Guidelines for being a successful trader

[harper]

I've got another question, what's the safest way to do payments? I currently don't have a paypal account. For this reason I plan to start off trading at the very least, to build up some trust (and my collection ). But again, just wondering.

[Opa Opa]

I've got another question, what's the safest way to do payments? I currently don't have a paypal account. For this reason I plan to start off trading at the very least, to build up some trust (and my collection ). But again, just wondering.

Paypal and pieces of eight.

[Hobie-wan]

Paypal is generally safest as long as you aren't an unlucky soul that has somehow angered them. Money Orders can work, but if you're sending one, you can't really get your money back if there's a problem and if you're accepting them, there are fake ones out there. Personal checks you would probably want to deposit and wait a few weeks before you send items to make absolutely sure that it isn't a bad check that your bank takes the money away later.

[harper]

So how do you go about safely giving out your paypal info and such? The idea of sending cash in the mail is pretty scary and yeah, I wouldn't want to wait forever for my stuff to get here because I sent a check nor would I want anyone else to have to wait that long.

[Flake]

So how do you go about safely giving out your paypal info and such? The idea of sending cash in the mail is pretty scary and yeah, I wouldn't want to wait forever for my stuff to get here because I sent a check nor would I want anyone else to have to wait that long.

everything is attached to the email you register at paypal with. When someone needs to send you money, just ask them to use your e-mail address at paypal.com

[korn16ftl3]

So how do you go about safely giving out your paypal info and such? The idea of sending cash in the mail is pretty scary and yeah, I wouldn't want to wait forever for my stuff to get here because I sent a check nor would I want anyone else to have to wait that long.

also i dont link my bank acc to paypal i linked my debit card as a credit card so it is instant transferring funds from your bank acc can take like 3 to 7 days or something crazy like that

IF you are under the age of 18 think about a green dot card OR places like wal-mart have those visa/master card gift cards available for use as well they work the same way as a credit card

avoid green dot if possible as they have all kinds of service fees and random crap

[tinypocket]

Just wanted to chime in and say that I have read and will comply with all the suggestions that the OP offered. I plan to start buying and selling on this site soon and just wanted to give potential clients a heads up that I have read and understand (and agree) with everything the OP said.

[TheVisualante]

great guideline! I usually stick to trading on Craigslist, never tried shipping so this perspective is really helpful. thanks!

[mjmjr25]

A couple things to add to this thread as i've been noticing some trends more and more, and since we don't allow threadcrapping (which is mostly a very good policy), this is the place to point out some silly things I and others have been noticing.

FOR OFFER:
This is something to use when there is no real set price. Not something to use to get your friends and forum members blindly bidding against each other. Bidding is reserved for auctions and ebay.

If you have a rare item and no real completed sales to guage, then for offer is an appropriate option.

If you're selling Super Mario World SNES cart, list it at $3, list it at $6, list it at $10. Don't put for offer, that's dumb. You know what you want for it, you can clearly see from completed forum and ebay sales what it is currently selling for.

FOR TRADE:
For trade is a cool thing...so long as you list some things you want to trade for. Nothing more annoying than seeing a FT thread, a bunch of cool stuff listed, and then no idea what that person wants in trade. Lame.

HIGH PRICES:
We all have the right to sell whatever we want for whatever price we want. However, if you are going to price an item OVER ebay BUY NOW COMPLETEDS, at a a minimum, expect your thread to be ignored. Also, don't tell us what you see them on ebay for, tell us what they sold for, when explaining your price point, and then knock off 7-10% for the fees you aren't paying.

If condition is the reason your selling high...POST PICS, or links to pics.

SSDD THREADS:
Keep your threads active. If you aren't adding new items, then drop prices. Nothing sillier than selling the same items, at the same prices, having nothing sell, and then keep bumping the same tired thread. Mix it up: add items, take new pics, offer bundles, remove sold items, drop prices, etc. Keep it fresh if you want to stay in this relationship. I'm bored.

SERIOUSLY:-In the past week i've seen a relatively common CIB SNES game that is ebay buy now in the $90 range, most auctions end in the $60-80 range, and one of our members lists it at $129 w/o pics? Unless there is a $50 bill hidden in the cart, then why?
-A non-working $3.17 game (per vgpc) listed as "For offer"
-A For offer / For Trade thread with no list of things they want in trade


/rant...for now.

[dsheinem]

A couple things to add to this thread as i've been noticing some trends more and more, and since we don't allow threadcrapping (which is mostly a very good policy), this is the place to point out some silly things I and others have been noticing.

FOR OFFER:
This is something to use when there is no real set price. Not something to use to get your friends and forum members blindly bidding against each other. Bidding is reserved for auctions and ebay.

If you have a rare item and no real completed sales to guage, then for offer is an appropriate option.

If you're selling Super Mario World SNES cart, list it at $3, list it at $6, list it at $10. Don't put for offer, that's dumb. You know what you want for it, you can clearly see from completed forum and ebay sales what it is currently selling for.

FOR TRADE:
For trade is a cool thing...so long as you list some things you want to trade for. Nothing more annoying than seeing a FT thread, a bunch of cool stuff listed, and then no idea what that person wants in trade. Lame.

HIGH PRICES:
We all have the right to sell whatever we want for whatever price we want. However, if you are going to price an item OVER ebay BUY NOW COMPLETEDS, at a a minimum, expect your thread to be ignored. Also, don't tell us what you see them on ebay for, tell us what they sold for, when explaining your price point, and then knock off 7-10% for the fees you aren't paying.

If condition is the reason your selling high...POST PICS, or links to pics.

SSDD THREADS:
Keep your threads active. If you aren't adding new items, then drop prices. Nothing sillier than selling the same items, at the same prices, having nothing sell, and then keep bumping the same tired thread. Mix it up: add items, take new pics, offer bundles, remove sold items, drop prices, etc. Keep it fresh if you want to stay in this relationship. I'm bored.

SERIOUSLY:-In the past week i've seen a relatively common CIB SNES game that is ebay buy now in the $90 range, most auctions end in the $60-80 range, and one of our members lists it at $129 w/o pics? Unless there is a $50 bill hidden in the cart, then why?
-A non-working $3.17 game (per vgpc) listed as "For offer"
-A For offer / For Trade thread with no list of things they want in trade


/rant...for now.

Excellent points all, though I think the idea of knocking 7-10% off for something you aren't selling on eBay is debatable. I very rarely will sell an item here at "full eBay price" or even a bit more because I want to make that extra 7%-10%. If I didn't, I might as well just sell it on eBay and advertise it to a much larger group of people. It's a risky proposition for the seller, of course, since their prices might not be seen as competitive - but then you are banking on the fact that people trust the condition of your items, your feedback score, the ability to contact you directly and/or publicly, etc. The forum shouldn't only be a place where only a buyer can do better than they would elsewhere...

Again, it is a rare instance that it is worth doing this, but I don't know that one always has to sell at/under "market value" in order to be a "successful trader".