How safe is the FS/FT forum?

[SP33Demon]

Like edro13 said above, don't hesitate to call the person on the phone if you are feeling wary of the deal. Most good traders will comply and won't mind. Another thing you could do is send an email to the heatware address just to make sure, and let them respond. That way you know their cred's are legit.

I've never had a problem in all my deals so far, maybe I'm just lucky... Overall I will look for an item here first when buying, and also give ATers first dibs on anything I sell at a lower price b/c many people have given me deals as well. As a last resort, I'll go to eBay to buy/sell.

-Rob

 

[DuallyX]

For the most part, I've enjoyed it quite a bit. I've done mostly selling, and have learned the hard way sometimes that it's not a walk in the park. When I first started (3 years ago?), I wasn't a competent packager. I learned from that and now make sure to pack well. I then had someone try to burn me by using another person's references. Luckily I doublechecked when the location of the address was in a different state than the profile of the name I was given. Most recently I learned the importance of making sure the package gets shipped in time, which is usually my biggest struggle. When I've delayed for too long, I try to make up for it by refunding some of the cost or throwing in something extra. And DON'T count on anyone else to ship a package for you while you are out of town. (<--very recent experience, and my apologies again to the buyer.)

Also, as a seller, don't let people take advantage of you. If someone wants retail service, they should pay the retail premium. I had a request to RMA a motherboard to newegg after 3+ months. I'm sorry, I'm not going to do it. I sold an item for at least 50% less than the retail price. I like to provide good deals to my fellow AT'ers-but DON'T take advantage of my good will. Be courteous buyers AND sellers.

In short, 40+ deals and I'm still learning, still making newbie mistakes and still eating the consequences. In my experience, most people are understanding and willing to work with you--just be HONEST.

 

[joinT]

Originally posted by: Rage187
heatware is your friend.

 

[Turkish]

As long as the seller has 15+ heatware feedback, I don't see a problem. Make sure those 14 of those 15 feedbacks dont come from the same person though

For example, I have 20 positive feedbacks, 0 neutral, and 0 negative. So in my FS/FT thread, I stated that, if someone wants to buy my stuff, and they have more positive feedback than I do, I'll ship first, and they can pay me when they get it. If they have less feedback, they pay first, I ship afterwards. This is how it really works. The beginning is the hardest part, but I doubt you'll get screwed by someone with 15+ feedback or 3000 posts on Anandtech.

 

[BooGiMaN]

i have never bought sold or traded but i am considering a buy..whats the best way to pay?
is a postal money order good?

is asking for references rude?

 

[Ameesh]

i dont understand why the buyer doesnt always pay first in fs/ft, its the model they use on all auction and trading sites and it seems fair.

 

[DuallyX]

Boogiman- Asking for references shouldn't offend any good trader.

The payment is usually the seller's preference, often Paypal or Money Order.

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: BooGiMaN
i have never bought sold or traded but i am considering a buy..whats the best way to pay?
is a postal money order good?

is asking for references rude?

Most traders will prefer Non-CC Paypal = Paypal Cash.

It's quick and painless IMHO.

I probably had more than $5k go through my Paypal account, and never had a problem. My online suggestion for using paypal is, do not keep too much money in your paypal account. I withdraw my money from Paypal when it reaches $100 because withdraws to your bank account are free.

 

[Vic]

Just my $0.02 (although I don't have a lot of Heat on this board):
It's not just the number of the Heat, it's the quality of the Heat. Read the comments. Note when the person was the seller or the buyer. When the seller (because you're looking at buying), do the comments specifically say that he shipped quickly? That the items were packaged properly? That the buyer was very satisfied? What is the tone of the comments like? This is important because they are quite a few traders out there with a lot of Heat but who provide rather lackluster service. But because the item does eventually arrive and does work, the buyer is afraid to leave anything but positive Heat.
Also, make sure that they understand that trading Heat feedback is an essential part of the exchange. I have at least 10 trades here where the other trader (all with a large number of all postive feedback) refused to leave me Heat when the trade was completed, even though top-notch service was provided.
I'm not saying to avoid those traders, just to know what you getting into beforehand.
Otherwise, trading here is quite safe. Just make sure to get all the necessary info on the person you're trading with (real name, phone #, home address, e-mail, etc.). A good trader won't even hesitate to give you that information, and will usually volunteer it right away without having to be asked.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
Like edro13 said above, don't hesitate to call the person on the phone if you are feeling wary of the deal. Most good traders will comply and won't mind. Another thing you could do is send an email to the heatware address just to make sure, and let them respond. That way you know their cred's are legit.

I've never had a problem in all my deals so far, maybe I'm just lucky... Overall I will look for an item here first when buying, and also give ATers first dibs on anything I sell at a lower price b/c many people have given me deals as well. As a last resort, I'll go to eBay to buy/sell.

-Rob

same thing i do. i only have 15 or so heat refs over teh corse of like a year. i only buy/sell when i need things. but everyone ive delt with here is great. even when i started out. 99% of the people will treat you right. Heat is always a good ref - and you can always ask around here if peopel have delt with person X.

I tend to only use paypal because it just that much easier and only accept verrified paypal and no CC paypal

 

[Turkish]

Oh, one more thing! Very important.

Make sure the trader's profile and email adress is visible!

Check if his email on Anandtech and Heatware are the same!

This is very important as I've seen people giving out other user's heatware name as if it was their's.

 

[codeyf]

IT IS NOT SAFE AT ALL, IN FACT, IT'S ADDICTING. VERY HARMFULL TO YER WALLET! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!



I try to stay away these days. If I need something I just send a PM to my local hardware junkie (mike2fix) for a fix.

 

[amnesiac]

I have WELL over 200 trades completed there (175 feedback) with nary a problem.

Practice safe trading and you'll be fine.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Well over 300 transactions here. Got trolled once.

Heatware is your friend. Just make sure that the e-mail addresses match up

 

[lobbyone]

check references like heatware, get the necessary information from the seller-phone number, address, etc...

safe trading!

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
Well over 300 transactions here. Got trolled once.

Heatware is your friend. Just make sure that the e-mail addresses match up

Why?

 

[mastaki11a]

I alyways ship first to people who have more heatware then me. Just make sure you email the person at the email address in their heat profile so you know it's actually their heat!!!

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
Well over 300 transactions here. Got trolled once.

Heatware is your friend. Just make sure that the e-mail addresses match up

Why?

Not necessarily match up since some users heat registered email is different from their AT registered email, but send an email to the user's heat email address to verify it is in fact them. Too many times have others tried to pass off other's heat as their own.

 

[Tetsuo]

Never had a problem here, Hardforums is a troll haven. Stay far away from there

 

[poopaskoopa]

I've bought a few times. Each transaction went great, but I wish I didn't have to go back-and-forth with PMs and emails to get stuff done. But that's expected when dealing with a person instead of an online store. So buying is fine, but that you-ship-first-cuz-you're-a-noob model is BS. So yeah, I think buying on FS/T is great. Selling, well, I guess if you're a FS/T king, duke, or wherever you rank in the FS/T world, I'm sure it's great too.

 

[Nocturnal]

I'd say only buy/sell to someone with high heatware evaulations. If they don't have many you should ask him to cross ship with you. It's been great for me thus far. I enjoy using the FS/T.