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Help

We are here to help you, from getting a better understanding if what trooQ is creating a community to widgets, we've got you covered here. Below you will find a list of Frequently Asked Questions that should provide you with a general understanding of the major features of the site. If for any reason you cannot find what you are looking for, feel free to e-mail us at feedback@trooq.com.

So, without further ado, we present to you the FAQs:

What exactly is trooQ?

trooQ is the social marketplace. We give you a place to find what you are looking for, by giving you the ability to leverage your existing social networks to create networks of trusted people to buy and sell with. Not only do we provide you with the level of trust that helps make the purchasing process easier, trooQ is reliable, cost-effective and fun. And, who doesn't like a little fun!



Do I have to pay to use trooQ?

Nope, not at all. Right now, trooQ is 100% free. In the future, that will not be the case, but do not worry; it will never cost you an arm and a leg (well not even a pinky finger) to use the site.



How do I pay for the item I just bought?

It will be between you and the seller to arrange payment and shipping costs (if there are any). We provide the seller the ability to enter a preferred payment method (they can provide their Paypal information, for example), but again it will be between the two of you to handle the payment.



How is my privacy protected?

We do collect a little bit of personal information when you sign up, but we will not share that information with any other sites. We will not display your e-mail address anywhere on the site, however we do display your first name, last name and state in friend search. The reason for this is that we encourage users to find their friends on trooQ, and well, they need to be able to search for you.



Can I have more than one account?

Technically, yes, but we do not encourage it. You can only have one account associated to a particular e-mail address, but if you want to have multiple accounts with multiple e-mails, we will not prevent you from doing so.



Can I change my user name?

No can do my friend, sorry about this one. Since we use your e-mail address as your user name, we cannot allow you to change it. You can however change your nickname. Simply click on My Account and you can edit your nickname from there.



So I signed up, but did not import my address book, but want to. Now what?

During registration, we give you the opportunity to import your e-mail address book to find out which of your friends are already on trooQ and give you the ability to send a friend request. Well, good news, anytime you want to look for friends on trooQ you have two options. First, you can click on Find a Friend and do a general search by first name and last name. Secondly, from the Find a Friend page, you can click on the link Find friends from your address book and you will be guided through the process of importing your e-mail address book and finding your friends who are already on trooQ. Simple enough, right? After all, we want you to find your friends, so you can build up your trusted connections.



Am I limited to only buying from my trusted connections?

We built trooQ on the foundation that trust plays a major factor in the decision making process of buying an item, and who better can you trust than your friends. With that being said, just because you are friends does not necessarily mean that you want to buy your best buds used jeans, for whatever reason. If you want to go outside your trusted connections, you are free to do so. Feel comforted in knowing that just because someone is not within your trusted connections, does not mean they are not a trusted individual. Each user also has a user reputation and that should help you determine whether or not they are trustworthy.



I added a listing, how long does it last?

A listing lasts for 7 days. You always have the ability to delete your listing as long as you do not have any pending offers on it. If you delete the item, it is poof, gone. If you decide a week later you want to re-list the item, you will have to start from scratch. But wait, we have an alternative for you, you can expire your item. Perhaps you listed something, but decide you want to put the sale on hold, and maybe re-list it at a later date. If that is the case, you can expire your item and then we will keep in on file for you. Whenever you are ready to re-list it, just go to your My Q page and re-list the item.



What am I supposed to do with the My Q page?

This is your dashboard to manage all your activity on the site. From managing your friend requests to managing feedback you need to leave, this is the place to do it. Get comfortable with this page, we have a feeling you will be using it A LOT!



What is the widget thing you speak of?

A widget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation. OK, in English now. To put it simply, the trooQ widget is a little snippet of code that you can copy and paste onto your blog / website / group that gives your viewers the ability to search your inventory on trooQ. But wait, it gets better, not only does it give people the ability to search your inventory, but also all the listings of your friends, as well as all of trooQ. So why is this good for you? Simple, it gives you a distribution opportunity to get your listings out in front of people outside of trooQ, it is a win win situation. Below you will find your personal widget and all the widgets of the communities that you own. So what are you waiting for, copy that code and start pasting away, we promise you you will not be sorry :-) .



What are communities and how do I create one?

Communities are a way for you to form a group around an area of interest and have an area on trooQ dedicated to that. For example, say that you already have a thriving group on Yahoo groups around parenting. You all are 500 members strong, and really enjoy each other. The one element you are missing is a marketplace for you all to buy and sell your used goods. Have no fear, trooQ is here. You can quickly (and we mean quickly, like less than a minute) create a community on trooQ and invite all your members to come and join. Simply click on the link Create a Community and you are on your way. Once completed, you will have a community main page that displays your logo (if you have one), the members of your community, recently added items to your community and a message board for you all to post to. And if that was not cool enough, you as the creator of the community, have the ability to grab your community widget and put it on your group page outside of trooQ. This gives the members of your group; say on your Yahoo group, the ability to search your trooQ inventory without having to leave your group page on Yahoo. Pretty cool huh? We like to think so. Oh wait, one more thing. You have the ability to set your group as public (open to anyone who wants to join), restricted (user must request to join) and private (can only join if invited). The choice is yours.



So I am not interested in items that are not close to me, can I search for items within a particular radius?

You most certainly can, it is as simple as clicking on the Advanced Search link found in the main orange navigation bar and you are on your way. Simply enter what you are looking for in the keyword section, choose what radius you want to search within (5-100 miles), enter in your zip code and voila, you will get back search results within the radius that you selected.



What is My Profile all about?

This is your public persona to the trooQ community. It provides you the place to show off who you are. You can show off your friends, your vital stats, your recent detailed ratings (you better be a responsible user, or your ratings will reflect it), your items that are currently listed and the communities you are a member of. There is also a section for users to leave you comments.