77 replies to this topic

[soul__stealer]

For those that are not aware, there have been an increased number of users who have bypassed our trading guidelines and as such, been scammed of money, Neopoints or items.

Whilst some users are currently under investigation, I would like to remind all users to practice safe trading whilst dealing with members of the forums. Regardless of how many 'trader reps' a user has, there is still always a slight chance that they may take the oppurtunity to scam you should it arise.

Things to note;
We have a minimum post and account age on the trading forums for a reason. So please take note of the following;
-If a member contacts you via PM because they have ben banned from the trading section, do not deal with them and report it to an administrator.
-If a member contacts you via PM because they do not currently have access to the trading post use extreme caution and use a middleman.
-If a member does not want to use a middleman and you are the least bit uncomfortable, do not trade.
-If you are buying something using paypal (ie; NC codes etc) do not use the gift option.

In regards to the last note;
We have had an incident in which a member paid for something using the gift option on paypal. Many members use this option because there are no fees when using this method.

In the case above, the seller advised they would refund the buyers money, and subsequently provided a screenshot of the paypal transaction. The buyer checked their paypal account yet had not received the funds. It appears as if the screenshot was faked, as they cannot find a matching transaction ID in their paypal. Upon contacting paypal, they have been advised that as the payment was sent as a gift, paypal are unable (read unwilling) to reverse the transaction.

Neocodex will not re-imburse any members who have fallen victim to scamming however we do take these matters seriously and may assist where possible. Members found to have scammed other users will be banned from the forums.

We are also investigating other ways to make trading safer for all members, so if anyone has any suggestions on how we may do so, please PM me and if it seems viable, I will bring it up to discuss with our other staff.

[Yung]

Excellent advice, this applies to absolutely everyone. +Rep's are in order.

I can honestly say that an increased use of Middleman services would prevent 80%+ of all issues that have been arising.

[artificial]

Though official middlemen can't mediate trades for 'other'

[soul__stealer]

Though official middlemen can't mediate trades for 'other'

They can mediate trades for 'other' if they are comfortable doing so. 'Official' middlement aren't staff of Neocodex, they are simply a list of recommended members who have been recognised by staff and other members as members who are trustworthy enough to handle the transactions.

[Strategist]

Great advice there. If you're ever unsure of a trade, like soul said, USE A MIDDLEMAN (where possible) or don't trade at all.

[zandra]

Though official middlemen can't mediate trades for 'other'

the middlemen can take hold of the items/nps that will be traded for others first.

however this would not be possible for NC items

[Nymh]

the middlemen can take hold of the items/nps that will be traded for others first.

however this would not be possible for NC items

It's possible, just less efficient for the MM and you would have to find one that redeems a lot of NC...or just buys themselves GB caps regularly.
I always have boxes coming out my ears, so I wouldn't mind MM'ing trades for NC.

[zandra]

I always have boxes coming out my ears

i totally dont get this or what is the implied meaning but it made me laughed.

[IcedEarth]

^^ I think nymh is talking about those basic gift boxes used to give NC items to other users.

Also, I haven't used paypal much so if I was to trade, you're saying not to use the gift option. What would you use instead?

Thanks for the heads up. Definitely good stuff to keep in mind when trading.

Edited by IcedEarth, 22 February 2012 - 06:18 AM.

[zandra]

^^ I think nymh is talking about those basic gift boxes used to give NC items to other users.

Also, I haven't used paypal much so if I was to trade, you're saying not to use the gift option. What would you use instead?

Thanks for the heads up. Definitely good stuff to keep in mind when trading.

i dont have the gift option. i think it is only available to paypal users from certain location E.g. USA


There are many other options to select, Online payments would result in the seller having to pay the tax, Personal Payment would give you the option of who pay the tax.

This tax is the only reason why paypal would even bother trying to help you to resolve any conflicts, in gift option, since you dont pay it, they wont bother trying

[IcedEarth]

Ah I see. Yeah, I'm able to select gift option being from UK. Thanks

[Spirited]

Is there an indication on a user's profile if they've been banned from the trading post?
Otherwise, an indication would be useful. We wouldn't scroll through the list of banned and warned users just to see if one user is trustworthy eh.

A good indication could be the Trader Score is red in colour (or strike-out), and when you try to "Rate Trader", it's greyed out and stated as "Banned from trading".

[Applepi]

Is there an indication on a user's profile if they've been banned from the trading post?
Otherwise, an indication would be useful. We wouldn't scroll through the list of banned and warned users just to see if one user is trustworthy eh.

A good indication could be the Trader Score is red in colour (or strike-out), and when you try to "Rate Trader", it's greyed out and stated as "Banned from trading".

That would be nice, but usually they've also been listed in the banned/warned board. I always just check it before going through with a trade as a force of habit.

Also, I know I've had problems finding people to MM off the official list, but if you know someone pretty well on the site/trust them you can use that person as well (as long as both parties are ok with it). The only times I've been ok not having a middleman involved were with people who were clearly trusted members of the site and had monsterous trader scores.

[Romy]

I actually believe that it should be explicitly listed on someones profile whether they are banned from the Trading Section of the site and why.
(I mean, we CAN see their trade rep and whatnot. Why not add this?)
It would help a lot of the noobies on site.

Edited by Pikachuu, 22 February 2012 - 08:50 AM.

[Boggart]

That's a pretty good idea pikachuu

should we maybe get some more official middlemen? That sorta died down. We can restart/re-confirm users. Shall I start something?

[Strategist]

Put me down as a middleman if you like. Also i reckon 'official' middlemen should be identified by a custom title beneath their profile pics. Makes it easier for newbies etc to recognise one if they need one. Just a suggestion.

[Origins]

Great advice.

Just to add to that...

Avoid any unauthorised links the trader may send you - for your own good
Always ask for a private message for proof of the transaction before you trade
Keep screenshots with the time clearly visible - in the event that a scam does happen, this will certainly help your case
Don't download any programs i.e Team Viewer, even though it can be useful in some circumstances, I would highly disregard the idea
Make sure your middleman is official/highly trusted, don't have their friend middleman the trade for you

[Nymh]

That's a pretty good idea pikachuu

should we maybe get some more official middlemen? That sorta died down. We can restart/re-confirm users. Shall I start something?

I agree

Out of the official middlemen http://www.neocodex....odex-middlemen/ it looks like the only ones that are still active are soul (an admin), Bogg, tak1968 (lurker?), and it looks like Dan has lurked a bit too.
Also Zackdizzle has come back recently, not sure if he wants to get back into MMing though I can't speak for him obviously

I would be happy to get in on any new MM stuff you put together

[Philly]

I guess you should not use the gift option with someone you don't trust, but surely those with a higher trading score could be given the chance to use the gift option? It costs me roughtly $2 every time I don't ask for it or if people don't have it in their country... I think that one should be up to the buyer.

In any case, these are some good guidelines in general.

[Applepi]

I wouldn't mind MMing either

more advice:
Just b/c they claim to be trusted on other sites doesn't mean they actually are...

ALWAYS use MM from this site not an external site

If your gut says something isn't right, don't go through the trade. Anyone who is adamant about not using a MM or personally accessing your account or asking your PIN without giving a decent reason is probably not a good person to trade with.

take a screen shot of EVERYTHING/copy all conversations from other IM messenger sites and file them away somewhere

make sure there is a PM between you and the trader where all the terms are spelled out. I always have a post that says what I'm getting, what I'm paying, how payment is expected to be done, how long it is expected to take and if the person is going into my account or not. This way, there's no confusion about anything later on...

[Origins]

^ Same advice I gave 26 minutes ago

[Elindoril]

That's a pretty good idea pikachuu

should we maybe get some more official middlemen? That sorta died down. We can restart/re-confirm users. Shall I start something?

Just don't throw me on the list and say I have "awesome middlemanness" like *someone* did in the original topic.

Still confused as to why that even happened.

[Sweeney]

^ Same advice I gave 26 minutes ago

Not really.
There's a touch of overlap, but most points were independent.

Don't do that again.

[Boggart]

Just don't throw me on the list and say I have "awesome middlemanness" like *someone* did in the original topic.

Still confused as to why that even happened.

Lol I remember that. I for sure won't.

Actually, someone informed me that soul and pyro are revamping the mm system. If they are, I'll stay out of it. If they're not, I will gladly take the lead. Can anyone ignore or confirm this for me?

[Sweeney]

Lol I remember that. I for sure won't.

Actually, someone informed me that soul and pyro are revamping the mm system. If they are, I'll stay out of it. If they're not, I will gladly take the lead. Can anyone ignore or confirm this for me?

You know, you have a staff section so you can ask these questions without making the administrative team look unprofessionally uncommunicative