One tool point is equivalent to one US dollar. You can buy tool points anytime, and certain site tools deduct from your current tool point balance. In the future, DSLR Mail, a new optional email service for site users will debit your toolpoints account also. Look for future announcements about this.
10mb to 100mb - 0.25 tool points (works out to be 13 USD a year) 100mb to 200mb - 0.50 tool points (works out to be 26 USD a year) 200mb to 300mb - 0.75 tool points (39 USD a year) 300mb to 400mb - 1.00 tool points (52 USD a year)
A service will either cost a certain number of Tool Points to use, (even fractional amounts), or will deduct a certain number of Tool Points for as long as it is in use.
An example is line monitoring: After the first week of free service, 1 Tool Point is deducted, in advance, for each week it is active. If there are no Tool Points left, the service is suspended, and unless you purchase more Tool Points, it will be deleted.
At the present time, tool points are also required for certain other enhancements, such as animated avatars, and premium site status. In some cases, these enhancements do not deduct tool points from your balance ... you must simply have them in order to take advantage of the option.
For tools and options on the site that cost small amounts of money, it is not practical or economical to pay as you use them, other than by this method.
The Tool Points system is a way of remembering how much you've paid, and allowing the site to deduct gradually from that as you require.
The demand for certain tools out-strips our ability to supply them. In particular, line monitoring services are expensive to maintain for large numbers of users. Charging a small amount for the service is the easiest way of ensuring that those who need it most have access to it.
You can donate tool points to another user. This is done from the the tool points page in the main site menu.
If you attempt to donate tool points to a new member, you will receive the following message:
New members must be registered site users for 30 days before tool points or other priveleges can be donated to them.
Tool point donations can be anonymous (there is a checkbox for this) or not, as you prefer. You can also donate animated avatar ability, or premium account status. To donate animated avatar ability, use the appropriate checkbox and enter 5.0 tool points in the box provided. To give premium status to someone, use that checkbox and enter 10.0 tool points. An IM will go to the recipient, but will or will not mention your name as you prefer.
To donate, you must enter your site password in the appropriate field.
You may pay by credit card or bank debit card that has a Visa or Mastercard logo using our SECURE Yahoo storefront. You will receive receipt by email, and instant activation and credit of tool points.
To get started, go to the Tool Points link at the top of any site page.
** In the billing information section, please be sure to type your dslreports login name correctly -- this insures instant credit of your Tool Point Balance!
Absolutely, if you buy more than 10 Tool Points at one time, you get more than one per dollar! Please check the Purchase screen for current rates.
05
points
-
$5.00
10
points
-
$10.00
25
points
-
$20.00
65
points
-
$50.00
130
points
-
$100.00
330
points
-
$225.00
Please note: When renewing an Annual License DO NOT renew before the expiration date as the Renewal Date is set on the day you renew. ie. If your license expiration date is June 03, 2001 and you renew on May 27, 2001. You will lose one week's worth of License time as the new expiration sets itself to May 27, 2002.
Yes, if you are fortunate enough to receive a donation from a DSLR Member you will receive 5 to 20 Tool Points and an instant message from the person who donated them to you, or, the donor may also wish to remain anonymous. Tool points can only be donated to accounts which have been open for at least 30 days.
Please do not troll in various areas of the site for tool point donations, beg others for tool points to go premium or any other reason, or attempt to create additional site accounts in order to ask for donations of tool points.
Simply click on Tool Points in the My menu on most pages.
The current balance of your tool points will also appear any time you are on a page where you can purchase a site tool, such as the primary tools page.
As long as you remain an active user of DSL Reports and log in at least once every 3 months, your Tool Points balance will not expire and will be available for use. If you do not access and log in to DSL Reports for 3 consecutive months, your account will be deactivated and any unused Tool Points will be forfeited. There is overhead in maintaining accounts unused for a long period and we feel it is only reasonable that DSL Reports' resources be made available to those who need and use the services or contribute through participation or suggestions.
We are NOT obliged to refund your tool point account. However, refunds will be considered only in the event that a tool service does not perform to the standard outlined in the tool description. DSLreports will refund tool points to your account (not money to your credit card or Pay Pal account).
Please email us with a request for tool point credit; identify the tool and describe the nature of the failure ... be sure to include your DSLreports.com user name to insure credit. "Micro" credits of less than the value of one tool point will NOT be issued.