Bartertown.com

What does a negative number in the parentheses next to a trader's name mean? Should I avoid trades with this person?

It means they have a bad reference against them. If you click that number it will go to the reference page for that member and you can read everything to do with their references.

Ryan

godofnipple wrote:What does a negative number in the parentheses next to a trader's name mean? Should I avoid trades with this person?

Click the number to look at their references. The number in Parentheses is their 'reference score'. High is generally better than low, but you would want to read through to see what happened.

A negative is worth -10. A positive is worth +2. A neutral is 0.
With that information, you can look at someone's score and get a general idea of what's going on.
That said, to repeat what's been said above, click the number. It will take you to the list and show you everything (including a reason WHY they got the negative - that can make a difference). There are some traders with high scores who, unfortunately, still have quite a few negatives.

As for whether or not you should trade with them... that depends on WHY they got the reference and if they're willing to consider their score in negotiations.

For example... You currently have a 4. If you and I agree on a trade, then you change your mind, it's within site rules for me to leave you a negative "back out" reference. That will put you at -6. it doesn't make you a bad trader, per se, and doesn't mean you should be avoided. On the other hand, if I leave the negative because I paid you and you never shipped - or shipped crap that was different than promised... it would be good to avoid you in the future OR to make sure you ship first.

Read the ref. See what's up. If they're negative because of what I call a "trust based" issue, it could still be worth trading with them if they're willing to ship first.

You can always reach out to staff. We can't TELL you what to do, but we'll offer suggestions, advice and opinions.

Eric