Trades?

ExtraBaconPlease

ExtraBaconPlease

Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Messages
2,898
Trades are something I don't quite understand. They seem like an easy way to lose a knife. I mean, someone has to ship first, right?

Could someone please explain how they work/how you have successfully conducted them in the past? Any input on minimizing risks would be great too.

Thanks!
 
All the trades I've been involved in went off without a hitch. I've always shipped simultaneously, but I've only dealt with other members that also had 100% positive feedback.

My advice, check the feedback, communicate a lot to work out the deal before shipping (shipping method, insurance, etc) and if it seems too good or sketchy...step away.

~Chip
 
Hmm so it still seems like the risk is there no matter what. It's a trust thing. There is no bombproof secure way like simply purchasing?

If I were to trade I suppose I would tell the person to buy my item and i'd buy theirs. Through Paypal for insurance.
 
ExtraBaconPlease said:
If I were to trade I suppose I would tell the person to buy my item and i'd buy theirs. Through Paypal for insurance.
Click to expand...

That's an option that hadn't occurred to me, it seems like a good way to get some insurance. As long as both parties have the PayPal funds available and don't mind losing the fees (which in actuality are cheap as insurance goes).

~Chip
 
I've traded a number of times and never had any issues. I tend to be naive, though, and assume folks will do what they say. The double paypal thing seems like a good idea if you have doubts.
 
I just did a trade here on BF and a couple awhile back. Was a perfect transaction, we had great communication, both parties 100% feedback. If it was my knife for sale and I accept the trade/offer then the buyer ships first. I always stay in communication while deal is in play. If I'm the buyer using a trade knife for purchase then I may ship first. I've had deals where both parties tried to ship out at same time. All deals went great, if I remember everyone was a gold member here ( I think ) but all had 100% feedback and pretty good post counts showing their on here being active. Also I and the other party gave multiple contact info, email, addy, phone number.
 
I've never had one go bad. I had USPS mess up the delivery of his (my old) knife but it was clearly their fault and only delayed it 2 days. One way it could be done is both ship to a neutral, trusted party and then PayPal the guy money to ship to their new homes. I generally work kinda late but always make it to the post office so I ask the other guy to do what I do.. ship it and then send me a picture of the receipt because it shows the weight, cost, tracking number, estimated delivery date, and the destination town/city. It's 2016 and nobody trusts each other anymore, kinda sad. I admit I'm guilty of being suspicious of everyone also but it sucks that it has to be that way.
 
I am still pretty new here but I'm currently involved with my third trade and have had nothing but good experiences with it so far. As far as minimizing risks - communicate with the other party. If something seems off, move on. There is trust involved with trading. As you said, someone has to ship first. I think you will find good active members here would not throw it all away for a free knife.
 
The more and better I've gotten to know someone, the more inclined I am to trust that a trade will go off well without the worry of who ships first. It's all about the degree of trust, but never lose site of the issue of value. If and when you end up collecting high end pieces, the more the value of the object being traded needs to be kept in mind and balanced against the level of trust you've developed with the other party.

And in the case of international shipments, one must worry about whether the laws of the other country will somehow intervene and "complicate" the shipment.
 
I've done a few over the years, all went off without a hitch. Only once did the other party ask me to ship first as I had very few transactions/low feedback numbers. He had quite a few and I read through what others' experiences were with him and did a cursory check of GBU for anything problematic. Everything seemed good so I proceeded.

Aside from the plan you laid in in post #3 I suppose it comes to to trusting the other individual to do what they say they're going to. I like to believe people are inherently good I suppose and it hasn't bitten me in the ass too badly yet. Good luck with the trade.
 
Thanks for the input everyone!

I have lost out on a few hundred dollars in the past doing trades for a video game I used to play a few years back which is I guess why I am so cautious. It was due to a middle man that decided to keep both the items.

I've had nothing but great experiences here on Bladeforums buying and selling and a few occasions where the buyer has paid me via friends and family, trusting me with up to $500 usd. I thought it was a little weird that they would risk that but it seems the community here is pretty great. That being said, there are always the possibility of things going wrong with postage and if there is no insurance, you could lose a knife and it would be neither buyer or sellers fault.

I've been in a situation where a knife I sent was stolen in the post and PayPal covered myself and the buyer, it was a massive headache but in the end, we were covered.

Shipping has it's own risks that I'm not willing to take without insurance, especially international as betzner said.

If I am ever to do a trade I will propose we both purchase each other's item through PayPal for the same price.

Thanks again everyone !
 
ExtraBaconPlease said:
If I were to trade I suppose I would tell the person to buy my item and i'd buy theirs. Through Paypal for insurance.
Click to expand...

You know, I've never considered this ^. I'm trying to run all the eventualities through my head and so far am not finding any cons with this, other than the fees. But those are well worth it of course, and the honest thing to do anyway.

I suppose one or both not having funds in paypal would put a damper on some trades. Anybody see any other problems with doing things that way?

Thanks for bringing it up Luke.
 
Do remember that insurance isn't going to cover anything if it's confiscated by some foreign border authority. Know the knife laws of the country to which you are shipping. Just sayin'. And please don't read this to mean I wouldn't ship to someone from down under who eats bacon, because I would.

Trades can be real iffy. They're something each of us must put to the sniff test ourselves. As I write this, I remember the first time, years ago, that I was surprised to get a tax bill from US Customs for a knife I had purchased/traded for from some European country, don't remember which, on which there was a tariff restriction.

Yeah, do your homework on cross-border, other than US/Canada.
 
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Hard Knocks said:
You know, I've never considered this ^. I'm trying to run all the eventualities through my head and so far am not finding any cons with this, other than the fees. But those are well worth it of course, and the honest thing to do anyway.

I suppose one or both not having funds in paypal would put a damper on some trades. Anybody see any other problems with doing things that way?

Thanks for bringing it up Luke.
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Thanks for making me feel smart, Dave, no worries :D

betzner said:
Do remember that insurance isn't going to cover anything if it's confiscated by some foreign border authority. Know the knife laws of the country to which you are shipping. Just sayin'. And please don't read this to mean I wouldn't ship to someone from down under who eats bacon, because I would.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Always check the laws before shipping international. State by state the laws usually change too, so check those as well. I shipped a knife to Sweden without issue but a quick google search and asking the buyer if it was legal first was the only reason I did so!
 
I just sat here and did a little scenario where there are unequal trade values (where one party is sending an item plus cash for a higher value item). I think the double-PayPal approach still works, but one of the two parties may have to absorb a small difference in fees relative to the other party. Seems like a pretty good idea.
 
If I'm thinking correctly, the seller wouldn't have any more fees than if he did an outright sale though. The guy with the lesser value knife + cash to trade would have less fees than the seller, but nobody gets penalized by having to pay more fees. Should work for those folks with some funds available in their account to 'borrow against.'

ExtraBaconPlease said:
Thanks for making me feel smart, Dave, no worries :D
Click to expand...

Lol. Credit where it's due :)
 
Also, If only one person has enough funds, person A can simply buy the knife first then person B can use those funds to buy person A's knife...i think i just confused myself :p:D
 
I look for trades with people that have at least a couple of years on BF, 100%, and at least 20 or so transactions. I check comments as well. People with few comments (bf participation) make me nervous. I will typically offer to send first which minimizes the risk for the person with the established, positive history. I think I have only had one individual try to violate our verbal agreement. I have been a little disappointed that more than few members have not taken the time to provide feedback.
 
I've done hundreds of trades on BF. I've also done a few hundred on gun/archery forums. Never once an issue! A little common sense goes a long way...do your research and when in doubt don't trade.


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