[OsideRida06]

Always check out the person you’re thinking about trading with, before you agree to trade with them.

3 Ways to Check out a Potential Trader

1. Check out their TR (Trade Rating).

• TR is a great way to see if a trader has completed any trades, and how they were viewed by their trade partners. Every user on FreebieSociety has a TR. You can find it below their username in any of their posts, or by going to their profile and checking their feedback under the "Feedback" tab. Be sure to read the comments in their feedback as well.

• Some users will have a TR of 0 still, but this doesn't always mean they can't be trusted, it simply means they haven't yet completed a trade. If the person you want to trade with doesn't have any TR yet, move down this list for other ways to check up on them.

2. Check out a user's profile and see what other posts they have left.

• Under the "Statistics" tab in their profile, it will tell you when they joined and how many posts they’ve written. Check out the threads, and the posts they have created.

• A zero or very low post count (less than 5) should give you a good warning that this person isn't very active. Many scammers will post as little as possible because they don't want to bring attention to themselves. They tend to do their scamming via PM (which is why we do not allow trading via PM), or outside of the forum (instant messanging or email, something else we don't allow, but cannot stop, use your head).

• A zero or very low post count can also mean the person is simply very new. Low post counts are not a guarantee that this person is a scammer. However, it is also not a guarantee that this person is new. Use caution and common sense. If you are still unsure of whether or not to trade with a particular person after doing everything in this post, ask other traders.

• If you're being PM'ed by a person with a zero post count, or anyone, for that matter, don't be stupid, report them. That's all I can say there. If you get an email or instant message instead of a PM. that is also a very clear warning sign that either you shouldn't trade with this user. You can report those as well by PM'ing a moderator or administrator if you have proof.

By general rule, if you have not contacted them first in their trade thread, or they have not contacted you first in yours, ignore or report (or both) any unasked for PM's, IM's or emails that ask you to trade.


3. Go to the “Trade Disputes” forum:

• Scroll down through the posts to see if the person you’re checking out is in there at all. This forum is where traders post complaints relating to trades that have gone bad in one way or another.

We try to list all the scammers as well as any and all screen names, and emails we have for them. We also cooperate with other forums as well to try and keep them away.

[kow626]

don't forget to search for their username in a search engine. let's you know about their other online activities to see if they're genuine or not.

[zaohua768]

A zero or very low post count (less than 5) should give you a good warning that this person isn't very active. Many scammers will post as little as possible because they don't want to bring attention to themselves. They tend to do their scamming via PM (which is why we do not allow trading via PM), or outside of the forum (instant messanging or email, something else we don't allow, but cannot stop, use your head).
A zero or very low post count can also mean the person is simply very new. Low post counts are not a guarantee that this person is a scammer. However, it is also not a guarantee that this person is new. Use caution and common sense. If you are still unsure of whether or not to trade with a particular person after doing everything in this post, ask other traders. If you're being PM'ed by a person with a zero post count, or anyone, for that matter, don't be stupid, report them. That's all I can say there. If you get an email or instant message instead of a PM. that is also a very clear warning sign that either you shouldn't trade with this user. You can report those as well by PM'ing a moderator or administrator if you have proof. By general rule, if you have not contacted them first in their trade thread, or they have not contacted you first in yours, ignore or report (or both) any unasked for PM's, IM's or emails that ask you to trade.

[jatomlinson]

Thanks for the tips. It's nice to know being a fairly new trader.

[wishlist]

All good advice, but a low TR does not necessarily mean the person doesn't have any experience, it just means that they haven't traded on this particular site. Some veteran traders have very high TR's from multiple forums.

[Barbshome]

I agree Wishlist. Low TR isnt necessarily a negative thing. They could just be new here. I would also suggest to prepare questions. Ask them the things that are important to you, maybe phone teaching, etc. Message that person and ask away remember a good mentor is here for you and will love to answer any questions that you have.

[Cindi]

bumping for the newbies...

[dana67]

Excellent advice. Thank you.

I'm still reading up on the forum and learning my way around a bit and this post helped a lot.