what is the best way to do an online trade?
 

via mail...COD? mail order? can someone give me all the steps to doing a trade? thanks =P

P.S. gosh i sound like a newbie

I like to use paypal, it's free and a lot more convenient than going to the post office. It's quicker than mailing a check or money order as well.

The only downside is that once you send the payment with paypal, the person you're dealing with had better be honest, you can't stop the payment or get a refund if the seller is a scammer.

I only deal with people I know or who have good references for that reason.

Trips

is there a more secure way...incase they dont follow through?

I don't think anything can make online trading completely secure unless you're willing to meet the seller in person to see what you're getting before you pay, but in most cases that's not practical.

I haven't been burned in an online deal yet, so I'd like to think that the majority of traders are fair and honest; still, I think checking references is about the best thing you can do.

Trips

what about COD?
 

is that helpful?

I don't think the shipping companies like UPS or whoever will let you open a delivery before you pay, so if the seller was ripping you off by sending an empty box or one that contained junk, you'd still have to pay before you could look...

What you might want to do is call some shipping companies, like UPS, Fedex, RPS, whichever you can think of. Call and ask them if they allow you to inspect the contents of a COD before you pay. I don't think any of them do, but I don't really know for sure.

Trips

so what your sayin is...
 

theres no 100% secure way of trading...you have to trust the seller to be honest...who usualy sends first? seller or buyer?

Re: so what your sayin is...
 

Well yes and no, I've heard of people doing deals with there LHS so that the seller sends the stuff there and the buyer gives the check to the LHS, the shop get's a small % of the deal of course but it is still alot safer.

Re: Re: so what your sayin is...
 

LHS? whats that?

LHS = Local Hobby Shop

but then...
 

can they trick the hobbyshop?

sorry...
 

im being so inquisitive...its just that $100 is a lot since i dont have a job til summer =P

Re: but then...
 

It's cool there's nothing wrong with asking Q's.

If you set it up so that the LHS opens the goods and inspects them in your presence before you give them the check then it should be ok, if what you see is not what was advertised then don't pick it up, if it is then grab it. I'm sure if each side gave the shop $20 they would be happy to do it. If you don't want it just buy some stamps and send it back(If you wanted to see the good's then it's your responcibility to send them back not the shops). Pick a shop that you know well and they will more then likely jump at the chance for some extra cash.

so your saying...
 

the seller sends to my LHS...and the my LHS looks over the package in my presence...and if i want it i pay the original price to the LHS and a little extra. So the LHS basically doing the transition.

Re: so your saying...
 

Exactly.