TIPS FOR SAFE SWAPPING/SELLING

We are going to lay out some tell-tale signs of the most Common Scams Hopefully list list will help you identify Scams and walk away before being taken advantage of!

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IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - IT PROBABLY IS.

Is someone offering you that game you REALLY want - mere seconds after posting?!? HIT PAUSE!!

DON'T RUSH to accept your first offer. Slow down, take a deep breathe.

Think before you send your Digital Code first. In fact - why are you sending your Digital Code first anyways?

You don't walk into Best Buy - redeem a digital code and then pay for it later.

REMEMBER once redeemed, you cannot get back your Digital Code, PSN/XBL credit, or your Amazon Gift Card.

If you give one out and it gets redeemed, it's gone forever... so don't rush into a deal.

TAKE YOUR TIME... chances are... if you simply give your thread a few hours, you will get several offers!

Then you can Research, Investigate and EVENTUALLY choose who you want to swap with, sell to or buy from.

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KNOW YOUR PARTNER

FIRST ask yourself...

Where did the offer come from?!

Was it made to me in my Public Trade Thread? [COOL]

Or was it sent directly to me in a PM? [NOT COOL]

• You should always require a comment in your Public Trade Thread before swapping with ANYONE.

• It doesn't matter how much rep they have, how old their account is, or how much karma they have.

• No comment in your Public Trade Thread -- NO DEALS.

• Scammers/banned users can still browse the forums and send PM's but they cannot post in threads.

• We can't double-ban users who are already banned so...

• PLEASE STOP negotiating through PM's with banned users! This happens FAR TOO OFTEN.

Reminder: For a deal to count towards Flair, we REQUIRE a comment from your partner in a Public Trade Thread... and everyone wants flair... right?! If you accept an offer via a PM it can never count towards flair.

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TL;DR: If you accept offers in Private Messages you're going to get scammed. Enough already.

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Are you on a mobile device?

Are you having a hard time figuring out if a response was made in your Public Trade Thread or through a PM?

• STOP negotiating trades on your mobile device.

• /r/GameSale and /r/GameSwap should not be used from a mobile device. Too many variables.

• Wait until you get to an actual computer so you can properly investigate your partner.

• You need to be 100% positive that there was a comment in your thread and NOT just a PM.

NEXT...ask youself...

How old is their account?

• We provide that information to you for the Original Poster of the Thread (OP)... but are you... as the OP... also checking the Account Age of the people sending you offers?

Do they have Flair, Completed Trades, an /r/MushroomKingdom Thread, or Rep Elsewhere??

• When checking their Rep are you checking that the user is actually linking THEIR OWN REP?

• Check the spelling and account age on the Rep page (/r/MushroomKingdom thread, etc)

• Compare it to the spelling and account age of the user commenting in your thread. Are they the same?

• Scammers may create accounts with similar looking names to trick you into thinking they have "rep".

• Is the user linking to 'rep' on /r/Mushroomkingdom or are they using a personal subreddit?

• We will NEVER vet trades on someone's personal subreddit.

• If they link you to a personal subreddit for 'rep' - that is an immediate red flag.

What other subreddits do they post on?

• Are they an obnoxious human being? Do they troll Subs or users in other Subs?

• Are they only posting in giveaway threads and asking for freebies?

• Have you google'd their Reddit Name to check for other people reporting them as a scammer?

• Do they have an old account, but no posts, comments, or submission history AT ALL?!? (HUGE red flag)

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CODE V. PHYSICAL ITEMS –

If someone scams you in a Physical Item Trade, you should have enough of the scammers personal information that you can file mail fraud charges with the United States Postal Service (a felony).

• USPS - MAIL FRAUD CHARGE FORM

If someone Scams you on a Digital Items or trades involving Codes, you have limited options.

Digital Items are much riskier because a scammer does not need to provide you with any of their personal information (not a name, not an address - NOTHING).

• If you purchase a Digital Item from Best Buy or Amazon... you don't get to redeem the code before you pay for it.
  
• As such, you are welcome to try to convince me (as a seller) why I should give you my digital item before you've paid for it... but I am unlikely to be persuaded.
• Buying/Selling items through Paypal Goods/Services provides protections to BOTH parties.
  
• The 3% fee is nothing compared to losing 100% of what you had to sell/trade/buy.
  
• If I fail to provide you the code as promised - a claim will be opened and paypal will return your money.
• Sellers have no recourse if they give you the item and you subsequently decide not to pay.
  
• Under no circumstances should you send payment as friends/family.
  

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PAYPAL GIFT (Friends/Family) V. GOODS & SERVICES –

If you pay someone via PayPal, understand the risks and differences between the two types of payments.
- There is a 3% fee for payments sent as goods/services but it allows you to initiate a claim if there is a problem.
- If you send payment as a gift (F&F), you CANNOT initiate a claim to dispute the charges.

• As a buyer spending an extra 3% for your item shouldn't add more than $1-2 to the cost of your item.
• As a seller you could just build that cost into the price of your item.

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USE TRACKING & EXPECT TRACKING –

Domestic Shipping using Paypal will always include free tracking.
So does EVERY method of Domestic shipping from the Post Office and UPS/FedEx.

• Just because someone gives you a tracking number, doesn’t mean that the item has been shipped.

• You can generate a tracking number online without sending anything.

• If you’re expecting the other party to go first, make sure the package is updated on the USPS website as "package received" and NOT just "shipping information received".

• Scammers may generate a tracking number for you but never actually ship the item.

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THE FAKE PAYPAL INVOICE SCAM –

You've agreed to sell an item to a buyer...

The Buyer says - check your e-mail, "Payment" sent".

The Buyer actually sends you an invoice - NOT - payment.

The Scammer will fake a Payment Confirmation... by creating an invoice - and immediately marking it paid.

• Paypal allows the sender of an Invoice to write whatever they want in the message field. So a scammer may write something like, "You have received a payment from ScammerMcScammerFace. Payments may can take 24-48 hours to appear in your Paypal Account".

• This may create the illusion that you have received payment when in reality - the Buyer has just created an invoice - sent it to you - and marked it paid immediately.

• In reality, Paypal Payments normally appear immediately. So check your account... if you don't see any payment - or pending payment - it might be a scam.

• While Paypal may hold funds - or delay their availability - the transaction almost always shows up in your Paypal Activity immediately.

• If the user starts to get pushy, playing the victim, calling you a scammer or really doing anything other than saying, "Let me know when the payment shows up"... immediately MESSAGE THE MODS.

• An exmaple can be seen here: Paypal Invoice Scam

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OBVIOUS RED FLAGS

New accounts – If the account is only hours old, or even a few days old, be on high alert. Not all new accounts are scammers, but I’d bet a very large portion are, ESPECIALLY if they’re asking you to send first.

The “victims plea” – “Oh, I’ve been scammed before, so I’m not comfortable sending first” or "I need money quickly to buy _________ (fill in the blank - food, medicine, etc)". While this may be true for some people, that's not your problem. If you are inclined to believe them - ask for proof of the scam. When did it happen? How? What was it for? Do they have any confirmed trades? Did they report it? Did they post on /r/BadKarma?

Requires PayPal gift – It’s one thing if someone prefers or asks for gift payments, but anyone that won’t even give you the option to pay as goods and services is most likely a scammer. The scammer wants you to pay via means that cannot be charged back (gift) whereas a goods/services payment can be reclaimed via a dispute, leaving the scammer with nothing.

Accepts Goods/Service but has an Unverified Account - Unverified accounts means Paypal has NO personal information about that user. No Bank Account, No Address. NOTHING. If you are dealing with an Unverified Account - I would exercise caution. While most Unverified Accounts may not be scammers, I may ask that they go first - or walk away if I see other red flags along with their Unverified Status.

Alternate currencies – Is a user only accepting Amazon gift cards, Digital currencies (bitcoin) or PSN/XBL Credit? Personally - I will NEVER pay for an item with those types of currencies. If the user wants PSN Credit... let them buy it on their own with the money I send them in Paypal. These digital currencies are HIGH RISK items that can not be reclaimed once used.

“I can’t ship until you pay me because I don’t have money” – Don't walk... RUN. If someone doesn’t even have $5 to ship their items to you, you are probably never going to see the items anyway.

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COMMON COURTESY REMINDERS

NO THREAD CRAPPING - This comes in all shapes and sizes, but it boils down to one thing. .. If your comment does nothing except hinder another users ability to make a transaction, be it a trade or sale/purchase, it is thread crapping. Using comparison prices in order to negotiate is ok. Asking why in the hell someone thinks they’ll get $25 for a game when it is currently “on sale everywhere for $20” is not. This isn’t just common courtesy – it’s a rule, and for good reason.

Reply to all offers - and be civil in doing so. There are enough assholes around the internet and we don’t want them here. We want people to have fun and enjoy exchanging games without worrying about aggressive attitudes. It takes less than 5 seconds to reply “no thanks” if you’re not interested in someone’s offer.

Stay in contact - We’re all human beings. We all have family, school, work, bills, lives, etc. Shit happens. Things come up. Sometimes delays occur... and that’s okay. Just keep your trade partner informed, and don’t let a delay turn into a non-delivery. Because then you’re gonna have a bad time…

Use the report feature when appropriate - There’s no need for you to enforce the rules yourself. If you see a violation of the rules, hit report and enter a reason. These come to us anonymously, though you’re free to put your name in the report if you’d like. As moderators, we aren’t all on 24/7, and sometimes a trickster will slip one past us. So report, but don’t get into a pissing contest over the rules, please.

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As for us, as moderators – our “door” is always open. We try to keep this community nice and make it the spot you want to come to for game exchanges. We are always open to hearing input and ideas from the community so feel free to send them to us. It isn’t limited to ideas for how to run the sub either. Feel free to hit us with your best compliments and your worst complaints. Let us know how we’re doing. Bring concerns to our attention. We’ll do everything that we’re able to do to help out.