Bartertown.com

So, how long should one wait if they suspect they might be in a bad trade situation? I made a large trade with someone (I paid cash via Paypal), and since I sent over the money the person has not logged on the forums and has not responded to me in over a day. The only reason I think this is weird is because we have been exchanging at least 1 or 2 messages every day for the past week or so about this trade.

So, is a day too early to think about reporting this? It's $150, and I do have proof of all our communications (I even included the trade details in the PayPal payment message). I just am a bit worried... thoughts?

Welcome to the wonderful world of Internet Trading. ; )

Really, there is no "hard and fast" rule for this. It's all about feelings. I CAN tell you that one day is a bit premature, generally.

The most important question is; What is the trade rating of the individual in question? That can go a long way towards affecting people's responses.

Did you investicate their references (by clicking on the trade rating next to their user name)?

Even though they may have been exchanging a few PMs a day, suddenly not visiting the site is not that unusual. Go to your PMs... Now check your "Sentbox." Is the message still in there? If so, it means the individual hasn't opened it yet. Is it in your "Outbox?" If it is, it means they HAVE looked at it. Also, by clicking on their user name, you will go to their profile. In the top right corner, it tells their last log in date. have they logged in since your last PM?

Give us a bit more information, and we can offer better educated opinions.

Eric

P.S. You can also PM a Moderator or Administrator. They can give you a general idea of the individual's reputation on the site, if they know him/her.

Thanks for the info. I did check my Outbox, and my last two messages to them are there (meaning they are read?). They did log in yesterday to post another trade somewhere else, so I am not sure why they did not reply.

Rank: BTown Regular
Last visited: Tue Apr 14, 2009 5:30 pm
Total posts: 64

They had a trade rating of (16), and every one of them seemed to be good. One person did mention shipping delays, so I guess that could be the case. I'll wait another day or two to see how it goes.

Just another note: They have been on this site since 2007, so at least a few years makes me feel a bit better.

MagickalMemories wrote: Even though they may have been exchanging a few PMs a day, suddenly not visiting the site is not that unusual. Go to your PMs... Now check your "Sentbox." Is the message still in there? If so, it means the individual hasn't opened it yet. Is it in your "Outbox?" If it is, it means they HAVE looked at it. Also, by clicking on their user name, you will go to their profile. In the top right corner, it tells their last log in date. have they logged in since your last PM?

Give us a bit more information, and we can offer better educated opinions.

Eric

P.S. You can also PM a Moderator or Administrator. They can give you a general idea of the individual's reputation on the site, if they know him/her.

Umm NO. If the messages are in the OUTbox, they have either not been online nor read PMs. If they have moved to the Sentbox, then that user went to their PM screen.... MM has the 2 confused.

Also.. instead of PMing a Mod or Admin first.. ask a Watchman.. If they cannot help you.. then they kick it up the ladder.

-Porkuslime

Eric,

If you want pm me the info on the user etc and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

Cheers,
Dave

porkuslime wrote: Umm NO. If the messages are in the OUTbox, they have either not been online nor read PMs. If they have moved to the Sentbox, then that user went to their PM screen.... MM has the 2 confused.

Also.. instead of PMing a Mod or Admin first.. ask a Watchman.. If they cannot help you.. then they kick it up the ladder.

-Porkuslime

LOL Yeah.
My Bad.
It was getting late and I was getting tired.

Switch it up. Reverse it. There you go. That's the ticket.


Eric

Honestly a couple of days is not major. I frequently go over a weekend without being anywhere near a computer so obviously I never check PMs or Posts. Wait through the weekend, then worry.

How long to wait depends mostly on what you agreed prior to the deal.

In my case, I expect 2-BD TAT (2 business day turnaround time), from the time goods / payment is received to the time return shipment is sent with tracking number provided. I state this as part of my trade negotiations, and in general, I'm the one who has to fulfill against the clock (I average less than 1-BD TAT, so 2-BD is very reasonable).

If no expectation was sent, then anywhere from 3-BD to 5-BD might be reasonable, depending on the size of the deal or other circumstances. For something small, longer timeframes might be acceptable. In your case, for $150, it's large enough that I'd start pinging at 3-BD, stating that expect to see a tracking number within 2-BD of the ping (5-BD total).

Anyhow, if it were me, I'd have sent 2-emails
- the first notifying that payment was sent and accepted, with an expectation of return update within 2 or 3 BD
- the second at 2 or 3 BD reminding that payment was accepted, and tracking number is expected.

I probably wouldn't BTR until after 5-BD (or 3+ BD of non-response), and I'd give fair warning of any potential BTR.

But 1 or 2 days (especially weekend) isn't a major concern. It's several days without response that sets off the sirens.

Good news, the person PM'd me today saying they were sorry and were going to ship out the items as soon as they can. Thank you all for your responses!

Elric wrote:Good news, the person PM'd me today saying they were sorry and were going to ship out the items as soon as they can. Thank you all for your responses!

(Emphasis mine)

Get a solid date from him/her.

"As soon as I can" is a statement that can be twisted and turned in their own defense, if they are prone to that sort of thing.

"I said I'd do it ASAP. It just hasn't been possible, yet."

Whereas, if you get a date or time frame from them ("I'll ship on Saturday" or "I'll get it out to you within a week."), you have something you can press them with, if you need to.

Generalities = Bad
Specifics = Good

Eric

Well, their specific words were "ship it out tomorrow", which means today. I did ask for a tracking number to be sent to me once it is shipped, so hopefully when it ships out today I will get that.

Excellent. Glad to hear it.


Eric