Flakwolf

How it works

Video games have gotten really cool. Not that pong or Super Mario Bros weren't cool, but you have to admit, video games nowadays are leaps and bounds beyond what they were 20 years ago. Most of us began playing as kids, are still playing today, and will probably be playing until we die. (As long as they keep making cool new games and systems, that is!) And while we continue to applaud the fact that video games get cooler and cooler, we begrudgingly acknowledge that there is a price to pay for that. The price is $60 a game and somewhere between $300 and $600 for a system! It's definitely not cheap! But as an avid video gamer myself, I would love to try out more games than I do right now, especially knowing that there are so many new and good games out there. But my options are so limited! Here's what I mean:

  1. I can buy the game and hope that it's good. If it's not, I pretty much just got ripped off because there's no way I'm getting my 60 bucks back. I might put it up on Ebay or Craigslist and hope to get a good price. I could even get desperate and get ripped off selling it back to a used video game store (no names.)
  2. I can go to Blockbuster and see that the game I want is not available and wait for some kid to bring it back in a month so I can pay 7 bucks to rent it.
  3. I can go sign up for gamefly.
  4. I can also try and find someone that is interested in owning my game and that has a game I'm interested in. (Problem with that is finding that person.)

This is where Flakwolf comes in!

We've created a system and built a website around trying to get you (the video gamer) a ton of cool video games...as fast and as cheap as possible. Here's how it works:

  1. Sign up for an account, fill out your user preferences and your user profile.
  2. List a game for trade. (most likely these are games that you've played and finished...and are just sitting around collecting dust. Each game has been assigned a tier (based on its value in our society.) The higher the tier the more valuable the game.
  3. Once you list a game, you immediately receive a credit to trade with. This credit has the same value (tier) as the game you listed for trade. If you listed Halo 3 and received a tier 1 credit, then you receive a tier 1 credit in return. As long as your feedback is higher than 90% you can immediately request a game...no need to wait for someone to request yours!
  4. Get the game you requested! If the game you request is available locally, you can go pick it up as soon as you coordinate with the sender! As soon as you receive the game, it's yours to keep. You can try it out and keep it forever, or if you decided you don't like it, list it for trade! No need to get ripped off at a used video game store.
  5. Send your game as soon as its requested. Once a game you've listed has been requested, coordinate with the requester to get the video game to him/her as fast as possible. Whether that means you meet somewhere locally or you ship the game is up to you guys.

There are a couple of features that make Flakwolf unique.

First, we've implemented a tier system instead of points or peer to peer trading. Why is a tier system better? Because you don't have to wait in line forever for new games! As video gamers ourselves, we were immediately disillusioned when we would try and trade a valuable video game that we had passed and were finished playing. Why? Because all I got was a big wait in line! I figured that if I put up something of value to make a service better, I should get something of value in return. What was I getting? A huge wait in line. With the tier system, the only way to receive a popular game, is to list a popular game for trade, thus keeping the site's options plentiful for other users.

Second, we've allowed users to search and request for games based on proximity! Sure, some people might be okay waiting for a game to be shipped. But before we started, we wondered why we should be content waiting 10 days for a game to come in the mail when there are thousands of other video gamers in our own backyard! The answer was simple: we shouldn't have to wait! And so we designed the system to allow users the ability to search for games available in their own area. This makes trading cheaper, faster and way more fun. If you're anything like me, you get excited about a certain product, and then you want it immediately. You don't want to buy something and have it shipped to you, you want a good price, and you want to go pick it up now! Well...

WELCOME TO FLAKWOLF!