Trading equiptment here on POTN

Just curious how most of you go about trading equipment between each other here on POTN via mail.

Should the person who posted the trade request receive the item first from the responding party and then send out his or her item ? (This is how I have done it in the past)

Should both parties just ship out at the same time?


I ask because someone recently wanted to trade lens for lens and asked if I was just going to ship out the same day he shipped his lens...I said no, and told him that when I received his lens, I would promptly send out my lens. The other party didnt want to do it that way.

Pretty straight forward imo - Both party should treat like any other buy and sell transactions. No buyer remorse and such since you both agreed on what you are getting.

If both of you have similar number of Market Place feedbacks then you can cross shipped right away (would be wise if you can talk to the person)... otherwise whoever has the much lesser number might want to ship first.

When you are trading, both party are seller and buyer. Then if both decide to wait to receive the other's good, the trade will never happen.
The correct fair way seems to me to both ship at the same time.

Besides photography, I also dabble in used/rare books. In that market, if another dealer says that s/he is sending a check, you ship the book at that time. There is an inherent trust in that market - the number of bad transactions is so small as to not even cause a 'blip on the radar'.

I recently sold an item to another POTN member and requested personal check as payment. When he told me that he had sent payment, I shipped the item. The check and the item crossed somewhere mid-USA. 99.99% of people are basically honest - why do we panic over the .01%?

Perhaps photography is different than the used/rare book marketplace??!!

I've done a couple of trades with other members for camera bodies. It was always ship at the same time. It might be different if the other person wasn't an established member of POTN with some positive feedback in the B&S forum.

I did trade a 40D for a 100mm F2 + 100$. We sent them at the same time.

But yes, the number of fear thoughts that came in my head was quite big. What if he never shipped the lens? What if he shipped me a box with a couple of rocks? What if the lens is broken? I would have absolutely no way to get my money back, which in this case is the 40D. He could just have run away and I would be stuck without the 40D and box of rocks. But I finally received the lens in perfect condition, as described.

I don't think trades are for me, I prefer selling/buying. At least I have paypal's protection.

Rivest wrote in post #11782141
I don't think trades are for me, I prefer selling/buying. At least I have paypal's protection.

As for me, I would trust another POTN member long before I would trust PayPal. No other POTN member has attempted to cheat me ... while PP has done so at least twice.

Mutual trust is the basis for good business/personal relationships. I just sent MO's, to a fellow POTN member, in an amount exceeding $1000. I obviously trust him, while he doesn't trust me. I've told him that I sent the money, but he won't ship the item until he receives payment. Where is the quid-pro-quo in that?

GJim wrote in post #11782209
As for me, I would trust another POTN member long before I would trust PayPal. No other POTN member has attempted to cheat me ... while PP has done so at least twice.

Mutual trust is the basis for good business/personal relationships. I just sent MO's, to a fellow POTN member, in an amount exceeding $1000. I obviously trust him, while he doesn't trust me. I've told him that I sent the money, but he won't ship the item until he receives payment. Where is the quid-pro-quo in that?

I even loan and shipped my lens to another member to test the lens first.

I think I have done three trades here. All shipped same time and the same method. All successful.

As with buying and selling, I think some cautious research beforehand is the way to go. I always search the positive feedback thread first and then I read through several posts that the potential buyer/seller has made. By doing so, you can tell if the person really is a photography enthusiast. Once you determine this, you can be pretty assured they are not a flat-out scammer. From this point forward, 99% (+) of the transactions should go well.

If a person has limited to no feedback, and their existing posts are sketchy or questionable, then I won't do business with them. Sure, you might miss out on a transaction, but I'd rather deal with known entities within this great community.

Bryan

IF both members are established and have good feedback, you should always ship at the same time, which is very easy to confirm with tracking numbers these days..

It is the best way for both sides! imho

I've cross-shipped a G11 for a sigma 30mm f1.4 a while back. We both shipped at same time with tracking and insurance. It was someone who has been a member for a long time--went great.

Use your common sense: If you're dealing with someone who is well-respected and has tons of posts, cross-shipping is going to be fine, just use tracking+insurance, etc. If you're dealing with someone new who just made an account, shipping something worth thousands of dollars, or it at all looks shadey or like a "too good to be true" deal, then don't cross-ship.

both parties could also paypal each other the value of the items to be traded.

I've done this a few times.. after checking for decent feedback:

for a straight up trade we sent out the same day

if trade plus cash - sent when cash recieved

never had a problem.