A New Year, lets Review..Before trading..

[savageamusement]

There are a lot of new traders- Both bad and good-
New people, just rearing to go on this hobby- and some rearing to go, to take advantage of them.
So here is a quickie review, a good rule of thumb, if your planning on trading.


Safe Trading Tips from Savage

Before doling out money or trading tapes and discs:

1. Do a search on-line using all of these links, refining your search as much as possible for best results (i.e. email address, name, and/or snail mail address):
Yahoo Search Engine
Google Search Engine
alt.video.tape-trading
2. Enter their snail mail address on the following link, which may reveal more information:
Reverse White Pages
3. Utilize search engines on tape trading boards.
4. Do a "trader check" on tape trading boards where you've posted considering the source. This is a common practice among traders. Traders that are offended by such a practice probably have something to hide.
5. Recent bad trader reports:
video-tape-trading-bad-trading-list
6. Quality Gauging Shows
7. Ask potential traders for their eBay ID(s) and/or references.*
8. If you find very little or no information on a prospective trader who claims to have a large collection, more than likely, it'd be a good idea to beware.
9. Someone who uses multiple IDs is someone to be leary of.
10. Follow your intuition.


When setting up a trade:

1. Do a small trade/sale (1-3 tapes or discs) at first.
2. Use Delivery Confirmation.
3. Use a USPS money order, fill in both the name & address, and save the carbon copy for your records. If you do that, the government may reimburse you if it is "lost" (stolen by the trader). If you're dealing with a seasoned crook who knows the ropes, this will not be a guarantee.


Bad traders typically:

1. ...Target newbies via private email.
2. ...Squelch information about themselves on-line by attacking with "terms of service", false mail fraud citations, etc.
3. ...*Give their own email addresses as references.
4. ...Take advantage of the fact that newcomers don't know the ropes (i.e. setting up uneven trades).
5. ...Are chronic liars so if at any time while you are working out a trade agreement your partner displays any dishonesty, I would seriously consider backing out before it's too late.


IF you've been ripped off:

1. Post their name, email address, and at least partial postal mail address on tape trading boards.
2. Fill out a Mail Fraud Complaint form
3. Fill out an Internet Fraud Complaint Center form


Please note*
The most important is to contact a moderator-or even the owner of the site.
It is only through communication that these incidents, don't become an ongoing pattern
If you feel shy, the moderators and owners are able to post for you, and mediate to prevent retaliation posts, in example- Regardless of how small the trade- your time is important, and by communicating within the community we can prevent others from being taken advantage of simply by talking about things openly most often.