Just wondering if anyone can give me any pointers on here regarding trading toys? I have only ever traded in person, never online. I'm just looking for the best way of doing so, the safest way to try and ensure I don't get robbed! I know you can never be 100% but a bit of advice may help! It a trade between myself (UK) and a guy in Asia, expensive toys going both ways and i've never heard from him before! Hope you guys can give me some pointers. Thanks.
Some people paypal the same amount to each other to verify the address and try to hold each other accountable. But if you're unsure and it's an expensive toy, I would lean towards no...
Yeah, part of the whole 'community' thing here is that when trades take place, it is usually with someone you know fairly well (i.e. in an internet fashion at any rate). So, by the same token, when someone posts something offered up for trade on this site, you know who it is at least, even if you might not have had personal interactions with them in the past. Doing so blindly, i.e outside of the forum, well, you are definitely taking your own path there, and I am not sure anyone could offer any advice that wouldn't apply to any situation just as much - that is to say you are engaging in a 'trust' with a complete stranger, toy-related or otherwise, you have to acknowledge there is a high degree of risk. And, if it pertains to something expensive as you said, then more so the danger. Going through Paypal as was suggested might work, but even then you have no guarantees on a return of your money if sending blindly. Not trying to be all tinfoil-hatted here, but caution never hurt anyone, it's always better to be safe than sorry. TL;DR - it can work, but be aware of what you are getting into. As in any situation, do your research, and never risk more than you can afford to lose.
Not sure how this relates, but somewhere in the bowels of the Chinese postal service, a hairy homeless nag has been mia for over a year. True story
Yeah seriously. @andyspurs85 If they are significantly expensive or beloved toys use a trusted 3rd party. Both people ship to the 3rd party and he or she ships once he has both toys in hand. It's a pain and you pay twice as much shipping but it is the safest way for both people involved.
Risk vs Reward don't seem to balance out for this one. Maybe, like someone else suggested, sell them to each other for the same price so that you have PayPal to back you up.
Thanks guy. I wasn't 100% sure on what to do but I'm think I'm going to give this one a miss. It's not somebody on here so I won't be able to get any kind of reference for them. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.
I recently did my first trade through someone I follow on IG. They post regularly and have over 300 followers. It was for rare stuff and he was actually willing to ship first with the agreement that I would ship immediately upon receipt. One thing to watch out for is calculate shipping by both parties beforehand. In this recent scenario my shipping costs were triple what there's was to me so after the trade I asked for a partial coverage by them of some of those costs. Do a risk assessment beforehand and then it's easy to make a decision.
I usually go off of how many posts or how long the person has been on the board and if they've had sales before. Although I once had a guy with only 20 messages on his account mule for me and he didn't even ask for anything in return.
Wait for him to post first and then hold back on posting until you receive the toy. Then post yours. The only way it won't work is if he does the same . . .
I go by seniority. If you've been around longer then me I will ship first but if i got years on you i wait until i receive and then ship. -UNLESS- i know you super well in which case I can either ship super quick or get lazy cause i'm a shitty friend lol