The images are Neopets'; the collage is mine. No yoinking, please!
This is a work in progress. As I see a question that is repeatedly asked on the NCMall board, I shall include it on this page. If you still have a question after reading this page, please send me a NM. If I think it is of general interest, I may include it on this page. If you ask me a question which has been answered on this page, I will block you. That defeats the entire purpose of the work I am putting into the page. Having said all that, I hope this is interesting reading ~ and enjoy the Mall if you do use it!
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The following message (or a version close to it) has been making its way around the site lately. It is a SCAM. Whatever you do, do NOT follow this link. It leads off-site to a cookie grabber site which will steal your account and, potentially, everything on it - and getting it frozen and all kinds of other fun things. Depending on many things, you may or may not be able to get your account back if it is frozen as a result of being CGd.
If you get this message, report it (the link is at the bottom left of the message box), then block the user and delete the message. They cannot access your account just because they sent you the message - you have to click on the link. Just going to the site is all it takes - you don't have to do anything once you get there. The message:
Neopets is giving away free Nc! Just go here and click the image to receive free neocash how easy! I did it and received 2000NC (It's not the 150NC U already get). Then customize your pets like crazy and get trophies and more!
(Go to the following site and click on the image)
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~ Which body types cannot wear NC Mall clothing?
[ed. note: NP clothing has the same restrictions] Fruit and Vegetable Chias and Neopets painted Maraquan, Mutant, and Baby [ed. note: unconverted pets should have been included in the list, as well] have no wearable clothes available for them. However, backgrounds and trinkets work for all body types. For an example of how unconverted pets can be customised, see my Darigan hissi, Lavender.
GREAT NEWS!! Gift Boxes Are Here!!
TNT has finally created a method of transferring NC items between accounts. It is limited to boxes which are available from buying NC cards or NC capsules (and getting its LE prize); however, it's more than we had. It would be nice if they sent them out with their thank you NM so that PayPal purchasers could be included in the per-purchase distribution; hopefully, something like this will happen in the near future. The reason I've heard put forth for its not happening has to do with the chargeback abilities of PayPal; however, IMO, there could be penalties put into place for those who abuse the system while those who don't are not penalized for the probable bad apples. The information below comes from TNT's Gift Box section of the NCMall FAQs.
~ What is an NC Gift Box? An NC Gift Box is a free virtual item you can use to gift a Neocash item from your Inventory to another Neopets user.
~ How can I get NC Gift Boxes? NC Gift Boxes are automatically deposited into your Inventory when you redeem a Neocash Card (just like Limited Edition Bonus Items). You can redeem your Neocash Card(s) in the NC Mall to receive your NC Gift Boxes. However, NC Gift Boxes can only be used to gift NC Mall Neocash items to other Neopets users.(ed. note: There has been much discussion on the boards about trading NC items with these boxes. While there has been no official stance taken by TNT, Snarkie (one of the programmers at neopets) did respond on a recent board about the issue: "This is a question for Support, obviously, but as far as I know trading NC like this is not condoned. The gifting option is solely for that - gifting. It is not meant to be used as a barter system. I'll see what's up with this and, regardless of the answer, ask them to post something official in FAQs, editorial, whatever.")
#376. First, let me say thanks so much for all you guys do! I really enjoy my time on Neopets and all the fantastic things you offer your users. :) Now, question time... teehee. I recently saw a message about a user requesting to trade NC Mall items with another user via the Gift Boxes. I think this is a fantastic idea (I'd really love the Sparkling Rainbow x_x), but I wasn't sure about the "okay-ness" of it. I got some mixed answers on the Help Chat, with most users saying that, as long as it was only for other NC Mall items (not NP, items, or Neopets, of course) it was okay. I wanted to check with you guys first, though; I'd hate to risk my account... even over something as sparkly as the rainbow. Thanks again for all your time, and double thanks if you happen to answer my question! ~[username removed]
We've been keeping an eye on things since we introduced gift boxes and we're happy to say that we're really impressed with the way you guys are handling yourselves! From what we've seen there's been very few problems so far, and as long as you guys keep it that way, you are welcome to trade NC Mall items for other NC Mall items. We'll hash it out very clearly here, but from what we've seen you guys are making us proud by following the spirit of the site rules in dealing with trading NC items.
These things are okay:
Trading an NC item for an NC item.
Trading multiple NC items for an NC item.
Gifting an NC item as long as you don't accept a "thank you" gift in return that is not an NC item.
These things aren't okay:
Trading an NC item for an NP item / Neopet / some other service.
Agreeing to trade items and then running off with an item without completing the trade.
The number of Gift Boxes you receive is determined by the denomination of the Neocash Card redeemed:
A $5 Card will grant your account 1 NC Gift Box
A $10 Card will grant your account 2 NC Gift Boxes
A $15 Card will grant your account 3 NC Gift Boxes
A $25 Card will grant your account 5 NC Gift Boxes
~ How do I use NC Gift Boxes to gift Neocash items? To use an NC Gift Box, simply click on the Gift Box image in your Inventory and follow the step-by-step instructions.(ed. note: If you are sending a SuperPack, you will need as many boxes as there are items in the Pack. For example, to send the Shenkuu Performer SuperPack, you will need five Gift Boxes because the Pack has five pieces inside it.)
~ Can I PIN protect the use of NC Gift Boxes in my account? Yes. To PIN protect the use of NC Gift Boxes to gift Neocash items from your account, go to your PIN Preferences section, select the "NC Gift Boxes" checkbox, and then click on the "Change Your Details" button at the bottom of the page. ...
~ How will I know if I have received a Neocash item gift from another Neopets user? If you have been sent a Neocash item as a gift, you will be notified via Event notification and Neomail. You may access your Event Inbox and Neomail Inbox by clicking on the icons (a gift box for your Event Inbox and an envelope for your Neomail Inbox) directly above the "My Account" link on the top Neopets navigation bar. You may also access your Neomail Inbox by mousing over the "My Account" menu link on the top navigation bar, then selecting the "Neomail" link. NC Gift Boxes containing Neocash item gifts from other Neopets users will be deposited into your Neocash Item Gift Log (a special log within your Item Transfer Log).
~How do I open an NC Gift Box once it's in my Neocash Item Gift Log? What can I do once the gift is opened? To open or return an NC Gift Box containing a Neocash item gift, go to your Neocash Item Gift Log and simply click on either the "Open" or "Return" radio button in the appropriate NC Gift Box section and click the "Submit" button. If you choose to open the Gift Box, follow the step-by-step instructions to accept, return, or discard the Neocash item gift.
~I was notified that I had received a Neocash item gift, but when I went to my Item Transfer Log, it was not there. What happened? You have 48 hours to accept, return, or dispose of a Neocash item gift once it arrives in your Neocash Item Gift Log. If you don't select one of the above actions before the 48 hour time limit, then the Neocash item, along with the Gift Box in which it was sent, will be automatically returned to its sender.
~Will NC Gift Boxes appear in my NC Mall Album? What about Neocash items sent as gifts? NC Gift Boxes will not appear in your NC Mall Album. If you send a Neocash item as a gift, the item will remain in your NC Mall Album; likewise, if you accept a Neocash item from another user as a gift, the item will appear in your NC Mall Album. If you purchase Gift Wrap in the NC Mall to decorate a Gift Box, the Gift Wrap will appear in your NC Mall Album (note: Gift Wrap will only appear in your NC Mall Album if you purchased it).
~Where will I be able to find my NC Gift Boxes after I have redeemed a Neocash Card? After redeeming an Neocash Card, your NC Gift Boxes will automatically appear in your Inventory in the Neocash Items section. Since NC Gift Boxes are free with the redemption of Neocash Cards, they won't appear in your Neocash Log.
~Can I give away my NC Gift Boxes or can somebody send me theirs? No, you can only gift Neocash items to other users using NC Gift Boxes. You cannot give or receive / purchase or sell Gift Boxes by themselves.
~Do NC Gift Boxes expire? No, NC Gift Boxes do not expire.
~Do NC Gift Boxes cost money? No, they are given out as free bonuses with the redemption of Neocash Cards. However, you may choose to decorate your Gift Box with special Gift Wrap, which you may purchase in the
Gift Wrap Shop in the NC Mall. Decorating your NC Gift Box with Gift Wrap is purely optional and is not required for its use.
~Can I decorate my NC Gift Boxes before using them to send a gift? Yes, once you have a Gift Box in your Inventory, you can decorate it (before you send it) by purchasing special Gift Wrap for it in the NC Mall. Only one type of Gift Wrap from the NC Mall can be purchased for each Gift Box; once Gift Wrap has been used to decorate a Gift Box, it can't be taken off. Go to the Gift Wrap Shop in the NC Mall.
~Can I use NC Gift Boxes to send Neocash items to users who don't have access to the NC Mall? Yes, you can use NC Gift Boxes to send Neocash item gifts to any Neopets user whose account is not frozen or suspended. However, only users with access to the NC Mall can redeem Neocash Cards and get NC Gift Boxes.
~I received a Neocash item gift from another user, but I can't read the instructions in the Item Transfer Log. Can you help? Currently, instructions for receiving a Neocash item gift are translated for the following languages: English; Portuguese; French; German; Dutch; and Spanish. If your language is not currently translated, instructions will be provided in English. We will notify you once additional languages have been translated. Thank you for your patience.
~If I redeem my Neocash Card in the Petpet Park Cash Shop, will I still receive NC Gift Boxes? Yes. However, NC Gift Boxes can only be used to gift NC Mall Neocash items to other Neopets users.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(selected from the NCMall front page)
1. NC MALL
~ What is the NC Mall?
The NC Mall has the fanciest and coolest new styles available to those who wish to expand their customisation experience. Items at the NC Mall use Neocash which you can purchase through PayPal or by redeeming a Neocash Card.
~ Can I preview items before I buy?
There should be new items available every week, so please keep an eye out for the newest and hottest items available to you from the NC Mall! In particular, we highly recommend that you check out the NC Mall on the birthday of your favourite species! [ed. note: As NC items are not species-specific, it would seem that this would be referring to the release of NP wearables for, example, Xweetoks on Xweetok Day as opposed to the day your pet was created.]
~ What Neocash items can I buy, and where?
Neocash items will be sold in the NC Mall. You will need to use a PayPal account to purchase Neocash, as Neopoints will not work there. In the NC Mall, you will find a wide variety of apparel, accessories, and backgrounds to enhance the look of your neopet. The NC Mall is one of these special features of the site that requires payment to use.
~ Do the Neocash items I buy last forever? How is time figured?
The term of an item will be displayed in the item detail when you click on it. Most items will say "N/A", meaning that they never expire. There will be some that do list an expiration term, such as 180 days, for example. This means the item will be automatically removed from your inventory/closet 180 days after you purchased it. Be sure to check the expiration term of all items before making a purchase! The day you purchase the item is the first day it will count toward its expiration, whether it is being used or not.
[ed. note: currently, there are no items which expire.
HOW DO I GET CLOTHES OUT OF MY CLOSET?
Closets are like Safety Deposit Boxes. Go to "Shops" on the navigational tool bar (to the left of the clock), and pull it down to "Your Shop". To the right of the picture, you'll see a "Jump to" list; your closet is either first or second on that list. Click on it and you're there.
Find the wearable you want to take out and put the number of them you want to remove in the box to the right. If you have a PIN set up, put it at the bottom, then click the button and they'll be in your inventory.
Please Note: clothes that come with your pet or with paint brushes cannot be taken out of the closet. Any such clothing is notated in red.
Another Note: if you're taking wearables out to transfer them, NC wearables cannot be transferred from the account on which they were purchased, not even
to your sides. Neither can NC.
WILL THE MALL BE AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE?
The NC Mall is available in English to Neopets players in a growing list of countries, which is listed in the FAQs on the main page of the NC Mall. If you do not live in the listed countries or your primary language is not English, do not worry! (TNT) plans to implement access to the NC Mall across the world, so keep an eye out on the news to see when it will become available in your country and language!
[ed. note: This is covered in the nc mall FAQs in the help section of the yellow box on the main page. It's the ninth bullet under #1.]
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2. NEOCASH
~ What is Neocash?
Neocash is the currency that the NC Mall accepts. Neopoints do not
work at the NC Mall nor is there a rate of exchange of Neopoints to Neocash. You must purchase Neocash by using your PayPal account or by redeeming a Neocash card.
~ Do I need to buy Neocash to play on Neopets??
No, you do not. Neopets is free to play and will continue to be a free site. Neocash is optional to those who wish to expand their Neopets experience by purchasing NC to use in the NC Mall and customise their Neopets with a special line of apparel, accessories, and backgrounds.
~ Why can't Neocash be free?
There is no fee to play Neopets! There are certain areas of the site where, if a user chooses to, they can pay to enhance their Neopets experience but this, by no means, is required to play and enjoy the site! The NC Mall is one of these special features of the site that requires payment to use.
~ Various NC Facts:
NC expires one year from the purchase date, at which time you will receive items equal to the amount of NC you have left; NC is non-refundable; NC is non-transferrable; the exchange rate is 100NC to $1.00; other questions answered in the official FAQs.
~ Is it okay to collect the free 150NC on my side account?
Yes, you may collect the free 150NC on your side accounts.
342. Hi TNT! I know we're allowed to collect our free 150 NC at our already existing side accounts, but I was wondering... if you get a Virtual Item Prize Code on your side from that free 150 NC, are you allowed to redeem it on your main? And what if you get more Virtual Item Prize Codes, because you have more than one side account? ~(username deleted) [from editorial]
Yeah, that issue with the Virtual Item Prize Code is one of the reasons we almost didn't let players accept the free 150 NC on their sides, but eh, we decided to give you guys a break. We really hate having so many rules and such, but man, some players just push and cheat and squirm through loopholes so much we always have to keep tightening the rules down on the rest of you poor guys. :( We're sorry such players make life on Neopets rougher for the rest of you. Erm, but enough with the tangent. If you do happen to get a Virtual Item Prize Code just redeem it on your whichever account you receive it.
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3. FACTS ABOUT NEOCASH ITEMS
~ What is the difference between Neocash and Neopoint items?
Neocash items are special items that are purchased from the NC Mall. These items do require Neocash, which is bought through PayPal or with Neocash cards. Neocash items are also non-refundable and non-transferable. Neopoint items include the same type of items, whether it would be clothes, accessories,
or backgrounds for your pet that are obtained through playing the site, most of which can be bought and traded for with Neopoints and other items on the site. Neocash items will always be outlined in green in your inventory; Neopoint items are outlined in orange.
~ I don't want the NC item I purchased or I purchased it by mistake.
Can I return it?
No, there are no refunds on Neocash items once they are purchased, so please be sure you want the item. We allow you to try on every NC item before purchase, so please take advantage of this to preview all items. You will be required to enter your PW before any purchases are final, so please be sure to review your order before completing this process.
~ What is Neocash?
Neocash is the currency that the NC Mall accepts. Neopoints do not work at the NC Mall nor is there a rate of exchange of Neopoints to Neocash. You must purchase Neocash by using your PayPal account or by redeeming a Neocash card.
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There are many other questions answered in the official FAQ; however, they are of a less general nature than I want for this page. I would strongly suggest reading the official FAQs completely at least once if you are going to use the Mall so that you are familiar with how it works.
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Now, on to the questions I've noticed around the NCMall board.
DO I SERIOUSLY HAVE TO PAY "REAL" MONEY?
The NC Mall is one of many options available for customising your pets, not the only one. You don't have to pay "real" money (aka NC) to do it!
There are the ever-popular paint brushes, with which you can now
paint the same pet several times and walk away with a pink pirate,
if you so desire. Just paint your pet pirate, then paint her pink - and voila! Or your pet could have found a uranium stash in Tyrannia ... just paint him Tyrannian, then glowing. The key is to paint him with the
brush that has the clothing attached to it first, take the clothing off, then paint the color you want him/her to be last. You can still single-paint
your pet, naturally - you don't have to get fancy about it. I've also seen 5x painted pets. Neopia's your oyster, so to speak, when it comes to painting now. Thanks, TNT!!
There are many items available for NPs in user shops, which you
can find after searching for them in the Shop Wiz (or the SSW, if you have it). Two petpages, echoh and nmagazine (links above), will show you what all the items look like, which pets can use them, and where
to find them. You can't find them in the Wiz without knowing
the names of the items first!!
If you're feeling lucky, you can take a try at the Second Hand Shoppe, which is sort of like the Money Tree for wearables. This is where your wearables go if you click on "donate"; non-wearables would go to the Money Tree. At any rate, it works the same way, only the thing you're most likely to see at this point is a multitude of Piles of Dung. The link to get to the Second Hand Shoppe is Second Hand Shoppe .
One way to win NC without paying for it is to play Qasalan Expellibox. The odds aren't great, and you can also get a disease - or nothing, NPs, items worth very little, and the like. If you're lucky, though, you can join a growing list of Neopians who have won 150NC; many, more than once. The game can be found here Qasalan Expellibox .
343. Hi, I know that you can't play games and stuff on your side account, but I was wondering if you are allowed to do the Qasalan Expellibox on side accounts, since you can't profit from NC Mall items? ~[username deleted]
Qasalan Expellibox is a site game that, in addition to giving out NC from time
to time, also gives out Neopoints and items. As such, playing this game on side accounts is not allowed. Please do not confuse the 150 NC giveaway with this game.
I LANDED ON THE SKULL AND GOT REPTILLL ... UM ... SICK!
Not all the places that scarab can fall are nice. Sometimes, that X is downright inviting! This would be one of those times. Getting reptillioritus is no fun, especially when you go to the Wiz and find out that Cactopus Cream will set
you back around 110k (at this writing, anyway), and you have to go through the Trading Post to get it. You may or may not get it that "cheaply".
Do not, and I do mean do not, bother paying that kind of hard earned NPs for something you can get for free unless you have it to just throw around. There is
a free way to get your pet healed, though it may not be the quickest: the Healing Springs in Faerieland . It may take the Water Faerie a few times to get it right, but you can go back every thirty minutes. Just make sure that your sick pet is the active pet, because that's the one she heals most of the time. Sometimes, she heals them all. You don't want to count on that happening, though. Keep an eye on your pet's mood if she doesn't get it right the first time and play with him/her so that s/he doesn't get depressed while s/he's sick. Having a disease you can't pronounce is bad enough without being ignored, too ;) .
She might heal your pet the first time but, if she doesn't, she'll be giving you healing potions and the like. If they won't heal your ills (and, in this case, they won't), don't use them. Put them in your SDB and save them for when you will need them. Some of the potions she can hand you are expensive; you can make a pretty NP from this little adventure. So, don't panic. All's good!
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WHY SHOULD I PAY REAL MONEY FOR ITEMS
I DON'T EVEN GET TO KEEP?
When the Mall was in Beta release, there was a 90 day expiration date; after the Mall went live, the time you could keep the items was extended to 180 days. TNT settled legal issues with Lawyerbot and, at the end of 2007, the expiration dates were abolished on all items out at the time - and that have been introduced since. However, they left themselves some breathing room in case there is a need in the future for an expiration date on an item. That is why the "expiration date"
phraseology still can be seen. So far, though, so good!
Don't let the Limited Edition items fool you into thinking they have an expiration date. What that black star means is that the item is only on sale in the Mall until a certain date. The only time an item expires is when it is so stated on the pop-up Item Detail window. To see the window, click on the picture of the item you're considering.
Sometimes, items will "retire" from the Mall. Examples are items including but not limited to those created for specific holidays, such as Christmas, and seasonal items which have "expired", such as are explained in the Limited Editions paragraph above this one. Items about to retire will have the black star next to them before they do so. In other words, Limited Edition items retire. These items are, oftentimes, available in capsules. Hopefully (but we have no way of knowing yet), holiday/seasonal items will return on their respective holidays/seasons.
GO WINDOW SHOPPING!
That's right, window shopping. Just like in real life. Even if you have no NC, have no intention of getting any NC for whatever reason, or are just trying to see what works for you, you can rummage through the items in the Mall to your little heart's content for as long as you want to, absolutely free, and will even get an avvie in the process (though it doesn't count in the total).
Lots of people have been asking on different threads for peoples' advice on what they should get. Opinions are good to a point; however, we don't know your tastes and we don't know what you already have in your closet. The NCMall board is also notoriously slow so, while you're waiting for a response that you might not even like, you could have been in the Mall trying stuff on and finding the perfect outfit all by yourself. If you can't find anything, you will, at least, have an idea of what you're looking for by then and can give us an idea of what you're looking for so we don't tell you that the cumulus wings are pretty when you're looking for a gothic tiara.
This is also good if you're going to be getting NC but don't have any at the moment. Rummage through and see what you like; take screenies, if you like,
but don't put them up unless you're very, very clear that you do not own the items. To be safe, I'd just not put screenies up if you don't own the items. At any rate, if you find something you like, you can put it on your wishlist so you can remember it when you do get NC. That way, you're not impulse buying, which you might regret later, when you find that one thing that you've been looking for but just hadn't found yet.
To put something on your wishlist, click on the icon (picture) of the item you
have tried on (or want). Right underneath the picture is a list: Add to Cart, Wishlist, and Tell a Friend!. If you know you want it, click Add to Cart and
that's where it will go. You don't have to buy it right now. If you want to think about it, click Wishlist. If you want someone else to know about the item, click Tell a Friend and follow the simple directions. To get back to your wishlist, go
to the yellow box on the left, click on NC Account, and it's the first option under that category. You will have the options of either removing the item from the wishlist entirely or adding it to the cart - or backing out of the screen and doing nothing, in which case, it stays there.
To get to the different kinds of items, use the categories to the right of your pet's picture, underneath "Please note: ..." . To find out information about the item, click on the picture and a pop-up window will appear (be sure they are enabled
in your browser if you want to see them). To try on an item, click on the "try on" green words underneath the item; to take the item off, click on the red "take off" words. It is not immediate, so don't expect automatic click-appear reaction time.
I usually clear (lower left hand corner) what my pet is wearing before I try on new items, unless I want to see how they work with what I already have.
Happy experimenting! I don't like window shopping in real life, but I do have lots of fun with this. Enjoy!
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WHAT A SCAM!
Get your definitions straight. The Mall is not a scam.
A scam is when you win a fantastic trip for six to Alaska for three weeks, all expenses paid, in top flight hotels, and get $500/day spending money but, when you get there, you find out that you have to go on a week-long excursion into the Arctic Circle region of the state to look at prospective hotel rooms you can stay in when they build them in fifty years, no option to not go on that excursion.
All terms of the Mall are outlined up front; ergo, it is not a scam.
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OKAY, SO I HAVE TO PAY REAL MONEY. HOW DO I DO THAT?
The first method of payment to be put into place was PayPal, an international system used by a plethora of well-known businesses. The first thing you have to do is set up a PayPal account, but you do not have to have a bank account to do this. I have my PayPal account tied to my prepaid credit card account, and you can get reloadable credit cards in grocery stores (in my area, anyway) if you would like. Those things look like a duck, walk like a duck, and quack like a goose. :D They don't touch your credit. ANYway.
Directly from their website, here is a list of the currencies in which PayPal accepts payments:
Canadian Dollars
Euros
Pounds Sterling
U.S. Dollars
Yen
Australian Dollars
New Zealand Dollars
Swiss Francs
Hong Kong Dollars
Singapore Dollars
Swedish Kronor
Danish Kroner
Polish Zloty
Norwegian Kroner
Hungarian Forint
Czech Koruna
You just pay for purchases in your country's currency. Payment is automatically converted to your desired currency; there is no need to hold a balance in another currency to send a payment. [ed. note: That quote is also from the PayPal website. As I am in the U.S., I don't have to worry about conversion and, therefore, can't walk you through that step. Sorry.]
~ If, all of a sudden, you have a problem purchasing NC, there are two possibilities that immediately come to mind. The first is that TNT has put purchasing limits on the amount of NC that you are allowed to purchase each month; currently, $75 for the first 30 days and $150 per month thereafter. TNT's thinking is that the impact of a fraud occurance would, thereby, be reduced. That's actually a lot of stuff, but it can get annoying if there's one other thing you want and can't get, especially if it's a Limited Edition. All you can do is wait for the limit to expire and you can automatically put it back into effect again :) . This is the total amount spent on all NC you buy.
The other reason I can think of is PayPal related. If you use one PayPal account to buy NC for more than two or three (I don't remember which) Neopets accounts, all NC purchasing will be suspended, again as a fraud prevention measure. This happened to me right around Christmas, and it took me a while (and some help from the boards) to figure out what was going on. What I did was to contact TNT and let them know what was happening and what, given the research I had done,
I thought was going on. I also told them the accounts for which I had purchased NC with the PayPal account and asked them if they could help me with this. I received an almost immediate response and, within a week, it was resolved.
What you would need to do if you know you've used your PayPal account for more than (go with two to start with) accounts, politely and calmly send TNT a nm (just like you always do when you contact TNT - right??) outlining what is going on, that you think it's because you used PayPal on too many accounts (if that's what you think), and list the accounts you have used it for. Then, ask them to please check it out for you. Give them all the information you can so that they don't have to ask you for more and delay the resolution and your being able to use the Mall. It may take a couple of notes back and forth, but TNT is a good group and will work with you. Hopefully, they will make some kind of allowance somehow for granting Mall privileges by e-mail address instead of account, but that isn't reality yet, so we just have to work within the guidelines we have. Just work politely and calmly and you'll be fine.
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~The second form of payment to be released was the NeoCash cards, which are available exclusively in Target stores. The drawback of this is that Target stores are only in the US. The advantage of buying NC using NeoCash cards is that there are virtual items, as with other merchandise Neopets sells, and the $25 cards also have an extra 150NC attached to them. There is also an extra virtual prize after you buy four of them, but I have no first-hand knowledge of what that prize is. They are counted by account - if you think about it, that's really the only accurate way they can track them. So, if you have three on each of your five accounts, you don't have the bonus item. If you have four on each of three of your accounts, you have three of them. See how that works?? :)
You can also order NeoCash cards from Target's website, but I have heard conflicting stories about whether they can be shipped out of this country. According to their website, they can't; however, there have been some posts I've seen that have indicated otherwise. If you don't live in the States, your best bet would be to have a friend here send one to you.
A word of warning about NeoCash Cards: Before you leave the store, be sure to check your receipt and check to be sure that activation was successful". If you have more than one card, be sure it's there for as many cards as you have. If it's not printed on the receipt, the card will not work when you try to enter the code into the website and you'll have to go back to the store to get it authorized and you'll have to spend even more money on gas and we'll have to put up with another angsty board and you'll have to put up with a headache again and it's just not a fun thing. SO, just take a couple of seconds and check the receipt before you leave the store. Please?
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According to their FAQs, TNT is also looking to roll out other payment methods in the future. Keep your eyes on the news. When I find out about them, I'll add them here.
They're coming, they're coming, they're coming!!!
TNT has added new retail outlets to the list of places where you can get NC Cards!! I'll just list them here:
Target (and Target.com)
Shoppers Drug Stores (Canada)
Wal-Mart (selected stores in the US - click on their name in the NC card section, which will take you to a US map; click on your state and it will take you to a list of the selected stores)
As more come out, I'll continue the list. Thanks, TNT!!
WHERE AND HOW DO I FIND NEOCASH CARDS?
Target is a large store, so finding things can be difficult sometimes, and because it's so large, its employees cannot be expected to know the entire stock and exactly where everything is. It helps if you can help them. Here's some information so that, if you can't find the cards, you can do just that:
The following items are available in the Music Section, next to the iTunes cards and virtually (no pun intended) every other kind of card available):
$10 Neocash Card: SKU 012150088
(this is not Target's number but the item number on the bar code)
$25 Neocash Card: SKU 012150091
The following items are available in the Toy Department, usually on an end cap with the Key Quest items:
$15 Neocash Card: SKU 012150110
$10 Neocash Card Box: SKU 086081354
$25 Neocash Card Box: SKU 086081351
There are also NC cards now available at selected Wal-Mart stores. To find out if a Wal-Mart near you is one of them, click on "Neocash Cards Now Available". Under the box with the pictures of the cards will be the logos for Target and Wal-Mart; click on Wal-Mart's. This will bring up a US map. Then, click on your state, and a list of towns will come up. These are the stores that stock the cards. Find the one closest to you and you're good to go!! ;)
$10 Neocash Card: SKU 799366574019 (PC Game Section)
$25 Neocash Card: SKU 799366574057 (PC Game Section)
Looking for the item first in the appropriate department and, if you can't find it yourself, asking an associate for the item and, if they can't find it, either, giving them the SKU, should result in your walking out with a Neocash card. Don't forget to check to be sure the card is activated before leaving the store!
CVS Pharmacies have now been added as a source for NeoCash cards. Keep
an eye on the "Get Neocash" link in the Mall to see if any other stores have been added! Click on the store name for locations.
$10 Neocash Card: SKU 21536587 (Gift Card Section)
$25 Neocash Card: SKU 21536588 (Gift Card Section)
7Eleven is the newest addition to the NeoCash card family. There is a $10 Neocash Card located in the Gift & Gaming Section, but no SKU is available.
[ed. note: From the NCMall board: "Neocash cards ($10 and $25) are now available at all Shoppers Drug Mart stores in Canada. There are 4 different designs, so collect them all! Every time you redeem a Neocash card you will receive a free virtual item you can't get anywhere else. And with all $25 cards
you will receive an additional 150 NC for FREE!"]
COMBINE NC CARD AND PAYPAL, IN A WAY ...
What I have for my PayPal account is a rechargeable credit card - according to what I have been told, they are available overseas, as well - that works like a credit card but isn't tied to your credit. Once you use up the money that you put
on it, it's done until you put more money onto it. That way, even if someone gets the number, it doesn't matter - all they can get is the amount on the card, and I never have more on there than I'm going to use plus about $20. You can consider that your NC card.
WHAT ABOUT USING NEOPOINTS? CAN I TRANSFER NC?
The economies of the Mall and the "free game" are intended to be kept entirely separate, according to TNT. They do not want NC to buy NPs in any way or NPs to buy NC. They do not want people buying NC to "buy their way through the game", which would not be fair to those who do not or cannot get NC.
Therefore, Neopoints cannot purchase Neocash under any circumstances. Likewise, Neocash cannot purchase Neopoints under any circumstances. Neocash is not transferrable from the account on which it was purchased,
so you cannot give it to a friend, send some to one of your side accounts, get a refund, or do anything else with Neocash other than use it at the NC Mall.
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A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BUYING AN NC MALL ITEM:
[ed. note: This looks a lot more complicated than it is only because I'm making it a very elementary walk-through. If you've never used the Mall before, keep this window open and open another one for the Mall; it will make life a lot easier for you. Otherwise, just scan it and you'll be fine. It's really not that tough.
Happy shopping!!]
~ Try on items and decide on what you want (I usually try things on, take screenies, wait a couple of days, then look at the screenies and see what I do and don't still like. Sometimes, I toss everything and start over; others, I just go to the Mall, pick out exactly those items, and check out. That way, though, I'm not impulse buying).
~ Click "Add to cart" underneath the item(s) you want to buy.
~ Click "Close" when the Add to Cart pop-up window comes up. If it says Item can't be added to cart, keep trying until it can. If it's more stubborn than you are, just try later.
~ Click "View Cart" underneath the Menu Bar, next to the little shopping cart. This will take you to an invoice of sorts - where all the items on which you've clicked will appear. There are three columns of radio buttons here - click which of the three is appropriate for each item: Add to Wishlist (if you don't want to buy it yet but might later); Remove (if you've changed your mind); or Buy (if you want it now). Click "Update Cart" when you're done. You won't leave the page
when you do this. You can change selections at this point.
~ Make sure that the list with "Buy" checked is the list you want to buy and you have enough NC to cover it. If you don't, you need to put more on your Wishlist, click "Update Cart" again until your Total is less than or equal to your Neocash Balance.
~ Click "Checkout". This will take you to the next page.
~ This is your final chance to review what you'll be paying for before you pay for it. As there is no refund, be very careful here. Any expiration date is also noted here. As I write this, I am buying a Haunted Piano just to make sure I'm not skipping anything, and I'm looking at two totals and the price of the item once, the name of the item and the expiration date. Above the Item List is the following instruction: "Please review your purchase then enter your past w0rd and click the "Buy Now!" button to continue." At the bottom of the page, it says "Enter your Neopets past w0rd for verification:" and then there's a box. That's the word you use to log in. It should be obvious, but an incredible number of threads are being created about this.
~ After you fill in the box, click "Buy Now". You'll go to a different page.
~ At the top of this page, it should say "Your purchase is complete! You have just purchased the following items: (with a list of the items and prices underneath)." There will also be a variety of links which you can click to go to various places and view various things. The most important, though, will be your Inventory. Click "Go to Inventory".
~ NC Items appear underneath NP items, so scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the NC item(s) you just purchased if you have NP items in your inventory. As I don't already have items in my inventory, though, the piano is sitting right at the top.
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~ The easiest way to put items into your closet is with the Quick Stock, which is right under the line that says "You currently hold xx item(s)". You can leave everything else where it is and just click on the items to put into the closet, if you want - then, you don't have to worry about finding them in your inventory. Just click "Check All" on the far right and all your wearables will go to your closet when you click "Submit".
~ You will see a NM from theneopetsteam; read it like you'd read any other.
~ The middle option in the second line of the "Jump to:" section is the "NC Mall Album", which is where all your NC Mall wearables can be shown to your fellow neopians. There is an FAQ and many other helpful hints within those pages that I won't repeat here; please read them. They are quite self-explanatory. If you want the album and its contents to be seen, however, both boxes in the grey box have to be checked.
WHY DOESN'T THE MALL WORK IN *insert name of town, state, country that used to work here*
It is a glitch. The free NC has created many, many (as in millions) of users for the Mall that have not existed up to now. As with any other website on the 'net, an overloaded web page will enter the realm of weirdness until its load slows down, at which time it will, usually, act normally again. Patience, grasshoppers. It will work sooner or later; sometimes, trying again in minutes will work if your timing is good and people are about to stop accessing the Mall. Sometimes, it takes much longer, if you are trying at the same time everyone else is starting to use it, too.
The glitch has calmed down since there aren't so many people accessing the Mall now that the free 150NC craze has died down, but every so often, it still crops up. Best guess: when the page is overloaded, that's the message that is defaulted to show up - or, more clearly, when what happens when the overload hits is detected by the server, that's the error message that is created.
The latest thought I've heard, which makes a lot of sense, too, is that it depends upon which country you are routed through when you try to use the Mall. Depending on how busy the internet is, it will reroute traffic so that it won't
go down itself (to simplify things); that might be why you might be able to buy things one minute and you are in an ineligible country the next. It's the same principle as the thought I had above but with a different twist.
If you're one of the ones who got half-way through (you used the NC but didn't get the item and now you get a message saying you already used the NC), let TNT know by using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page. Don't go ballistic on them; just calmly let them know exactly what happened so they can look into it for you. They are reasonable people and want to help you if they can. However, they need your help to be able to do that. They are dealing with millions of requests, not just yours.
I don't work for TNT, so this is my best guess but one based on observations. Hope it helps.
~~~~~~~
The Mall opened on July 16, 2007 after two weeks of open beta testing.
To celebrate its first birthday, TNT gave out free goodie bags which contain a NC wearable and two NP items. Even after you open the bag and the items fall out, the bag stays in your album. :) There is also a golden capsule with a 1 in a star, which has all kinds of items in it, available until the end of the month, a "birthday tree" which is sort of like a big smiley treat, and a big birthday cake background. Many happy returns!!
351. *hands out confetti and birthday hats* Dear TNT, thanks for the NC Mall Goodie Bag! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy when you guys do something nice and quite unexpected for your loyal members. Happy first birthday, NC Mall! *throws confetti* ~[username removed]
Yay! ^_^ We love doing stuff for you guys! Oh wait, we have to put the serious hat on for a moment, though. *places on head* Ahem. Since you can receive site items from the bag, please only collect the goodie bag on your main accounts. *waggles finger, then takes off hat* Phew. Glad that's over. Confetti time! ^_^ *throws*
~~~~~~~
4. I JUST GOTTA SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!
~ Before I get into this ...
There is nobody with whom I have discussed this topic who does not agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion on its merits. That thought, however, almost invariably goes one step further: the issue should stay focused on the Mall itself, not stray to the users of the Mall. That said ...
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~ What do you mean, "stay focused on the Mall"?
When a supposed discussion turns into something like "what a stupid waste of money" or "how dumb can you be to spend real money on fake pixels when you could be donating it to charity and doing some good" or "you're just going to wind up on the street because you can't control your spending", that takes the focus off the Mall and puts it on the users of the Mall. You might be upset with the Mall, but that's not what you're lashing out at - you're taking out your anger at those who are using the Mall, and that is not right. It also does nothing to foster discussion and does a lot toward angry boards. Think about how you'd feel if all you heard was "how stupid can you be to not see the benefits of the Mall" or "how can you just sit there and waste all that time earning NPs when you can just buy stuff from the Mall"? Probably not really happy, right? Well, it goes the other way, too.
~ Why does it take so long for anyone to answer?
This has never been a fast board - take a look at the first page of threads and you could well see three days' worth of them. Bumping a board four times in two minutes will, likely, get you no answers at all - and saying something like "well, I'll just go somewhere where people WILL answer my question - I'm not wasting more time on this dumb board" three minutes after the initial post will, surely, not get your question answered. If you really luck out, you might get a 'yes or a 'no way', but that'd be about it. As with any other board, take a look at the habits of the posters of the board you're on before you start to complain about speed.
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~ What's wrong with ch@tsp3@k and 1337?
Ouch. My eyes hurt. Despite what some on the boards commonly think, there are many adults on neopets. We were not brought up in the foreign language era of chatspeak, do not understand, for the most part, that derivation of the language, and have no desire to do so. Believe it or not, there are also many younger people on this site with whom I have discussed this topic, and they don't feel that chatspeak is appropriate on these boards, either.
Why not? For the exact reason I just stated: not everyone on these public boards understands it, it offends many, and, if you want your opinion understood (or, even, listened to), it's not a good idea to put it in a communication method that people don't understand, don't want to understand, and to which they will not respond. Personally, nine times out of ten, I just ignore it because I have no interest in translating something before I respond to it. It is also disrespectful to assume that I will take the time to do so when there's a perfectly easily understood and commonly known language. Basically, if the keyboard won't fit in the palm of your hand, you're supposed to use "real" English.
btw, such things as "lol" or "btw" or "rofl" have been around since the dawn
of computers - when entire hard drives were measured in Mbs. That is not chatspeak. "leet" is the letter/number stuff in the title (which has never made sense to me) or stuff like switching "like" to "lyk". Save that baloney for your phones or for threads where you know that everyone is fine with chatspeak. Otherwise, use "real" English, please.
Remember, on the other side of the monitor sit real people. We all have feelings and we all have good and bad days. If you're having a bad day and you find that everything everyone is saying is making you mad, then it's perhaps best to stay off the boards. If you find that it's one of those days where everything you read
is aggravating, then it's probably time to just play games and restock your shop.
If you see someone you think is having a bad day and they say something that doesn't seem right, just say something like "username, that was uncalled for" and let it drop at that, even if they answer. You don't have to compound their mistake.
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~ What do I do if somebody asks a direct help question?
If somebody asks for help, and you know the answer, by all means, feel free to help them out. It might be that someone else can explain it to the OP (original poster) better than you can; in that case, just vaporize. It's nothing personal - it's just the way it goes, just like some teachers connect with you better than others. You might wind up neomailing each other back and forth before everything is totally resolved, and that's fine. I've done that many times. If it's of general interest, post it on the boards; if it's getting to be of a more specific nature,
take it to neomail.
One caveat: do not answer a question if you do not know the answer. I have seen several off-the-wall answers lately that are nowhere close to reality put out there as if they came straight out of an encyclopedia, and that is not helpful at all. Let someone who really knows answer the question.
~ Before you post anything, read the Terms and Conditions.
That way, you'll be up to date on the latest "dos and don'ts" and be less likely
to make a gaffe that will put your account in jeopardy. Some things said on the boards will just get you a warning, some will get you suspended, and others will just get you iced. Enough of the first two, and what would usually be a warning could turn into an icing.
So, be careful about what you're posting. They're watching - and they have a right to. Actually, they're required to, because they're legally responsible for what happens on their site. "Free speech" goes only as far as they think they can safely handle and let us know about. If they say we can't do it in the T, that trumps anything else, and if you use the site, you're agreeing to that. That's the "agree you clicked when you signed up, just in case you didn't really read it.
5. WHAT IS UP WITH THE POUND? WHY'S IT DOWN SO LONG?
~ This has nothing to do with the Mall, though that has often been an accusation thrown around. It's highly probable that two different sets of staff members are working on the Mall and the Pound - putting the same set of "hats" on both would not be smart because they are so different and if TNT is anything, smart
is one of them. You have to be smart to do everything they've done.
Customisation, in general, was the problem. People were the problem. Some Neopians were taking clothes off their pets before they pounded or transferred them and sending, for example, royal pets with no clothes on (reading too many fairy tales ... The Emperor's New Clothes does not apply in Neopia :D ). So, down went the pound. This, at any rate, is my best guess.
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~ TNT has to figure out how to make people transfer an entire royal pet - yet not have to transfer a pet with all kinds of clothes in its closet. They have to recode it in 2.0 instead of 1.0. They have to test it and recode it with anything that's broken. Then, they have to retest it. It has to work with the entire site, not just a tiny part of it. This is not a teeny, tiny venture. One of the programmers was on a board a few days ago saying that he was working on the testing then (this would have been in April 2008).
People not in the business don't realize how difficult this stuff can be. Simple things, things that seem like they should take five minutes, can take days or even weeks to get straight and, even then, can do funky things. Complicated things can take many months and, even then, can require emergency releases to fix things that weren't quite right the first time. That's probably what they're doing now behind the scenes so that, when they launch the pound, it's right. You would really prefer it being right when it's launched over its being launched quickly, wouldn't you?
~ Update, from the 4/25/08 Editorial:
When will the Pound be open again? ~(username removed)
Monday, if all goes according to plan. Yaaaaaay!!!
Could it be?? Scuttlebutt on the boards has it that it's more a transfer system than a pound, per se, but I guess we'll see on Monday!
From the latest News:
Pound Update - *Holds up hand to quiet everyone* We will put the pound back up on the site on Monday. We have changed the pound a bit so we are giving everyone a chance to check out the Pound FAQ over the weekend. We are very excited about this and we know that you are too! :)
From the News:
29th April
SORRY! *hides* We want to apologize for not being able to launch the pound today. We really did think we would be able to, but we will be launching it tomorrow after we make sure it won't blow up the site. (You may have noticed some site trouble earlier, which was due to the pound.) :-( Trust us, we want the pound back as much as you do.
TIME FOR THE "HAPPY DANCE"!!!
As of sometime April 29, 2008, the Pound is back online_ There are three portals: Adopt, Transfer, and Abandon. Go, take a look!! :D
Just one thing: be sure to transfer your pet if you want the clothing to go with him/her. When you abandon pets, for some reason, they lose their clothes so that, when they are adopted, they are totally unclothed. An island pet is the island color, but has no island clothes, for example. Keep that in mind when you are moving pets between accounts!
Just one more thing: If you are transferring a painted pet which normally comes with clothing, such as pirate, the transferred pet now always takes these clothes with him
in the transfer, even if the pet is not actually wearing the clothes. Think of transferring as "you get to take your suitcase with you". If you have a twice painted pet, the only clothes that will go with the pet are the clothes with the latest painting (you can't send
a pirate uni with desert clothing even if you've painted that uni desert then pirate). The only way to move a pet with paint brush clothes to another account without the clothing set is to pound the pet. In the pound, it's "no clothes allowed".
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One word of caution: When.
The rest of the thought: they redid the pound, they either forgot to or just didn't make petpages revert to the default petpage; therefore, whatever is on the page that's sent over to you will become your problem if there's something wrong with it. When you accept a pet, the first thing you need to do is check the petpage and be sure there is nothing on it that can get you in trouble. To reset it until you have time to "do it your way", go to "my account", pull down to "control panel". In the second box ("Neopets"), the last option is "Edit Pet Page"; click on it. You will see pictures of all your pets and edit, view, and stats underneath each one. Click on "edit" underneath the pet you just adopted. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you will see a radio button that says "Reset Page to Default" with a red warning underneath it. If you want to keep the petpage that was sent to you, don't do this; if you want to get rid of it so that you don't get in trouble for its content and/or can change it to something you want, the reset button is what you need. Click it. If an "are you sure" pop up appears, and you are, click yes. The default page will appear until you change it. Problem solved.
342. TNT, I'm thoroughly weirded out. I went to edit one of my Cybunnies' Petpages (one that I'd CREATED, not adopted), and HE ALREADY HAD ONE. My first reaction was shock - since that page had offsite links on it. Could it have been a previous Neopet with the same name that got deleted due to inactivity? I'm really confused. O.o ~(username deleted)[ed. note: from editorials]
Haha, yep, that's exactly what happened actually! It seems that when
a Neopet is purged from the database the Petpage isn't cleared. It may be a good idea to check the Petpage of Neopets you've created if you have a feeling they may have had a past life.
Pound FAQs
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6. WHAT IS THIS ELITE BOUTIQUE I KEEP HEARING ABOUT?
~ We just had a user who posted on the boards that he just got access into the Boutique. He started playing on May 8, 2004 and got access on June 6, 2008
(the 8th was on a Sunday). His board age is 49 months, but his shield still says four years. We're getting closer to figuring out when Neopians can get into the Elite Boutique!! Keep the info coming ;) .
There's a friendly red kacheek beckoning us into his shop, saying "You must be one of the Neopian Elite if you are here at my store! I am sure you will be pleased with our fine and rare merchandise. Be assured that only those who are in the know will be in my shop." The first six items in this boutique are all priced at the same prices as other Mall items: 150NC for trinkets and 200NC for backgrounds, and I see no reason to think that will change. Another reason to toe the line and take care of your account: if you have to keep starting over, you'll never see the inside of this boutique, and there's some pretty cool stuff in here. Congrats to those who are here already - and hope to see you soon to those who aren't!!
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN EDITORIALS
ABOUT TOPICS COVERED HERE:
Every so often, questions relevant to topics on this page are asked and answered in the Neopian Times editorials. As I see them, I will add them here, with the issue number in which the question appeared:
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341. I'm SO glad it's back. Now for my question: I want to transfer my Neopets from one of my other accounts to this account, but two of them are still using the old art from before you changed how the Neopets look. I want to know if, when I transfer them, will they stay with the old art, or will they be changed to the new art? I couldn't find anything about this when I looked through the Pound FAQ and I want to know before I transfer. If they get to keep their old artwork, give the people that helped with the Pound pancakes. ;D Thanks a bunch! ~(username deleted)
Neopets featuring old art will NOT be automatically converted if they are transferred. However, once they are in the hands of their new owner, that player will have the option of permanently converting them. So if you do not want your Neopet to be converted we suggest being careful with the lending out of an unconverted Neopet unless you're willing to risk this happening. Once a Neopet is converted it cannot be changed back, even if it is someone else who did it.
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341. Thanks so much TNT for getting the Pound back up. I love the transfer feature! My question is about Lutaris. I know that, in the past, if we tried to abandon a Lutari it would run away. Are we able to transfer Lutaris now? ~(username deleted)
No, Lutaris cannot be abandoned without running away, and they will not allow themselves to be transferred. Sheesh! They are such willful Neopets, aren't they?
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341. Let's say you use the transfer option to receive a Neopet that's being lent to you. How long will it be before you can use the transfer option to give it back? There appears to be a lag of a certain number of days. ~(username deleted)
It is currently set to once a month, but we soon hope to have it set to once per day.
342. I was trying to transfer a Neopet, but I accidentally typed in the wrong user, and the user hasn't signed on for days. I wanted to adopt a Neopet, but now I can't. I was just wondering when I would just get the Neopet back, and then be able to give it to the right user. Thanks, you guys at TNT rule so much you deserve a carrot (not a cookie, because too many people give you cookies and you might have to go on a diet x.X). Oh, and please leave my name out. :D ~[username removed]
Woops! We figured this was bound to happen, so we have set it so that if the person does not accept the transfer within 3 days, the Neopet will be returned to you. However, that will be your one Neopet transfer (send) for the month.
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341. A lot of people have been getting confused with the new transfer system as of May 1st. I understand that the Pound being back is a brand new thing, but I was just wondering (since it's not stated anywhere in the FAQ): can you transfer a Neopet to another account (say, a side) every 30 days, or literally every month, like the monthly freebies/game resets? Thank you for answering, if you do. :) ~(username deleted)
The FAQ says that you can transfer a Neopet every month. By this, we mean every calendar month. So, if you transferred a Neopet on April 30th, you could transfer another Neopet in early May.
[ed. note: also from the FAQ: You can transfer one Neopet to another user each month. You can also accept one transfer from another user during each month. Each Neopet can only be transferred once per day.]
342. I was trying to transfer a Neopet, but I accidentally typed in the wrong user, and the user hasn't signed on for days. I wanted to adopt a Neopet, but now I can't. I was just wondering when I would just get the Neopet back, and then be able to give it to the right user. Thanks, you guys at TNT rule so much you deserve a carrot (not a cookie, because too many people give you cookies and
you might have to go on a diet x.X). Oh, and please leave my name out. :D ~(username removed)
Woops! We figured this was bound to happen, so we have set it so that if the person does not accept the transfer within 3 days, the Neopet will be returned
to you. However, that will be your one Neopet transfer (send) for the month.
[ed. note: the transfer fee is non-refundable]
345. Hello, TNT. I have a short question about trading Neopets. My younger sister had set up a trade (orange Koi for ghost Lupe) and, after she successfully adopted the Koi, she put the ghost Lupe up for adoption. Afterwards, she noticed that it was still there, and that the other person's account was only 2 months old (therefore, she was unable to adopt the Neopet). Since the Koi was painted, my sister couldn't send back the Koi. My sister now feels guilty because she can't send the Neopet back, nor send the Lupe. Can she get reported for not sending it back? Should she wait until the account ages? Thanks. ~(username removed)
Egads! Well, there's a disaster of a situation. :-/ Both parties should always check to make sure that the other person is eligible for the transfer, but for this case we'd have to say the younger account is at fault. We've requested that the following warning, which is on the abandon page, be placed on the transfer page as well: "Neopets that are higher than Level 2, Neopets that are limited-edition species, and Neopets that have been painted with certain rare or expensive paint brushes CANNOT be adopted from accounts that have been active for less than four months." Hopefully that will reduce the chances of something like this happening again. It'd be very sweet of your sister to hold on to the Lupe (if she still has it) until the account is old enough to accept the transfer, but your sister should not be reported as there is really nothing she can do.
346. Why can't accounts that are less than 4 months old transfer or adopt limited edition (or most painted) Neopets? I'm a responsible owner. ~(username removed)
We're sure you are. :) However, the system was abused by players making brand new accounts and adopting all the nice Neopets out of the Pound and sticking them in side accounts made just to gather fancy Neopets for some unknown reason. This rule is to help protect Neopets and give active accounts a better chance of getting a nice Neopet.
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341. I've been playing Neopets off-and-on for almost eight years now. I love the new transfer feature in the Pound, but as you know it has developed into a black hole of confusion. To my knowledge it has never been okay to swap/trade Neopets. For example: I have a Lupe and Person A will give me their Poogle for my Lupe. This is bad. However, if I wanted to move my Lupe to my side account, this is fine. Nonetheless, trading behavior is rampant now and I'm just wondering if we can get a specific and concise YES or NO on the issue. So many players, including older ones, read past Editorials and say it's permissible while many others, such as myself, still believe it to be wrong. Am I wrong and trading has always been okay? Or am I right and the rules, since changed, now make it okay? Or was it always wrong and is still wrong? Unfortunately, I am not so concise, but I thank you in advance for clarifying the issue! ~(username deleted)
To explain as simply as possible, the first thing someone should understand is that, once they choose to let their Neopet go (even if it's to a friend), the Neopet no longer belongs to them. Therefore, they need to be sure that letting their Neopet leave the account is what they want, because this is solely their responsibility and choice. Secondly, as of this writing, the selling of Neopets and trading of Neopets for items, Neopoints, etc. is also against the rules. Therefore, if you are caught doing it you could lose the Neopet and your account.
342. Okay, I understand that trading Neopets for items, NP, etc. is not okay. However, is trading a Neopet for another Neopet okay? I've seen a lot of people trying to trade Neopets and claiming it's okay, but you've never actually said that it's okay, have you? The thing they are showing as proof that it's okay is a question in the Pound FAQ that's about Neopet trading. ~(username deleted)
Yes, trading Neopets (even though we don't like the idea of players trading their Neopets) is tolerated, but only if it is a 1:1 swap. This means no "extras" sent before/during/after the swap that might include Neopoints, items, accounts, coding, art, or anything else that would be considered an illegal payment. If there is an agreement to trade Neopets and the process has already begun (one of the Neopets has already been sent) then the other person must fulfill their side of the bargain or return the Neopet. Running off with one after a trade has begun is considered scamming and will result in that player being frozen. It is unlikely you will get your Neopet back if this occurs, though, so use good judgment as to who you swap with!
352. So the "Goggles" avatar from the NC Mall doesn't count in your avatar total because not everyone can get it, and the Space Faerie Premium avatar does not count for the same reason. Therefore, why does the Premium site theme count in site theme totals? Shouldn't it not count the same as other site themes for the same reason those two avatars don't count in avatar totals? ~(username deleted)
The biggest difference is that avatars have a high score table, which is basically a reward structure in addition to the receiving of an avatar itself. Themes, on the other hand, have no such reward aside from the actual theme, and therefore are more of an interesting factoid on your account than anything else. If we do change that in the future by making a score table for themes we'll reconsider counting the premium theme, but until then it's a bit of a moot point.
342. I am sure you are sick of answering Pound questions, but could you answer just two more please? A lot of people are "lending" Neopets since the Pound opened. I have questions about this. First, is the lending/borrowing of Neopets allowed? I know it was very common in the past but I just wanted to check if you are still allowing it. Second, if someone does lend you a Neopet (clearly saying it is only lending) you are not allowed to keep, correct? Some people are claiming they have the right to keep the Neopet (even after agreeing to only borrow it) since once a Neopet is placed in the Pound it is up for anyone to adopt. Thank you so much! ~(username deleted)
Once again, we don't like the concept of people borrowing/lending their Neopets (they are supposed to be your pets, not objects), but we digress. It is okay according to our current site rules to lend Neopets. It is NOT okay for a player
to refuse to return Neopets or items or Neopoints that were lent to them. This is scamming and is not tolerated. If a player is found to be scamming, ALL their accounts will be frozen. When something of yours is lent out you are taking the risk that a player could be dishonest and not return it. If they do run off with it, please report them so that they may be frozen, but do not expect to get the item/Neopoints/Neopet returned to you.
More specifically with Neopets, as far as the option to transfer a Neopet there is no "open season" on a Neopet that is being lent. The person who receives it is obligated by site rules to return it. However, please note that if the transferring
is being done through the open Pound and not the transfer system, anyone intercepting the Neopet between the two players is not at fault and is not obligated to return it. This is not the case if the intended recipient (no matter which account of theirs they are on) receives it, though. If they get it, and it was a loan, they are obligated to send it back to the owner. If a Neopet is given to someone (say, a friend that falls out of your favour a few weeks afterward) they are not required
to return the Neopet.
There, we think we covered everything that time. x_X
Helpful hint: For the sake of safety, if you do attempt to use the open Pound to send Neopets around, don't talk about it on a board where others could be lurking with the intent of snagging the Neopet. If it has been spoken about, privately arrange a time through Neomail for the adoption to take place.
370. Erm... say we accidentally typed a username wrong when we were transferring and that person hasn't been seen in a long time on Neopets. Is there any way to back out of the transfer? If not, does the Neopet go back to you, or does he/she go to the Pound? ~(username deleted)
As long as you keep the spot empty for its return, your Neopet should come bounding back to your account in a couple of days. However, if you fill up with four Neopets before then, the poor thing will be redirected to the Pound.
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341. Hi, TNT. Thank you so much for the Pound, but as you might have already guessed the re-opening has caused a few adverse effects. I know you already answered about a Neopound Board being created, but are you willing to reconsider? There's already a lot of begging going on at the Help Chat - with it being overcrowded by Pound topics - and people are finding it more difficult to get their questions answered. Re-directing them to existing Pound surfs doesn't really work, either. It just seems that a Neopound Board would be a good solution for everyone. Thanks so much for reading my request. ~(username deleted)
We are planning on adding a board for the Pound soon, though we are not sure when exactly. :)
UPDATE: On May 8, 2008, TNT added the Neopian Pound board, on which we can "Learn about Neopets that other users are going to abandon and find out stories about other Neopians who have adopted Neopets." Yay!
342. Please make sure you redeem all of your Altador Cup prizes for the last two years by the 23rd of May 2008 as we will be closing those prize shops on the 23rd.
THIS DOESN'T COUNT AS A WEBSITE NAME? SORRY, BUT IT DOES.
379. I just discovered that "google" is a verb (since at least 2006). I know naming companies is against the rules on Neopets, but is it okay to use "google" as the verb it is? Thanks! ~(username deleted)
That may be true, but it's still directing players off site. Telling someone to "google _____" is basically telling them to leave the safety of Neopets. Often there are words that have a lot of different meanings, and if you google these words you might find something you weren't prepared to know or see images of. D: So yeah, we know it's very commonplace, but please don't use it on Neopets.
ABOUT THOSE PETPAGE APPLICATIONS ...
342. During a discussion over a deliciously large bowl of Jelly Bellies we have decided that extreme pet applications will no longer be tolerated on the site. What we mean by extreme includes requests for Petpages to be made for the Neopet as part of the application, the owner of the Neopet being refunded or gifted in any way to compensate for the "raising" of the Neopet, or anything beyond a standard application. If the owner wants you to write an little essay about why you would be a good choice, that is fine. (We encourage everyone to use their writing skills!) But going off the deep end of attempting to find a good owner for your Neopet to forcing people through hoops to boost your ego and making it a competition will no longer be welcome on the site.
343. Hey TNT! In last week's Editorial you said that extreme Petpage applications are no longer allowed. At one point you said, "What we mean by extreme includes requests for Petpages to be made for the Neopet as part of the application." Does this mean Petpage apps are no longer allowed, or that you're not allowed to ask for people to make your Neopet a Petpage? I'm asking because I thought the latter, while my friend though it was the former. Can you please say which of us is right? ~[username deleted]
No one may require/request/hint that an extreme Petpage application is required. If, for whatever reason, you really love making Petpages for Neopets other than your own, then well, more power to you. However, we suggest giving the attention to your own Neopets rather than using it in hopes of getting another one. We really love to see people cherish their Neopets and enjoy them as if they were real, which is why it breaks our heart to see them often treated like pixels, but sadly we can't force people to care about their Neopets. :(
ABOUT THOSE ANNOYING RAPIDLY FLASHING LOOKUPS:
375. Hi, TNT. There seems to be a few of these lookups around, ones that seem to have flashing backgrounds -- and I don't mean pleasant flickery, I mean disco-style-hyper-speed-flashy flashing. Couldn't these be dangerous and therefore very inappropriate for Neopets? Cheers. :) ~[username removed]
Someone else sent us a link to one of these ULs and wowza -- yeah, no. If you're purposely making your UL flash violently in the attempt to cause a lot of discomfort or (even jokingly) induce seizure, expect to get your UL cleared and a warning in your inbox.
ABOUT THOSE INAPPROPRIATE ADS:
294. The subject about inappropriate ads has been commented on many times. I know that you don't hand pick each individual ad you place on the site, but for those that can't grasp that idea, I ask of you to please shed some insight on the ad picking process to people who don't understand how inappropriate or questionable ads get by. ~[username removed]
Thanks for understanding! You are quite correct that we aren't able to see the ads before they go up. We use third party ad services, and they control the ads based on criteria we give them. Sometimes, ads meant for other networks slip in. There are also ads that seem fine but have one detail crop up that's not appropriate. Oftentimes, new ads are put in to the system on Friday evening when there is a much lesser chance staff will spot any bad ads before the weekend. We get just as mad as you players when we find inappropriate ads have been on the site. (Trust us, we love this site just as much as you guys do!) So please, please, please if you see a bad ad, report it immediately! We don't want that kind of stuff on our site! :[
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