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Film Exchange helps film fans find specialty screenings (IMAX, 70mm, premieres, festivals) and pass tickets to each other in New York City. You're buying from another fan, not from the venue. Here's the whole flow, start to finish:

1. Discover a screening. Browse what other members have listed, or add a film to your wishlist and get told when a ticket appears.
2. Seller asking prices are capped. A seller can never ask for more than they paid: face value plus the original booking fees, never a markup. More on that below.
3. Claim the ticket. When you claim, the seller is notified and can accept or decline. If they don't respond in time, the claim expires and the ticket goes back on the marketplace.
4. Pay the seller directly. Once a claim is accepted, the app reveals the seller's payment handles (Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle) as tap-to-pay links and a QR code. You pay them directly, off-platform, through your chosen payment provider.
5. The seller confirms, and the ticket releases. You mark the payment as sent; the seller confirms the money landed. That confirmation is what releases the ticket to you. The platform never assumes a payment happened on its own.
6. Add it to Apple Wallet. The released ticket is yours to download and add to Apple Wallet. Confirm it works, and the exchange completes. Your ticket stays in My Tickets to re-download any time.

The same flow runs whether you're buying or selling: sellers list, accept claims, confirm payment, and release the ticket.

A seller cannot ask for more than they originally paid for the ticket. The seller asking-price cap is face value (the established price on the ticket) plus the original fees the seller actually paid the venue or ticketing provider, and not a cent more.

This isn't a suggestion. The cap is enforced in the listing form and in our systems, so an over-cap listing can't be created in the first place. Trying to collect extra through a side channel (a “tip,” a bundle, a separate payment) is a bannable violation of our Terms, for buyers and sellers alike.

The cap helps fans pass tickets on without a seller markup. If you can't use your ticket, another fan can get to the screening.

Film Exchange runs on peer-to-peer (P2P) payment: after a claim is accepted, you pay the seller directly through their own Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. Film Exchange coordinates the ticket handoff and shows the seller's payment handles and QR code. The payment goes from your account to the seller through your chosen provider.

Be clear-eyed about the risk. Because the payment happens off-platform, it is not covered by escrow or any refund guarantee. Film Exchange is not a party to the payment and cannot reverse, refund, or guarantee it. If a P2P payment goes wrong, the platform can't claw it back. You'd resolve it through your payment provider, the same as any other Venmo or Zelle transfer. The full language is in Terms §8.

To keep a P2P payment as safe as it can be:

• Only pay using the handles and QR code the app reveals after the claim is accepted. Never a handle someone sends you in chat, email, or a DM.
• Never pay before a claim is accepted. There's nothing to pay for yet.
• Send exactly the amount shown: no more (that would break the cap), and not in pieces.
• Expect the ticket only after the seller confirms your payment. The platform releases it at that point, and not before.

A buyer-protected escrow option, where a neutral third party holds the money until you have a working ticket, is on our roadmap, but it is not available yet. Today, P2P is how exchanges happen, on trust plus the safeguards above.

Once the seller confirms your payment, the ticket is released to you through the app. You download it and add it to Apple Wallet, then tap to confirm it works. It stays in My Tickets so you can re-download it any time before the show, handy if you switch phones.

A caveat worth knowing: not every ticket can be transferred. Some tickets are bound to the original buyer's account, or use a rotating barcode that can't be handed off as a file: Ticketmaster “SafeTix” passes and certain festival or rep-house tickets, for example. Those can't move through Film Exchange as a Wallet pass.

If you're selling: only list a ticket you can actually transfer as a file or pass. Listing an account-bound or non-transferable ticket as transferable is a misdescription under our Terms, and the buyer is entitled to be made whole. When in doubt, check your ticket provider's transfer rules before you list.

If you got here from a claim, this is the quick orientation. Every exchange lives on its claim page under Claims, and the status line at the top tells you what's happening and what to do next.

If you're buying:

• Waiting to be accepted? The seller hasn't responded yet. You don't pay anything until they do.
• Accepted? Pay the seller using the revealed Venmo / PayPal / Zelle options, then tap I've sent the payment. Pay only through those revealed handles.
• Paid, waiting on the seller? They need to confirm the money landed; that confirmation releases your ticket.
• Ticket released? Add it to Apple Wallet and confirm it works to finish the exchange.

If you're selling: accept the claim to share your payment details, watch for the payment in your own Venmo / PayPal / Zelle, and only tap Confirm payment received once the money is in your account. That releases the ticket and can't be undone.

Something not right: no payment, no ticket, or a ticket that won't scan? Don't let it sit. Message the other party from the claim, and if you can't sort it out, open a dispute (next section).

Before a ticket is released, either side can back out and the ticket relists. No money has changed hands through us, because it never does.

After you've paid a seller in P2P, Film Exchange cannot issue a refund. We never held the money. If the screening is cancelled (and not rescheduled), the ticket turns out not to work, or the seller never delivers, contact the seller first to make it right. If that fails, open a dispute so there's a record, and use your payment provider's dispute process (Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle) since they're the only ones who can reverse the transfer.

If a screening is postponed rather than cancelled, the ticket is usually good for the new date. If you can't make the new date, that's between you and the seller.

Escrow-backed refunds and a formal buyer guarantee apply only to in-app escrowed payments, which aren't part of the live P2P flow today. We'll say so clearly here if and when that option opens.

Most problems are honest misunderstandings, so start by messaging the other party from the claim. If you can't resolve it there, open a dispute from the claim page. The other side is notified, you both can attach evidence (screenshots, payment receipts, the ticket), and a Film Exchange admin reviews the record and makes a call. Outcomes are recorded on members' track records, which is part of what keeps the marketplace honest.

One important limit: for an off-platform payment dispute: you paid and got nothing, or you were asked for more than the cap. A dispute creates a record and can get a bad actor removed, but the platform still can't reverse the payment itself. To get the money back, you also need your payment provider. See Terms §11.

Spotted someone breaking the rules: a scalper, a counterfeit, a request to pay over the cap? Report it to support@filmexchange.nyc.

Sign in with your email and password, or with a magic link we email you. One account per person: keep your email address current so you can always get back in, and so we can reach you about a claim.

Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). In Settings you can add a code from an authenticator app (TOTP) as a second step at login. We strongly recommend it. Money moves around this marketplace, even when it moves off-platform. Some sensitive actions may ask you to re-verify even after you're signed in.

Think someone else got into your account? Email support@filmexchange.nyc right away. You can close your account any time in Settings; what we keep afterward is covered in our Privacy Policy.

Film Exchange is an invite-only beta for specialty film screenings in the New York City area. To take part you need a valid invite, you must be 18 or older, and you must be in the United States. Invites are limited, and we may expire or revoke them while we grow carefully.

Being a beta means some rough edges: features may change, and we're still polishing. If you hit a bug or something confusing, tell us. Early feedback genuinely shapes what gets built. The full beta terms are in our Terms.

Can't find your answer here? Email support@filmexchange.nyc. A human reads it. Include your claim link if your question is about a specific exchange, and we'll get back to you.

For a payment that's already gone wrong, your payment provider's support (Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle) is the fastest route to a reversal. We can't move money we never held.

The fine print lives in our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.