MARKETPLACE SECURITY
THE ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE PROMISE - Our highest priority is the integrity of our auctions. We understand how much it means to our clients and the industry. For this reason, we take significant steps to protect buyers and sellers from prohibited conduct on our platform, which includes shill bidding, string bidding, owners bidding on their items, and bidding and not paying. These safeguards protect our clients and create a trustworthy and healthy marketplace.
AUCTION SECURITY
ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE protects auction bidders. As a buyer, when you enter a max bid in an auction, your max bid remains private if it exceeds the current high bid. Only you have access to view it. No third party can see your max bid, including ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE employees, independent contractors, other clients, or any other members of the public. As detailed in our FAQ, ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE strictly prohibits employees from participating in auctions. ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE also prohibits independent contractors from bidding in auctions if they have any involvement in the process, including writing card descriptions, handling or promoting cards, or accessing our administrative tools.
ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE provides advanced auction platform security. ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE's platform contains firewalls, encryption, security certification, and a security-monitored independent database dedicated solely to protecting max bid confidentiality. Tech Heads, a cyber security risk management firm with 25 years of experience in the industry, validates and maintains a firewall on the ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE platform to ensure a fair bidding process.
As an additional layer of protection, ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE hired Triaxiom Security to audit the Tech Heads' firewall. Triaxiom verifies that outsiders cannot access users' information, validates the confidentiality of bidders' max bids, and ensures accurate bid recording. Specifically, the firm monitors ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE's auctions to ensure that hacking, foul play, and unauthorized breaches have not occurred. Also, Triaxiom generates a white paper on its monthly audit findings, which ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE will publish on its website following the launch of our new platform. ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE does not pay sellers for closed auctions until Triaxiom validates the integrity of their sales.
MARKETPLACE TRUST TEAM
In addition to hiring third-party security firms to protect our clients, ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE deploys its skilled Marketplace Trust Team (MTT) to monitor activity. The MTT enforces ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE's auction rules. The team uses specially designed software that alerts them to bidding abnormalities (e.g., the identity of a bidder being associated with a seller for the same item). The MTT also proactively vets bidders with low activity to ensure they follow through if they win an auction.
The ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE Marketplace is new, but our Marketplace Trust Team (MTT) ranks among the most experienced in the industry. The MTT has proactively identified, investigated, and resolved suspicious activity for years. If ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE identifies an account engaged in prohibited conduct, we restrict that user from accessing the ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE platform and remove the suspicious activity from active listings. We also exclude unpaid sales from the ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE Sales History records, ensuring those unpaid items do not contribute to market value manipulation. We have been implementing this policy for years to protect our clients, and have carried over all historical data from our sales prior to opening our own marketplace.
Unlike other venues, ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE does not permit bidders to cancel or retract bids. All bids are final. If the bidder does not pay for an item, they are prohibited from future marketplace participation. ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE requires considerable identity verification from all registered users who wish to participate in our marketplace, and financially pre-qualify all bidders who wish to participate in our Premier Auction.
FRAUD PREVENTION
ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE takes steps to protect clients by preventing fraud. From time to time, ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE receives cards in fake graded slabs, cases that have been tampered with, and counterfeit cards. Unfortunately, this illegal activity also exists with currency, coins, stamps, historical memorabilia, art, and other collectibles. ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE's team works hard to identify these items, notifies sellers, and partners with law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable when appropriate. The ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE Marketplace Guarantee ensures all sales are protected for the accuracy of the description and the integrity of the sale, with a full purchase price guarantee.
LISTING
INTEGRITY
In addition to the investments we make in hardware, software, and third-party oversight to protect clients, ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE makes a difference in how we present items for sale. When using the ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE platform you can trust that item descriptions are accurate and that our accountability for what's described is steadfast. In addition, high-resolution images allow you to view items clearly before purchasing them, and every item is guaranteed authentic. These additional steps provide an extra layer of protection and enable our clients to bid comfortably.
We take our responsibility as a broker and industry leader seriously. It is the reason we have invested heavily in security and oversight. Many ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE clients know that these steps are not new for us. We put such safeguards in place long ago to ensure auction integrity. We pride ourselves on assuring our clients that they can buy and sell on our platform with confidence. We hope you enjoy the upcoming auctions and the benefits of the ALPHA 1 EXCHANGE marketplace.
