Safety & Security

Replies to Ads
Personal Safety Tips
Personal Financial Security
Students and My School Swap

MySchoolSwap is a free classified advertising network marketed primarily to adults in the school and surrounding communities as a friendly resource with a meaningful purpose. Therefore, it differs from other popular advertising web sites:

1. It DOES NOT include categories such as Personals and Discussion Forums but does include categories useful to our community such as School Notices, Fundraisers and Prom Gowns.
2. Individual School Pages display ads posted by folks connected to that school in some way. This becomes a familiar and local community.
3. Membership is required and members must be 18 or older.
4. The motive is meaningful. MySchoolSwap donates 50% of all sponsored ads to schools nationwide.

Replies to Ads

Members have had safe, successful transactions. However, we cannot control who replies to your ads. MySchoolSwap has a security code block in place for replies to ads. This prevents robotic spam replies but may not block individual spam replies. MySchoolSwap has a strict anti-spam policy and we monitor spam activity carefully. Report any suspicious replies to MySchoolSwap at legal@myschoolswap.com. By using MySchoolSwap, you agree to our Terms of Use and understand that we are not responsible for the legitimacy of any classified ad or ad replies of any nature.

Never provide bank account information or PayPal passwords to anyone that requests them.

Personal Safety Tips

The majority of MySchoolSwap users are well-intentioned and share the common interest of supporting schools. Nevertheless, because we do not manage communication or exchanges between parties, it's very important to take common sense precautions both online and offline. If you are arranging an exchange or providing a service, please use caution.

For transactions:

• Always meet in public.
• Never ask your child to make an exchange at school or after school.
• If you are selling a large item like furniture make sure you are not alone or consider having the item outside waiting for pickup.
• Be cautious when buying or selling high value items.

For professional services and other:

• For services like tutoring, house cleaning and home repairs: ask questions and check references.
• Do not leave a child alone with an instructor or tutor.
• When looking at a home For Sale by Owner, apartment or vacation rental never go alone; consider working with a Realtor or Buyer’s Agent.

Personal Financial Security

The only fee MySchoolSwap charges is for the sale of credits used for sponsored ads. Because we are not involved in exchanges—we just sell credits and provide ad space—there are no other fees like shipping or taxes. We do not offer buyer/seller protection or product/service guarantee for any sale between parties. See Tips for Buying and Selling.

All MySchoolSwap credit transactions are through PayPal. MySchoolSwap does not collect credit card data, bank account information or any other personal financial information. PayPal offers a secure solution to credit card transactions. They accept all major credits cards; buyers do not need a PayPal account to complete a transaction and financial details are not exposed. See Privacy Policy for more information.

Because MySchoolSwap is not involved in monetary transactions between parties, to avoid false advertising or scams, the following practices are advised:

• Deal with buyers and sellers locally who you can meet in person when possible.
• Never wire funds via Western Union or any other wire service.
• Be careful with checks and money orders; ask for cash.
• Never give out ANY financial information like bank account numbers, social security number, PayPal account numbers, etc.
• Do not rent housing without seeing the interior or checking references.

If shipping items for sale, we strongly recommend that both Sellers and Buyers make online payments through PayPal. Sellers can accept payments through PayPal accounts or with any major credit card. PayPal offers both Seller and Buyer protection for qualified transactions. See Using PayPal for more information.

An important note about students and MySchoolSwap

While we are a web site focused on the community of children and their schools, children under the age of 18 are ineligible to use MySchoolSwap without supervision. MySchoolSwap is for parents and families, school volunteers, staff and their surrounding business communities to support schools. MySchoolSwap does not manage exchanges—we only provide ad space—therefore the safety of our children is priority. See Terms of Use.