Bartertown.com

Hey all,

I go in trade spurts, seems like every couple years I'm on the trading block intensely for a while, then fade off for a bit. Recently I'm back lookin for some swaps.

It's just not the same. Everyone I get in contact with is looking to rip you off. Or, wants you to take pics, quote shipping, and balance twelve elephants on a toothpick before backing their lazy butt off with a "nvm ty". And then there is "the guy" that never responds to a deal unless three cherries pop up in the pm and quarters shoot out of his cd drive.

What really gets me is when people have open ended wants, your stuff fits the bill, but greed/indecision/random stupid reason backs them out after having you jump through all the hoops. Are these people really here to trade, or do they just want someone to talk to?

Don't they know that everyone pays a bit of cash to ship? This is a place for adults to swap, people that can make up their minds about what they want. If we had the money/space/time to do so, we would all just buy every model we want. Your time is not worth more than my time. Your plastic or metal may be worth more than mine, but it is not worth more just beacuse it is YOURS. When someone trades in your favor, understand the reason and thank them for doing so.

Grow up Bartertown.

Yurt

Dont let a few bad apples spoil it for you. Some traders have an over-inflated value of what their stuff is worth. i laugh when offered badly painted, badly assembled, incomplete models for near retail. Anyone can buy NIB for a 20% discount, sometime more.

I would echo ss. I've found that, in my 50+ trades, nearly everyone I have dealt with has been very friendly and very accomodating. People who have made mistakes were apologetic and very willing to straighten things out, and were very forgiving if I made a goof myself. I do see a lot of what you're referring to, with people asking for full lists, jumping through hoops, etc., and then just turning you down. It's annoying, definitely. But there is a lot of good here. It just seems like you're getting hit with all of the bad.

I agree with you, wholeheartedly, that the type of behavior you've experienced is frustrating. But overall, the regulars here are all quite courteous and sincere in their trade practices. And at least you're getting SOME type of response. It's much more frustrating (to me, anyway) when someone simply ignores your messages. Why even post that you're looking for something if you don't answer replies. Or worse, leave someone hanging after they've sent you lists or pictures or whatever else you've requested! Aaaaargggghhhh!

Sorry. I went away for a minute. But I'm back now.

Anyway, what we're trying to say is.....just hang in there. The good trading experiences here almost always outweigh the bad. I've had many, many trades here and all were quite pleasant.

I agree w/SS, Reeg, and BTW.

I've had the exact experiences you've had and I'm at the point now where I don't even bother w/those folks. Interestingly, I can tell by the type of PM I receive - for example: hwmcnh 4tehwm stufs?

In the past, my response would be something like... "Well... I'm assuming you're asking "how much for the WarMachine stuff?" Funny thing is sir, I've listed about 30 different WM "stufs" from 7 different factions, so are you asking for a price for the whole lot or what?"

Then this turns in to a series of PMs of me coaching this boob to communicate what he's really looking for, which could take 3-12 PMS! 9 times out 10 - he wants me to provide several pictures for the ONE mini he wants, balance the elephants, pay shipping for him, and reduce my already excellent prices (40-60% off retail!!).

Ya - I don't bother. I've learned to eliminate a lot of the "boobs" by making it very clear in my post - I may come across like an a$$, but I say something like, "WM items are 50% off of retail (not online discount retail) and if you can't find the retail and/or calculate what 50% off is, then I'm not interested in dealing with you."

There are some "newbs" here on BTown that, if you read their PM before looking at their references, you'd think they were experienced regulars!! I love those folks, sure there are some errors along the way as they learn the ropes, but I'm pretty forgiving of those that are making the effort! Effort is the key word, and I think the individuals that are NOT making an effort are the ones that are really irritating you, and they do me too.

I'm going to say the same things folks before me in this thread have said... hang in there man - I've met some seriously awesome people here, and have made excellent friendships. The quality of the people that make the effort is top shelf - this is a great community.

Cheers!

I've never appreciated the traders that assume Bartertown is synonymous with 'garage sale' prices. If I want cash I'll list how much I want for a lot, or individual models. It is assumed that whatever I'm shipping for a trade that I'll cover the shipping. Sometimes it costs me more than the other trader. That's just the cost of doing business. 99% of my trades have been great. Some small some large. I trade retail for retail, or if I can get rid of a lot by trading in favor of the other guy I will. Obviously I'm not going to give away $100 worth of models for $20, that is unless that's the going rate, ie AT-43!

I realize that any trader could go to an online shop, or ebay for a 'deal', but that isn't what Bartertown is about. It's about trading this for that, or buying and selling without the hassle of using ebay. In fact I've had more trouble with ebay than Bartertown! I appreciate every trader I've had contact with. We are all here for the same thing.

@OP: if you used a more accurate subject, that would have helped.

That said, don't waste time on a bad deal that won't happen. Simply say, "no thanks" and walk away.

Just happened to me. A D-bag answered my ad, I sent 2 PM's in reply. He read both & did not bother to reply.
Welcome to my "do not trade" list.
You drop it & move on.

Same thing happened to me recently.
I take the word barter seriously. Someone needs something, make an offer, if they refuse, let them make a counter-offer till you come up with something in the middle that makes you both satisfied. Thats the fun and challenge of the barter system. If you make an offer and they dont answer or dont accept your offer and refuse to make a counter one, just move on. My feeling is that if the other person isnt wanting to do so, they must not want it that bad or that they arent that willing to get rid of it.
Dont let the bad apples keep you away.

The only problem with that example, Evil, is that isn't bartering. It's haggling.

Don't get me wrong. I find the haggling process to be an integral part of the bartering process... but they're not the same.
Barterting is a system of trading items for other items. Haggling is a system of back & forth to determine price/cost/value of a particular item or items.

Eric

MagickalMemories wrote:The only problem with that example, Evil, is that isn't bartering. It's haggling.

Don't get me wrong. I find the haggling process to be an integral part of the bartering process... but they're not the same.
Barterting is a system of trading items for other items. Haggling is a system of back & forth to determine price/cost/value of a particular item or items.

Eric

Man MM, you beat me to it.

If I wanted to haggle, I'd say make offers. When I want to trade, I say I want this mini for that one. When I want cash, I list a price.
If I wanted to get ripped off, I'd put them up on feebay.

Haggling is the funnest part of bartering. Your right though, not everyone is willing to haggle. Of course, those who are not willing to can lose out on some good deals and a lot of fun. Even so though, if someone is not willing to haggle, it would only be polite to let you know or return messages to let you know.
Like I said to the o.p. earlier, dont let a few bad apples chase you away, the majority of people here are decent people.

Yurt,

I definitely agree with you. Trading on here is nowhere near as nice as it used to be. I'm not quite sure why either, but I can see where you are coming from.

- Craig

starslayer wrote:Just happened to me. A D-bag answered my ad, I sent 2 PM's in reply. He read both & did not bother to reply.
Welcome to my "do not trade" list.
You drop it & move on.

BINGO!