Shareandcompareplay.com provides independent, accurate and free information for the Play Community.

We facilitate customers in posting reviews about the products and services they have received from suppliers to the industry with the aim of raising the standards of supply and providing the best possible play experience.

To help explain how this site works, we have tried to answer some of the most common questions we have been asked since the site went live.

1. What is the site trying to achieve?
In short, we aim to provide a user-friendly platform to help suppliers and operators in the play market to make better-informed decisions, through the provision of independent, free and accurate information and by creating the ability to compare and review suppliers in the industry.
We are not linked or associated with suppliers in the market. We are independent and hope to help grow the soft play market through improving standards, product design and innovation. Our platform will help those suppliers who embrace this fresh new approach to grow along with the industry.
A more comprehensive overview of our philosophies, objectives and overall mission can be found in our Blog

2. How does the site work?
The site offers all users the ability to:
Share Information
This can be achieved through a multitude of ways. Blogs, How to Guides and Videos can be found on any number of topics relating to the soft play industry to help operators and suppliers learn more about the industry and to use the information at hand to make better informed decisions. As time goes by the amount of content available to users will increase as more and more suppliers and operators add their own information for all to see. Visit our Share page for al the latest shared content.
Compare Suppliers
The majority of suppliers that operate in the soft play market are listed on the site, and as such their customers can review their products and services and we continue to add new suppliers. Users can use the site to compare many different categories of suppliers depending on their needs and can digest the information on hand to decide which company would best match their criteria. The information on each supplier has been checked to ensure its authenticity, so users can truly make an independent decision on whom to work with.
Contact Suppliers
Once a user has spent time sharing information and applying it to their own situation, comparing suppliers and deciding which suit their needs the best, they can use our site to make contact with any supplier of their choosing. Simply complete a Contact Supplier form and we will forward your details to those suppliers you have selected.
Although all suppliers are listed, some suppliers have chosen not to be contactable via Shareandcompareplay.com. If you choose to contact using them using other methods, be sure to mention your use of Shareandcompareplay.com

3. What use is the site to Soft Play Operators?
Existing soft play operators are able to use the site to make significant improvements to their business through:

• Accessing the latest information written by operators and industry experts to continually improve the way their soft play centre is operated
• Comparing suppliers and all types of equipment that were previously difficult to find (including latest research from around the world)
• Saving money on regular purchases by comparing and contacting new suppliers
• Creating additional interest in the soft play market in general and helping to raise standards within the industry, by using and embracing the site.

4. What use is the site to potential Soft Play Operators?
Starting up a new soft play centre is a daunting prospect, but our site helps to make the process as smooth and as stress free as possible by:

• Providing accurate and independent information relating to setting up an indoor play centre, that was previously not available, helping potential operators to operate more successful indoor play centres
• Outlining the step-by-step process that potential operators need to go through to achieve their goal of setting up a soft play centre
• Giving potential operators access to industry professionals and existing operators through Blogs, How to Guides and Videos to help them make better informed decisions and to apply this knowledge to their situation http://tinyurl.com/mswput.
• Comparing all suppliers in the market in one place so potential operators can educate themselves on each supplier’s strengths and weakness before deciding which to make contact with.
• Providing a platform for the entire play industry to communicate with one another and thus help to drive the level of service and product design upwards, resulting in better quality soft play centres across the country.

5. What benefits are there for a supplier in partnering with the site?
Our supplier page explains how suppliers can partner with our site and the benefits for them in more detail, but in summary partnering with the site will:

• Help suppliers to build their reputation and raise their profile in the market place, as our platform gives them access to hundreds of existing and potential operators visiting the site each week
• Give suppliers the ability to keep in better contact with customers through using our platform to educate and inform them on a regular basis
• Help suppliers to receive constructive feedback on their products and services so they can evaluate, react and improve their business moving forward
• Provide suppliers with the opportunity to improve the industry as a whole, and as such assist them in growing their business long term

6. How do I write a review on the site?
Writing a review is a simple and straight forward process. Register as a user on the site. Once you’re registered simply find the supplier you want to review, click on their profile page and follow the onscreen instructions. More information can be found by reading our Review Process

7. What levels of control are in place to stop fake reviews?
We take our review system very seriously to ensure that fake reviews are eradicated at every opportunity. Full details of our Review Process and how it is managed.

8. Who decides which companies appear on the site?
Any supplier to the soft play market can appear on the site. We have tried to list as many suppliers as possible and are continually adding more as both suppliers themselves, and operators, contact us. Our only rule is that a supplier must supply the market to be listed. Any soft play operators can let us know about suppliers not listed by filling in the form located at the bottom of each comparison page and any supplier who wants to be listed can fill in the Supplier form.

9. Who decides where suppliers appear on the page?
You, the users decide where particular suppliers appear on the page! Through the review process, and in particular the number of stars each supplier receives, we list suppliers according to the reviews written on them and the stars awarded against them.
Our Algorithm rewards Suppliers with the best and most up to date reviews and the best star rating by showing them at the top of the page. That way, you can easily see which suppliers have been performing well in the market place, and those that perhaps haven’t done such a great job. (Please note that suppliers can take one of two advert slots per page to ensure they remain at the very top of the page. This is clearly shown as a “sponsored ad” on the page and the supplier has paid to appear here).

10. How do Share and Compare Play make money?
All of the services on the website that we provide for our users are completely free!. We also offer certain services to suppliers for free to ensure our users can get a complete picture of the industry. In addition to these free services, suppliers can also pay for Premium services to improve the benefits they receive from our site. These essentially fall in to two categories:
Lead Generation
We offer suppliers the opportunity to receive leads from our site in two ways. Firstly they can have a View Website button next to their free listing which allows users to click directly through to their website from our site, and then contact the supplier directly. Secondly, a supplier can avail of a Contact Supplier button next to their free listing, which enables users to send their details to our IT System and the contact details are forwarded to the specified supplier. Each users details are sent to a secure area for that particular supplier to access, and we only send users details to the suppliers they have specifically nominated. Any suppliers who are not partnering with the site, will not have either of these services available to them.
Advertising
We do not want Share and Compare Play to become purely an advertising site, as we feel it will damage the quality and usefulness of its content for our users. As such we have restricted the amount of adverts that appear on the site, but still provide an advertising service that is beneficial to suppliers.
As a trial, we currently offer one or two adverts at the top of each supplier category page to suppliers in each particular category. These adverts are restricted to a maximum of two per page and are clearly shown as a “sponsored ad” on the page to help inform our users that the supplier has paid to appear in this position. We also offer In-video advertising where suppliers can choose to sponsor one of our information videos or to have an advert linked to a video in which their company is mentioned.
Also we use Google Adverts in unobtrusive ways.

11. Can I add my own content or information for other people to see?
Yes absolutely!. We actively encourage users and suppliers to add content to the site in the form of a video, article or blog, as long as the content is relevant, accurate and useful to our community. We do not allow any content that is purely an advertisement by a supplier, but welcome anything that has value to our users. We will have editorial control of any content submitted to the site and retain the right to remove any such content that does not fulfill its purpose. If you have content you think may be useful for our site, please Contact Us.

12. I want to contact a supplier listed on the site; what do I do?
That’s easy. If they are partnering our site, then they’ll have a “Contact Supplier” button next to their listing. Simply click on this button, fill in the form and we’ll send your details to that particular supplier. We aren’t able to pass your details through to suppliers not partnering with the site, but in time we hope these suppliers will be few and far between.

13. If I contact a supplier through the website will I end up paying more?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! We charge suppliers for certain services to help them promote their companies to our users and to generate interest in their products. We do not charge suppliers commission for these services, which they would then pass the cost of on to their customers, but merely charge monthly fees for these services, which are a lot more cost effective than some of the other methods these suppliers use to generate business. It therefore does not matter to us which suppliers you choose to work with, and we know that if you use the site properly, it will actually save you a significant amount of money.

14. Are Share and Compare Play trying to sell me equipment?
No not at all. We are merely trying to provide a platform and service that benefits both users and suppliers, and therefore has a long term positive influence on the industry as a whole. We don’t have links or associations with suppliers listed on the site, and have no desire to sell equipment to anyone.*
*Full Disclosure – We would like you to be aware that a company listed on the site, Play Amusements, and Share and Compare Play have Directors in common; this is no way affects customer comments or the position of Play Amusements on the site.

15. Can I contact Share and Compare Play to get advise on running a soft play centre?
We are constantly adding more and more useful content to the site to help our users educate themselves about the industry and to help them make better informed decisions in relation to suppliers. We are always delighted to speak in person with our users, to discuss their particular situation, but are not consultants and will therefore merely guide our users back to relevant content on the site.
As part of our continued desire to help soft play centres become more successful, we do operate “An introduction to running a soft play centre” workshops, attended by potential and existing operators, and run by industry experts. We are also running our inaugural Share and Compare Live conference later this year to bring suppliers, industry experts and operators together to learn from one another.