Guide to Trading

[x3silver]

Guide to Trading


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Trading <<
Trading is the action of giving something to someone while having something else from the other guy

Example : Boy has 2 apples , Girl has 2 oranges
Boy wants 1 orange
Girl want 1 apple
So they trade, Boy gives apple and receive orange , and Girl gives orange and get apple.
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Why trade?
People trade so as to have something that is not available in your country while giving something to someone else who cannot buy it. Just like the Boy and Girl Example

Q.“ I am afraid of international shipping and stuff”
Well you do not have to be afraid since trading DOES NOT involve the use of money, its just materialistic. It is just like you send and receive greeting cards

Advantages of trading:
1) DOES NOT involve use of money neither in notes nor coins nor cheques nor credit cards , so its pretty safe believe me..
2) Easy way of getting pens you want that are not available in your country
3) Can also be a good mean to get rid of pens you have that you do not really need
4) Not expensive to ship pens [ like 3-5$ depending on sending options and country I will explain later]
5) Building up your reputation in white list and penspinning world .. having a good whitelist reputation will enable you to trade more .
6) Being trusted by other traders for future trades.
7) Make friends o.O
No begging and involvement from parents, even 13-14year old guys trade.

Disadvantages of trading:
1) If you are hard are taking decisions/greedy/slow negotiations and hard to negotiate people then this can lower your reputation.
2) Package do not reach you] or trader[or damaged or lost ]/, happens very rarely [its true] maybe one time in 500trades but if you follow this guide it may not happen [am going to explain later]
3) You can get scammed in trades, or that you have to be careful when picking your partners to make sure it's safe.


If you are fine with trading advantages and disadvantages continue reading…

Here are the steps for trading

STEP 1 : Spotting some guy with pens you want.
STEP 2 : Offering, negotiating ,and confirming trade
STEP 3 : Shipping
STEP 4 : Receiving Pens from trader , and leave positive feedback OR negative feedback if the trade didn't work and try to resolve the problem.

Now I will explain each STEPS.


STEP 1 : Spotting some guy with pens you want.

Ok so you want to trade, go to the Trading and Buying section of SGPSC
[ https://sgpsc.forum.st/f12-buy-trade ] , and see the different “trade threads” [ a thread with information of what stuff the trader HAS and what he EXPECTS, ] so it will be like two lists generally written in trade threads
i) I HAVE / CAN GET /CAN MAKE [means stuff he has or can buy or mod for you]
ii) I WANT [ what the trader wants ]
Sometimes you will notice that the trader wrote “ OFFER “, this means you can offer him pens or stuff that you think will be useful to him.

If you are interested in trading with the guy you might also spot his whitelist records [Feedback] so as to have an information about his previous trades, how well he did etc…

Spoiler:

Another important point is to spot which country he is from, in case you want to do a BIG trade so when weighting your pens it may cost you more money if you are at the other side of the planet.

Note : If the trader does not have any feedback , that DOES NOT mean he is a bad trader so get that clear .But it also mean you should be careful because the guy might be scammer. IF you have good reputation yourself, try to convince this guy to send the pens first.


Alternate Method :
Create your own trade thread [ make it nice and clean, don’t put high quality and large picture of every pen you have, or tons of rainbow colors underlined big sized and bold characters ] and wait for interested people to PM you, so be sure to login and check your Inbox regularly or Provide your msn address in the thread [not really recommended , since some traders are really annoying[nudges] and on MSN you tend to drift away from trade talks].

Also do note that there is a thread about Pen Trading Partners , I recommend you to see the thread at
[urlhttps://sgpsc.forum.st/t28-pen-trading-partners[/url]

STEP 2 : Offering, negotiating , and confirming Trade

So here you are , and in communication with an interested trader . Keep your cool and please do not be extremely greedy, exigent , and difficult , be nice to whom you are talking to.

Thus, offer what you have and ask what you want, if the trader is asking for pictures or vice versa don’t hesitate to show him what you got .

If both of you are unsure about the ration for example how much R.S.V.P is worth an Hybrid Gel Grip , you can ask more experienced people on shout box or compare prices on Jetpens.com or Penwish.com and get the trader to agree to it.

Pens or stuff you have SHOULD be in good condition , like not broken, scratched excessively or dirty. If it’s the case like a one or two scratches inform the trader about it.

Now that you and the trader have agreed on the pens to be sent and received, ask for address of the trader and note it down.

Confirm the trade and decide who should send first [not recommended ] if your trader has much +’s,
But the best is to agree on sending the pens on the same day … and show proof .[not necessary but if you are extremely afraid of being scammed go for it ] but I do it for every trade

Proof for the trade can be :
Showing the envelope with stamps and name of the addressee.
Showing receipt **[received from post-office] after having sent the pens.


STEP 3 : Shipping

Shipping is nothing difficult as you are thinking. Its really really really simple.

Packaging.

1st of all
1 )It is recommended that you have a bubble-wrap envelope. If not see 2)
That is a simple envelope but bubble wrap on this inside, this is used to protect the pens or stuff that you have inside while handling and shipping.[like shock-resistance or something]
Remember , the size of the envelope depends on how many pens / stuff you are going to send, however the pens when put inside the envelope should not be too loose or too tight.
Example : this one is good

Spoiler:

Here is a picture of a bubble wrap envelope, notice the glue strap

Spoiler:

Note : do not put your pens inside before going to the post office , because they have to see what you are sending.


Updated:
If you are sending packed pens to your trader [example 1 rsvp colors pack] ask your trader if you can unpack and send the pens or if he wants to have it as it is,, since the pack of the pens will be quite bulky and would not fit in regular envelopes sometimes


2) If you cannot buy bubble-wrap envelope its not a problem,
Use a bubble-wrap and wrap it around your pen like shown below, and but it in an envelope.

Spoiler:

Sending :

After that, the next thing you got to do is to walk in a post office
1) Ask the guy at the counter [ for me it’s a nice ,charming and smiling lady xD]
2) Tell him you want to send something
3) If stamps are needed put it on
4) write TO : addressee on the envelope’s front [and at the back write From: Your address]
Note that many options are available for sending
These include
1) Registration [ its for more safety] ( I Recommend it )
2) Advice of Delivery [ when the trader receives your pen, you will be notified by the post] ( I Recommend that too ) *
3) Priority Shipping << ( Its faster ) not necessary believe me
4) Ask

Then there’s a card with some details that has to be glued at the back ,
1st its : contents of items : I write “Pens” simply, I received pens and saw some people write “Cards” , but its not really an issue as long as you do not write things like “ bomb / drug / weapons” etc ***

2nd is the net weight [weight of Packaging + Pens], the lady will weight and glue the card, and hand you a receipt **, that you will afterwards show to your trader if he/she asked for it .

Note : Additional options like Advice of Delivery / Registration will cost more [like 1$ here ] so its no big deal and is really worth it.
Note also that the way of posting varies from country to country, in case its not the same do not panic, the steps are very similar and ask for help at the counter he/she won’t bite you .

And yeah that’s it. Now you just have to wait sometime .



STEP 4 : Receiving Pens from trader , and leave positive feedback OR negative feedback if the trade didn't work and try to resolve the problem.

If your trader has sent the pens/stuff , you will get it in approximately 2-5weeks. It depends on the distance between his country and yours.

So , be patient and do not panic, you will get it sooner or later [make sure you got a large mailbox , /jk]

When you receive the pens , pm your trader about it, tell him you received it and you are going to leave feedback for him.

Depending on the conditions you are satisfied with the pen , go and leave a +ve feedback for the trader.
If you are not, tell him about it , and leave a –ve feedback if he deserves it [like Dirty Ripped Poor Quality etc]



STEP 5 : Mod-ing , Spinning , Enjoying .
Ugh yeah xD



Hope this guide help you guys out . Have fun , and good trade .

PS: if you find something missing, don’t flame me , pm me about it, I’ll edit and add it.



Example of the different cards:
This is for Mauritius one, it doesn’t matter if its different for your country .

* A picture of Advice of Receipt Card

Spoiler:

** A picture of a receipt

Spoiler:

***A picture of a content card.

Spoiler:

Hope this guide is helpful