Bartertown.com

Hello all, just looking for some friendly advice.

I've been trading here for a few years, but have made only a few trades. My score is currently 16, with trades dating back to the very beginning of 2007. I also have about that many references from long, long ago (95/96), but they are not linked to my account and cannot be verified as belonging to me (I don't remember my old email address). So, I'm not starting from a position of alot of strength as far as my history goes. I've been happy to ship first on about half a dozen trades I've made recently, as all the other traders are long-timers with high ratings.

I just set up a buy with a trader. He contacted me, we negotiated and came to agreement on the price and items (he even included pics). Very polite and timely. I was trying to keep to trades, but I had an offer to sell some of my stuff and the value was close to what this seller wanted, so I considered it a "virtual" three way deal and was happy.

I understand the general practice is that buyers are expected to pay prior to shipment of goods. In fact, I've had two sales, where, even with my lower rating, payment was sent to me promptly and without complaint/concern. Just prior to making the payment through Paypal, I went to check the seller's feedback and it was 4. One was from another new trader. Now, I don't think the guy is a bad guy and I don't think he's going to rip me off, but I am very hesitant to send my money under these conditions. I have invited him to review this thread and we'll see where it goes.

What do the Bartertown vets think?

Many thanks in advance.

you can break it up into 2 parts.
you pay half. he sends half.
then you pay the 2nd half. he ships the rest.
It'll cost a little more in shipping, but both of you can be mostly sure.

OR

he can ship the entire deal, as COD. It'll cost more, but you have to pay cash to the mailman.
then usps will send him a usps money order. [he must specify cash only as payment. otherwise you can send him a personal check.]
The COD amount can be whatever the sender requests. [it can be items+shipping+ COD fees if HE wants. you have no say on how much he wants, once he takes it to the post office. you can refuse to accept it, and then he'll end up losing the postage and COD fees. and you'll probably get a BTR from him.]
you could counter if he rasied the amount to higherthan agreed.

you won't be out any $ until you get the box. [now true, he can ship a box of trash, but that's mail fraud.]
he could potentially lose postage but that's all.

I posted something called how to trade with a new trader, and it was a sticky at one point and stated this. [and maybe more. it's been awhile since I wrote it.]

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106194

here's the topic.. it's still stickied.

I think that NO TRADER should follow through with ANY DEAL that they are uncomfortable with.
Due diligence would have had you checking references before any finalities were made. There's no requirement here for the buyer to pay in advance.

BTown rules leave the specifics of trade negotiation up to each individual trader. We don't want to get involved with micromanaging the trade. There is no "general practice" on anything. Ask 10 different traders about a deal, and you'll probably get 6 different answers. Hell, I'll tell you that (totally IMO), the lower rated trader should ALWAYS ship/pay first. There are others with ratings higher than mine who will say they agree for trades, but buying is different. To each his own.

My suggestion is to talk to your trade partner and work something out. It might be that, if you exchange HOME phone numbes and talk on the phone, one of you will become comfortable enough to volunteer to buy/ship first. If not, then you can agree to disagree and go your separate ways.

Eric