How to
swap safely
on BibSwap.
BibSwap is a noticeboard, not a payment processor. How the mechanics work comes down to whether the race sets the price, or the seller does.
How it works
Which type of transfer is it?
Why does the seller go first?
Because it's the direction fraud can't scale in. A fake seller can take money from ten people for one bib that doesn't exist. A fake buyer has to accept a real entry, into their own name, on a real start list, once — and the organiser can see it sitting there.
How a swap actually happens
Six steps, three places. Most of it happens by email, two moments in My Account, and the transfer itself on the race’s own system.
You agree it through the relay
The buyer's first message comes through the message field on the bib listing. After that you discuss the swap by ordinary email, relayed through BibSwap — settling the price and who covers the transfer fee, without either of you seeing the other's real address.
The seller sets up the swap
Once you've agreed a price, the seller starts it — and only the seller can. Either from the button at the foot of the enquiry email, or from the listing in My Account.
The buyer confirms they're ready
We ask the buyer to confirm before the seller starts the transfer on the race portal. Three answers, one click — and the email says what saying yes hands over.
The buyer's address is sent to the seller
One email carries the buyer's address, plus the steps this particular race needs — a portal, a race office, or a desk on the day.
The transfer happens off BibSwap
The entry only ever moves on the organiser's official system. We don't touch it, and no runner's details pass through us.
Back to your account to close the loop
Marking the listing transferred emails the buyer to ask whether they got the entry. The swap only counts towards your levels once you have both confirmed.
Swap safely
Only use the event's official transfer process
A handover between two runners isn't a transfer — the start list still says someone else, carrying their emergency contact and their medical details. Go down on course and the medics call the wrong person. Insurance is void and both of you are disqualified. The organiser's own system is the only thing that moves a name.
The organiser is the source of truth
We publish every event's rules and re-check them, but organisers change them without telling anyone. Where a race's own page differs from ours, the race wins.
What BibSwap does, and what it doesn't
We introduce the two of you and keep both addresses private. We publish every event's process, deadline and fee. We don't hold money, verify identities, or reverse a payment.
Fast Track
Help the market move.
Get Fast Track.
- 1. Take over an available entryBuy a listed bib for a race that hasn't sold out and help another runner recover their entry fee.
- 2. List a bib for a sold-out raceGive another runner the chance to get into a race they otherwise couldn't enter.
- 3. Get Fast TrackWhen a bib is listed for a sold-out race you're watching, you'll hear about it before members without Fast Track.
BibSwap levels
Every completed swap counts.
Your level is a record of how many swaps you have completed here, counting both sides: bibs you have passed on to another runner, and bibs you have taken over from one. It never goes down — a level you have reached stays yours.
| Badge | Completed swaps |
|---|---|
| 0–1 | |
| 2–3 | |
| 4–5 | |
| 6–7 | |
| 8 or more |
What a level is not
A level is not a guarantee about anyone. BibSwap records a transfer as complete when both people confirm it — we do not check with the organiser. A high level means someone has been around a while and done this before. It does not mean we have verified them, and it is never a reason to skip the event's official transfer process.