confirmation email to activate your membership.
- Forget your username or password? Click "Forget username or password" on the Sing-In page and follow the instruction to reset your password.
Q: Can I cancel my HelpExchange.com membership? Back to top
A: Members are the most important asset at HelpExchange.com and we do our best to satisfy our members. But if for any reason you are not happy with HelpExchange.com and wish to cancel your membership, you can go to My Account -> My Profile -> Edit Profile -> Cancel My Membership to terminate your membership.
Q: Do I have to pay fees to post a listing? Back to top
A: No, there is no posting fee at HelpExchange.com. Members can post as many listings as they want for as long as they wish for free.
Q: How many listings can I post? Back to top
A: You are more than welcome to post as many listings as you want.
Q: How long can I post my listings? Back to top
A: You can post listings for as long as you wish. There is no time limit.
Q: I can't find the right category for my listing. Back to top
A: Because most members search listings based on category. You need to find an appropriate category under which to post your listings. After clicking Post, if you do not find the right category from the category tree, you can use either the "Find Category by Keyword" link or the "Suggest a new category" link to assist you:
- You can type a key word into "Search by Keywords" box and click Search. It will show you all categories which contain that key word.
- In case you really can't find any category which suits your need, please click the "Suggest a new category" link. You can enter a brief description about your need and the category you like. Our staff will respond to your suggestion as soon as possible. You can also simply click here to suggest a new category.
Q: Can I include photos with my listings? How much do you charge for photos? Back to top
A: If you believe "One photo is more than one thousand words," then you would love our policy on including photos with your listings. You can post up to four photos free of charge with each listing at HelpExchange.com. This is for continuous and strong support to your marketing efforts.
Q: Can I edit my listings? Back to top
A: You sure can edit your listings anytime you like. Simply go to My Account -> My Listing and click on Edit tag of the desired item from the list.
Q: Can I delete my listings? Back to top
A: You can delete your listing if you are no longer offering that item. Go to My Account -> My Listing -> Edit -> Delete this listing. The system will confirm your action by asking, "Are you sure you want to permanently delete this listing?" You can click OK to delete that listing or click Cancel to back out.
Q: Can a non-member search for listings? Back to top
A: In order to let non-members have a taste of HelpExchange.com, they are allowed to search listings through our searching engine. However, non-members are not allowed to perform many operations which require member privilege such as posting a listing or viewing members' information.
Q: How can I search for listings? Back to top
A: It is easy and straight-forward to search for listings. Clicking Search from the main menu at the top will take you to the main search
page. You then need to click either the "Search A Help-Wanted" or the "Search
An Offer" button depending on your need. There are three ways to do searching: Search by username, All listings in a ZIP code and Advanced search by various criteria. You can click the Search by username link if you know the username of the posting member. Or you can click the All listings in a ZIP code link to search for all the listings available in a particular zip code. Alternatively you can search for listings using various criteria, including category, distance, price range, minimum rating and minimum number of reviews.
Q: I don't know under which category to start searching. Back to top
A: To do advanced search by various criteria, you need to choose a category to begin with. If you can't decide which category to use, a Find Category by Keyword link on the main search page is designed to assist you. Simply
type a keyword into the textbox and click Search button. It will find categories which contain your keyword. In case you still can't find the category, alternatively you can do a broader search. An efficient search should start from the leaf category, i.e. as specific as possible, of the category tree, ex. Flute lesson under Music -> Music lesson. You could start your search from the Music category, though a less efficient way, and still find Flute lesson. If neither works, please feel free to let us know by clicking here.
Q: Do I have to write reviews? Back to top
A: Members are not required to write reviews. However, it will benefit yourself and all members if you could just take a few minutes to write reviews. Members who write reviews will be put into the lottery pool. The more reviews you write the more chances you will have to win big prizes. Your reviews will greatly help other members choose the right service providers.
Q: Why writing reviews is important at HelpExchange.com? Back to top
A: Our mission is to build an honest, trustworthy and efficient market place where honest and quality service providers are rewarded. Only with your candid reviews can we achieve our goal. To promote review writing, we work hard to allocate resources amid tight budgets to give out prizes.
Q: What benefits will I get to write reviews? Back to top
A: Members who write reviews will be put into the lottery pool. The more reviews you write the more chance you will have to win our big prizes. The whole HelpExchange.com community will benefit from your candid review as well.
Q: Can a seller write a review on the buyer? Back to top
A: Our current review system is designed for buyers to evaluate sellers. Sellers can still file issues or complaints against buyers by clicking here. We might expand our review system so that sellers can evaluate buyers if the need arises.
Q: How often does HelpExchange.com draw prizes? Back to top
A: Currently we are drawing prizes on a quarterly base. However, our goal is to increase the frequency (monthly, bi-weekly and weekly) and values of the prizes as our members and business grow in the near future.
Q: How are prizes drawn? Back to top
A: Prizes will be drawn from the lottery pool by our application server using a computer-generated random number. Results will be announced immediately at Prize -> All Winners.
Q: Who is qualified for a prize drawing? Back to top
A: HelpExchange.com members who made purchases and submitted reviews in that particular period will be automatically qualified and included in the lottery pool.
Q: I have placed and paid for a listing, why can't I see it in the drawing pool? Back to top
A: If you have placed and paid for a listing, you are only one step away from being included in the lottery pool. Please check your email Inbox (or Junk Folder) for your payment confirmation letter and submit your review from there.
Q: How many raffle tickets do I have in the current lottery pool? Back to top
A: Every time you make a purchase and submit a review, you generate a raffle ticket in the lottery pool. To see how many raffle tickets you have in the lottery pool, simply go to My Account -> My Lottery. You will see a table containing your raffle ticket(s), next lottery drawing date and full description of the prizes for that period.
Q: How do I know the result of the prize drawing? Back to top
A: The result of the prize drawing will be posted at Prize -> All Drawings as soon as it becomes available. HelpExchange.com will send an email to congratulate and inform the winners as well.
Q: Do I have to pay for the shipping and handling of the prize? Back to top
A: No, you don't have to pay for the shipping and handling cost nor do you have to pay for sales taxes. HelpExchange.com will pay for all expenses to deliver your prize right to your doorstep.
Q: Do I have to pay for the taxes on the prize? Back to top
A: Yes, you do have to pay for taxes if it is so required by Internal Revenues Services (IRS) or your local authority.
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