Trade forum, how to?

[DiscDemon25]

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section but being as it does say "Rules Discussion", I figured it would work better here.

I'm just wondering about the ins and outs of the trade forum. I have a stack of discs that I'll never use and would like to trade them out for things I do throw. What steps do I use, what to look out for, how to ship discs, how not to ship discs, cost of shipping, the proper way of presenting what I have, pics, etc.

I see we have a negative and positive feedback list so I know how to work with on trading and who not to do deals with but I'm still confused on how everything works with trading. I've never done it before but I seriously need to get rid of some stuff.

Also, I know it isn't rocket science but I'd like to make sure everything goes smoothly when doing trades, so if I sound newbish to this, well...I am, lol.



Anyways, any advice would be helpful as I'm new to this. I know it's tough dealing with a first time trader but I'm looking to make some honest trades.

Thanks for any tips.

[SkaBob]

Best advice I can give is that you should always get delivery confirmation on every disc you ship.

Beyond that it's all pretty casual. You see who has what (lots of people have their trade list linked in their signatures), and you can make offers to them or just post up your own trade list and see who bites on it...

A good way to get more offers is to offer sale prices as well as discs you're looking for. In my experience that works best if you have a paypal account already, so you don't have to wait for a check to arrive before you feel confident sending the disc out (if you do take a check, wait for it to arrive before sending the disc out).

Also,

ALWAYS use the Sleepy Scale!

[DiscDemon25]

Best advice I can give is that you should always get delivery confirmation on every disc you ship.

Beyond that it's all pretty casual. You see who has what (lots of people have their trade list linked in their signatures), and you can make offers to them or just post up your own trade list and see who bites on it...

A good way to get more offers is to offer sale prices as well as discs you're looking for. In my experience that works best if you have a paypal account already, so you don't have to wait for a check to arrive before you feel confident sending the disc out (if you do take a check, wait for it to arrive before sending the disc out).

Also,

ALWAYS use the Sleepy Scale!

Cool, this helped a lot, I do have a paypal account but I haven't touched it since. Not even sure how that works but I'd rather do trades anyways. Seems easier.

What about the shipping? Are those USPS flat rate boxes the best way to go?

I'll put a list up of what I have and what I'm looking for probably later tonight or in the morning.
I'll also take pictures to upload of everything.

Thanks again.

[SkaBob]

I don't use the flat rate boxes. If you go to the post office there're envelopes with bubble-wrap lining that will hold 2-3 discs nicely. I've never had any complaints shipping them in those. With 3 discs I might put a piece of paper between them so they don't scuff eachother, since they'll be kinda tight...

I ship in one of those, priority mail, with delivery confirmation and it rarely costs more than $6-7 bucks total (including the envelope) to ship plastic.

[Fritz]

Best advice I can give is that you should always get delivery confirmation on every disc you ship.

Beyond that it's all pretty casual. You see who has what (lots of people have their trade list linked in their signatures), and you can make offers to them or just post up your own trade list and see who bites on it...

A good way to get more offers is to offer sale prices as well as discs you're looking for. In my experience that works best if you have a paypal account already, so you don't have to wait for a check to arrive before you feel confident sending the disc out (if you do take a check, wait for it to arrive before sending the disc out).

Also,

ALWAYS use the Sleepy Scale!

Absolutely, DC is a MUST when trading discs, unless you know the person really well, like I've traded so many times with dgdave, solty, trotter and a couple others, I don't need to spend that extra money to send DC, but everyone else is stilla DC.
Pictures of your discs is always a bonus cause then someone can really see if your idea of a 7 is their idea of a 7 on the Sleepy Scale.

Payment, I only accept paypal, and if someone HAS to send a check, I take it one step further before shipping and I wait for it to clear the bank before I ship the disc and make that known to the trade bringer.

[DiscDemon25]

Thanks, it's not as difficult as I originally thought. After all that it just basically comes down to trust. I'm looking forward to getting a trustworthy reputation on here in the coming weeks.

Again, thanks for all the help. I know it was a newbish thing to ask, but I'd rather be safe.

[DiscDemon25]

:edit:

[black udder]

also, if you're thinking about entering a trade, you can check the positive feedback or negative feedback threads in the trade forum. A lot of folks put up their comments in there and if you start seeing the same folks over and over in the positive thread, it's a good sign.

Simple check could be post count - those with a lot of posts are typically involved around the site.