How safe is the FS/FT forum?

[rpc64]

I have never traded there before but I have been thinking about trying to buy something off of it. I just read stories and see the HUGE list of traders to avoid and it's kinda scary. But at the same time I see some very good deals there.

Should I do it and why or why not?

Thanks.

 

[Excelsior]

It is perfectly safe as long as you check references. We use Heatware for that very purpose. I have done at least 25 "trades" over the net through Anandtech, HardOCP, and ArsTechnica and have yet to have a single problem.

 

[Kenny]

Buy some stuff from reputable sellers (25+ heatware) and make sure you follow all the guidelines.

I've been buying and selling there for almost a year now and no problems so far.

 

[Rage187]

heatware is your friend.

 

[minendo]

Starting out is the hardest part. Remember to follow the rules, check the traders to avoid list, and when in doubt ask well known traders. Always remember, that the TrollHunters are there to provide experience, assistance, and advice.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me via PM.

 

[Sluggo]

I have done many deals, and had excellent luck. Most of the traders here are upstanding and will do what it takes to make a deal correct.

 

[Sid59]

i check heatware and ebay if they have that. i only have 1- 0 heatware but 21-0 ebay.

i've bought hdds and radeon 9700 pro from the FS/FT here.

 

[DaWhim]

sell/trade is fun

 

[Cooljt1]

if you are just starting out be willing to ship first. i find it funny when i say i will buy something from someone who has no references and they will not ship first even though i have a lot of references.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Cooljt1
if you are just starting out be willing to ship first. i find it funny when i say i will buy something from someone who has no references and they will not ship first even though i have a lot of references.

I can understand why they are hesitant to ship first. One of the first deals I carried out involved a member with 81 positive heatware. Over three months later and the trollhunters involvement, I received my items.

In no way, do I mean to scare others away from trading, but it is not something to take lightly.

 

[Cooljt1]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Cooljt1
if you are just starting out be willing to ship first. i find it funny when i say i will buy something from someone who has no references and they will not ship first even though i have a lot of references.

I can understand why they are hesitant to ship first. One of the first deals I carried out involved a member with 81 positive heatware. Over three months later and the trollhunters involvement, I received my items.

In no way, do I mean to scare others away from trading, but it is not something to take lightly.

yeah, that can happen and is probably the worse since you couldnt of really done anything. sorry for your unfortunate experience minendo

 

[HiTek21]

The first time I sold in the FS Forum I sold to a guy with a lot of Positive heatware but later trolled someone for over 300 bucks, I was shocked. Most of my heatware I sold small cheap items to rack up heatware so If someone trolled me it wouldn't make much of a difference but would ruin someones background if they tried to screw me over.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Start small, check and cross-check references for people who do not have 20-30 evals. Also remember, on the flip side, 1 neutral or negative early on does not make someone a bad trader. give people a chance to come through for you, we aren't a business, and we do make mistakes, generally more than a couple negatives is a red flag to watch out for.

 

[Nutdotnet]

The FS/FT forum is great here. Just be cautious and smart and you'll do fine.

And yeah, if you are new you may need to ship first (won't matter if you are buying items) so keep that in mind. I did it for a couple of my deals and now I'm pretty damn proud of my heat and rep.

 

[Keego]

Only place where I've been ripped off was on HardForums Nothing but great experiences here!

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Kenny
Buy some stuff from reputable sellers (25+ heatware) and make sure you follow all the guidelines.

I've been buying and selling there for almost a year now and no problems so far.

heat is the best, dont buy stuff from new guys if youre a new guy. ive been trading there for over a year and havent had a problem.

in fact, most people are _very_ easy to deal with there. i bought a hd from a guy, it was doa and he took it back without a problem and sent me my money. just mind who you deal with and things will go quite well

 

[Murpheeee]

just don't go there alone after dark

 

[Regs]

I had a few banned members contact me on AOL acting like they were active members on the boards. If they're not on the boards as a registered member, no deal.

 

[wyvrn]

30+ references = trade. No references = you ship first, I inspect item, and pay afterwards.

No exceptions, ever. Of couse you have to have my level of heatware(or above) to make this kind of rule.

 

[edro]

Make sure the seller has some credability... Search the forum for their username.... search Google for their username. Check their Heatware, search Google for their email address. If you have their real name, search Google for that too.

If a deal is $50 or more, I do all of that and more to make sure that the guy I am sending money to, is legit.

The easiest thing to do, is to search the forum for their other posts and see what they have sold before, then check their Heatware to ensure they actually had the transaction.

Heatware is generally good, but there have been cases of people creating multiple Heatware accounts and then just leaving feedback to each other account, to appear as if it is from multiple users.

Another thing, if you are scared enough, make them give you a phone number and call them up to ensure everything is ok. If the person is a good trader, they usually don't have a problem with that.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
30+ references = trade. No references = you ship first, I inspect item, and pay afterwards.

No exceptions, ever. Of couse you have to have my level of heatware(or above) to make this kind of rule.

Same here. I remember when I started here and I had to ship all of my orders first. I hated it, but everyone has to start somewhere. After awhile, I was able to get my stuff first then pay or ship whatever it was.

 

[kmac1914]

I've only bought one thing off FS/FT (a digital camera), but the whole experience was completely painless, and if i had money right now, i'd certainly buy some more stuff. Nice bunch of people, these Anandtech folk....

 

[new2AMD]

Ive purchased 2 things in the last 2 weeks. No probs so far. Got the first item quick and the 2nd was shipped the same day I paid for it (which was today BTW).

 

[DurocShark]

Whatever you do, read this.

Great instruction for new traders. Expect to ship/pay first until you've been doing it for a while and have some heat and some time under your belt.

30 heat all left in a few weeks = 1 heat to me. 15 heat left over the course of a year or more = 30 heat. It means the trader is in for the long haul, and isn't trying to rack up feedback.

Many of us have been doing this for a long time and built great reps.

 

[murphy55d]

Another small word of advice... anytime YOU ship something, keep in mind, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure it arrives. So use delivery confirmation, get tracking numbers, insurance, etc anytime you send something of value. If a dispute arises and someone claims they never got their item, you will have some leverage, otherwise it is their word against yours.