How to use HELB

HELB (Help Buy) connects shoppers who want overseas items with travellers who can bring them back.

• Shoppers create requests for items they want from overseas, or browse listings from travellers and order directly.
• Travellers add their upcoming trips, list items they can bring, accept shopper requests, or make offers.
• Once matched, the shopper pays first. Payment is held safely by HELB, and the chat opens after we verify it.
• Coordinate the hand-over in chat, then both sides mark the request Complete. That is when the traveller gets paid.

🛡️ Money-back guarantee: if a traveller cancels or can't deliver, you get a full refund of what you paid within 1–2 working days.

HELB lives on Telegram, in two places:

1. HELB Channel (t.me/helbapp): news, updates and every new request and listing as it goes live.
2. HELB app (t.me/helbapp_bot): the mini-app where everything happens. Create requests, browse, chat, pay and track.

Opening the app for the first time

1. Open @helbapp_bot and tap Start once. This lets HELB message you about offers, payments and chats. Links from the channel or a friend open the app directly, and it asks you to tap Start if you haven't yet.
2. Tell us whether you're shopping, travelling, or both, how you heard about HELB, and what you like (categories and countries). Your home page is built from these answers.
3. Register with a HELB username, email and your PayNow-able phone number. Have a referral code? Enter it here and you both get a $5 voucher.

You can skip registration and browse as a guest. Any action (request, order, offer, ask) prompts you to finish signing up, and you land right back where you were.

💡 None of your personal data is shared with other users. Counterparties only ever see your HELB username and ratings.

Want something from overseas? Here's how:

1. Tap Create (+) in the bottom navigation and choose Create Request.
2. Fill in the item details: name, category, where it's from, quantity, plus a photo and reference link if you have one.
3. Set your price. Our Smart Suggestion estimates the fair retail price to guide you. Offer a little above retail and your request gets picked up faster.
4. Not sure what it costs? Toggle "I'm unsure about the retail price" and set a top-up (minimum $10) instead. Travellers send you retail estimates and you accept the one you like.
5. Post it. Your request goes live for travellers immediately and is posted to the HELB Channel.

💡 Requests with exact store locations and fair prices are about 40% more likely to be taken up, and compact items near main city areas go fastest. Your progress autosaves as a draft, and you can edit the request any time while it's still finding a traveller.

Travellers list items they can bring, and their trips show on your home page while they're away.

1. Travellers overseas now sits at the top of Home. Tap Ask to question a traveller before they fly home, or Request to send them something to buy.
2. Open Browse in the bottom navigation to switch between Trips, Listings and Requests. Filter by country, category, dates or keyword.
3. On a listing, tap the traveller's name card to see their profile, ratings and other active listings. Not sure about something? Ask a question in the public thread before you commit.
4. Ready? Tap I want this, set the quantity and pay. Listing orders skip the accept step and go straight to payment.
5. On Price Varies listings you fill in the exact item you want and its shop price. The 3% platform fee is added on top and itemised before you pay.

From time to time we share curated Deals in the channel. Tapping one opens the deal in the app with Request this now prefilled.

💡 Featured Listings on Home is filtered by your saved categories and countries. Sharing a listing with a friend earns you both a $5 voucher when they sign up.

Overseas pop-ups, fan events and limited drops, gathered daily from local sources in Japan and Korea so you don't miss them.

• Find Pop-ups and events on the home page, or tap See all for the full feed. Search by name, brand or place, and filter by country, category or dates. Swipe mode shows one event per screen.
• Tap an event for dates, entry cost, what's on sale, and the venue with Open in Maps. The address also shows in the local script, handy for taxis abroad.
• Spotted something you want? Tap Create a request and we prefill the country and city.
• Travellers: attending one? Tap Create a listing to offer items from the event.
• Share event sends friends straight to it in HELB. If they sign up through your link, you both get a $5 voucher.

The Brands row on Home collects brands that are cheaper or only sold overseas. Open one to see live listings and requests for it, then request it yourself or list it for your trip. You can also tag a brand on any request or listing you create, so people looking for that brand find it.

Travelling soon? Earn by bringing items for shoppers:

1. Tap Create (+) in the bottom navigation and choose Create Listing.
2. Add up to 5 photos (the first is the cover; drag to reorder), the name, category, price and quantity.
3. Pick the trip this listing is for, or tap + Add a new trip in the picker to create one on the spot with your destination and dates.
4. Set a fixed price, or toggle Price Varies to let shoppers tell you the exact item and price.
5. Shoppers may ask questions on your listing. Reply from the Discussions pill on your home page to close the deal.

Prefer to plan your trip first? Go to Trips in the bottom navigation, tap Add Trip, then add listings from inside the trip's page. Your trip shows on every shopper's Home while you're away.

💡 Listings with an exact item and price are bought about 50% more often than general ones. Popular picks: skincare from Korea, snacks and matcha from Japan, event exclusives, and anything much cheaper than in Singapore. Edits to your listing update the channel post automatically.

Shoppers post requests for items they need. You can fulfil them:

1. Browse requests from the home page, the Browse tab, or Browse Requests on My Requests. Filter by country to find ones on your route.
2. Tap a request for the details, and tap the shopper's name card to view their profile and ratings.
3. Tap Accept Request if you can bring it at the listed price. You'll tick a couple of quick commitments to confirm.
4. Can't do it at that price? Make an offer above the listed price with a reason. The shopper can accept it from the discussion thread.
5. Top Up requests have no fixed price. Propose a retail price per item instead (add a shelf photo if you have one). Your payout is the retail price plus the shopper's top-up, minus the service fee.
6. Once the shopper pays and we verify it, chat unlocks so you can coordinate.

💡 Track offers you've sent via the Offers Sent pill on Home. Higher-value and rarer items earn the most; travellers have made $60+ on a single item. Heads up: repeatedly dropping accepted requests pauses your ability to accept for 7 days.

Chat unlocks once payment is verified and the request is Ongoing:

1. Open it via Enter chat on the request page, the chat button on your request card, or the Unread Chats pill on Home.
2. Send text and photos to agree on item details, meet-up location and timing.
3. Use the quick actions above the message box: mark the request Complete, or adjust the price or quantity if plans change.
4. The chat stays open for 7 days after completion so you can wrap up, then becomes read-only. You can always reopen it from Completed Transactions.

💡 Keep the deal on HELB: your payment is only protected while everything happens on the platform. Share personal contact info at your own risk. Cancelling a request after off-platform contact is detected in its chat may incur a $2 service fee.

For shoppers

• After a traveller accepts your request (or you accept an offer), you'll be prompted to pay. Listing orders go straight to payment.
• Transfer via PayNow, PayLah or bank transfer to the account shown, then upload your receipt screenshot. Our team verifies it, usually within minutes, and the money is held by HELB until completion.
• Once you receive your item, mark the request Complete, from the request page or right inside the chat.

For travellers

• After handing over the item, mark the request Complete.
• Once both parties confirm, your payout is released by PayNow to your registered number within 1–2 working days.

After completing

• Rate your counterpart and leave a note. Ratings are revealed together once both sides have rated (or after 14 days), so nobody rates after seeing a score.
• Find every past deal, your total earnings or savings, and a button to reopen any old chat in your Profile under Completed Transactions.

Fees

• Shoppers: 3% platform fee on every order, waived on your first. On a fixed-price request it's included in the price you set. On a Top Up request or a listing order it's added on top and itemised before you pay.
• Travellers: flat $2 service fee per transaction, taken from the payout.
• Cancellations: a $2 service fee may apply if a request is cancelled after off-platform contact is detected in its chat. It comes out of the shopper's refund or the traveller's payout (see Cancelling and refunds).
• Vouchers are applied on the payment page. Find yours in your Profile under Vouchers.

Plans change. Here's how it works:

• Money-back guarantee: if a traveller cancels or can't deliver, you get a full refund of what you paid within 1–2 working days.
• Shoppers: cancel from the request page while it's finding a traveller or before paying. If you've already paid, refunds are processed within 1–2 working days.
• Accepted an offer by mistake? Cancel acceptance puts your request back on the marketplace.
• Travellers: can't fulfil any more? Cancel fulfilment with a reason (and a proof photo if you have one). The request is relisted for another traveller, and the shopper won't need to pay again.
• Traveller gone quiet? If they've been inactive for 24 hours, shoppers can relist the request from the chat or the request page to find someone new.
• Once either side marks the request Complete, cancelling is no longer possible.
• Cancelling after off-platform contact (phone numbers, handles, payment apps) has been detected in the request's chat may incur a $2 service fee, taken from the shopper's refund or the traveller's payout. Genuine cancellations, like an item being out of stock, aren't affected.

Prices abroad don't always match estimates:

• Shoppers can Increase request price (to attract travellers or cover extras) and simply top up the difference.
• Travellers can propose a price increase, or an item change, from the chat. The shopper approves and tops up, and the new price applies once the top-up is verified.
• Travellers can also propose fewer items or a lower total if they couldn't get everything. The shopper approves in the chat and is refunded the difference.

A few rules keep everyone protected:

• Ask pre-purchase questions in the public discussion threads on listings, trips and Top Up requests.
• Keep contact details (phone numbers, handles, payment apps) out of discussions. They're blocked, and repeated attempts lead to strikes and temporary suspensions.
• After you're matched, the 1:1 chat is the place to coordinate. Sharing personal info there is allowed, at your own risk.
• Travellers: repeatedly abandoning accepted requests pauses your ability to accept new ones for 7 days.
• Photos are reviewed after posting. Anything explicit or used to move a deal off-platform is removed.

Be a good community member

• Travellers: photograph the item, packaging and receipt, and keep the hand-over to the agreed place and time.
• Shoppers: offer a reasonable price and timeline (about two weeks out is typical), include as much detail as you can, and confirm receipt promptly so the traveller gets paid.

• Tap the bell on the home page for your notification inbox.
• The Unread Chats, Discussions and Offers Sent pills on Home jump straight to the conversations that need you.
• We also send Telegram reminders for pending payments, waiting offers, unread messages, ratings, and tips to bump requests that haven't been picked up yet.

• Your vouchers live in your Profile under Vouchers and are applied on the payment page.
• New here? Your first order's platform fee is on us. It's applied automatically when you post a request, or pick it on the payment page when you order from a listing.
• Invite friends from Referrals in your Profile. You both get a $5 voucher when they sign up, and sharing a listing or event counts too.

• The app won't open from a link: open @helbapp_bot, tap Start (or send /start), then use the Open HELB button next to the message box.
• A payment is "pending verification" for a while: most are verified within minutes; busy evenings can take longer. You'll get a Telegram message the moment it's done.
• You can't see a listing or request any more: it was bought, accepted or taken down. Request it instead and travellers heading there will see it.
• Buttons look hidden in Telegram: tap the small keyboard icon next to the message box to show them again.

We're here to help. Reach out any time:

• Telegram support: @helbsg. We typically respond within 24 hours.
• Email: helbapp.sg@gmail.com
• Got an idea or a complaint? Use Send Feedback in your Profile. It goes straight to the team.