Help

Remember to look in the Basics page in each section of the website. The Basics page contains information about what the section is used for and how you can interact with it.

• My Pot Basics
• Hot Pot Basics
• Hot Swap Basics
• Hot Products Basics
• Hot Topics Basics
• Hot News Basics
• My Business Basics

If you have a question or need help to navigate Hot Potato, click here.

Bidding on Hot Swaps

Remember that you must be logged in to bid.

If you see an item you like in the Hot Swap section, you should start bidding on it straight away!

To do this, look below the item's description. You should see a section titled "MAKE A BID for ... ", as below.

If you have put items of your own up in the Hot Swap section already, you'll have the option of using that item as a bid. To do this, click the button next to "Choose a bid from my list of swaps." You'll notice that the page changes a little, creating a drop-down menu which will allow you to select the item you're bidding with.

Otherwise, if you do not have any existing Hot Swap items up on the website, proceed as normal.

Enter a description into the "Additional info/items" textbox (initially filled with text "Bid description...").

When you're satisfied with your bid description, click "Submit Bid". You should be shown a success message such as the following:

The person who owns the item you're bidding on will be notified automatically by email about your bid.

What Now?

Now you have the option of uploading images to illustrate your bid. To do this, view your bid and select the "Upload Image" button. Follow the steps that you're given. Remember you can upload multiple images.

Any time you want to check your bid status on an item, head to the item you were bidding for (in the Hot Swap section). You should see a small box like the following:

Click on the "Click Here" link to be transferred to your bidding page. Here you can view details about your bid, upload images or view the details of the item you were bidding on.

At the top of the page you should see a yellow box with a message regarding the current state of the bidding process, similar to the following:

So, once you've settled, it's time to wait for the other user to respond to your bid. They may Accept, Reject or Counter your offer. For more info on how someone might react to your bid, and also info about what to do if they counter your bid, see below.

Responding to Bids and Counters

When viewing someone else's bid or counter on an item (follow the link you received in an email, or navigate to your the through Hot Swap and select to view bids), you'll be presented with a few options:

• Accept: If you're satisfied with what they've offered, accept it! Then it's time to exchange contact details and organize how you'll trade goods. Remember that the method in which you trade is not Hot Potato's responsibility, so make sure you don't get ripped off.

• Reject: If you aren't interested in what they've offered, reject it. Don't forget to give them an explanation as to why you rejected their bid or counter offer.

• Counter Offer: So they were on the right track, but they're gonna need to offer more before you'll accept? Select this option and follow the steps - it's just like placing a bid. If you are the person who the item originally being bid on belongs to, when you're countering someone's offer on your item (or someone else's counter), make sure you select an existing item to use in your counter, and make sure it's the item that the other user bid on in the first place. You can, of course, add or subtract from the initial deal in your own counter offer.

For more general help and information, please see the FAQ.