Trading post etiquette - teach me? (•ิ_•ิ)?

[jellysundae]

I'm totally a novice with regard to the TP, I'm using it a bit now to offer on Kad foods that aren't too hideously expensive. Anyway I've noticed something that I don't really understand, I think I know what's going on, but I'm hoping you guys can shed some light. :D

 

Several times I've bid on items, offering the quoted price and a red codestone, and my offer's just sat there for days and days. I've check people's profiles and it's said they've been on in the last day, or they've said in the item listing itself that they log on every day, so I'm wondering, what gives?

 

Are they holding out for a better offer, but keeping me on the back burner in case they don't get one?

 

That's the only thing I can think of for why, when an offer of what they are asking for has been made, they'd be ignoring it in that way. Have I got it right? Or is there some mysterious TP practice that as a newb I don't know about, am I doing something wrong?

 

 

 

While we're at it, are there unspoken TP rules that I'd benefit from knowing about? I do know about it being nice to not add junk as your item in a cash offer. That's why I've been offering a red codestone for Kad food. Though I may use just a normal codestone from now on, seems overkill to give someone a 30k+ codestone as well as several hundred K in NP, because I have made a point of offering a Kew or Zed stone, and I'm going to need those in the future. More than someone who makes buckets of NP from selling Kad food. >_<.

 

 

Oh, annddd...something else I see which confuses me. When the price for something on jellyneo is something like 350k and past sales back up the price shown, but when you look on the TP people are asking something like 2 million?! :O  Does that happen often?

[pulpfreeoj]

I'm not hugely experienced with the Trading Post, but it sounds to me like you're right, they're just holding out to see their options. But, on the bright side, that means they'll likely accept if they haven't rejected your offer thus far.

 

And as for the prices thing, I think it's a function of the fact that with the TP there's not really anything to base their prices off of if no recent listings have put a price (and instead everyone only said things like "pure np" or "make an offer"), and people maybe inflating prices to get the most they can. Sometimes on Jellyneo you'll see a warning for REALLY badly inflated items. 

[jellysundae]

Oh yeah! I've seen those inflation warnings, it's great that they do that!

 

I find the TP super frustrating >_< When people list a bunch of items and just say "make an offer," I've no idea what the combo of all of those are worth D: lol

 

I'm kind of torn if the ignored offers are people holding out for more, up to now I've cancelled the trade once I've got annoyed with it stagnating there, but you saying they'd be likely to accept my offer eventually...GAH! This has got me right in the morals, lol. It just seems needlessly greedy to me. :(

[Angeló]

giving a red codestone is supposed to give you a huge advantage .. most people would offer junk .. 

 

but i think lots of people don't even check their trades daily .. they just wait for the best offer ..

[midnight_spell360]

I was just posting about the mysteries of Trading Post (TP) on another thread, 

The Official TDN Item Price Check Topic

bc I too, think I must be clueless to TP etiquette and feel really lost. I put up  a complete set of Altador Cup Armor items (in 2 lots) and have no idea what is reasonable to expect. For Wishlist, I put: none, but check TP bc silly offers will be rejected. I think some ppl are asking for 1 mil or more,tbh, I am not expecting a million np but I don't want to go too cheap. It was so hard to earn all those points and I even had issues when I was spending my points. I am so not good at this trading.  :sad01_anim:

[jellysundae]

Midnight I feel you! I'm NEVER going to become a trader, that's for sure! It's too much of a minefield.

 

Angelo, I guess I'm just going to have to learn to be even more patient when I offer on something then! Weeks rather than days? lol... :rolleyes_anim:

[Aquamentis12]

"Greed"/Inflation can be really bad. Though I would guess that they ARE hoping someone will come along, not know what something is worth, and then shell out MORE np than an item really should cost.. At least that's my thought on people who just sit there and don't communicate.

 

I've been ignored just for ASKING a price or price range because my NM didn't include an offer. Sometimes I offer, but on an item where there's no price data on the TP or in item databases, it's pretty much a given that ASKING would be necessary. ESPECIALLY if they don't have anything listed for what they want.

 

Auction advertisements demanding "Pure" on the TP are also frustrating imo. It's called a TRADING Post for a reason, you trade items AND NP. The way I see it after getting nowhere with most of my NMs over the years, is if they want pure, they should set up an auction and advertise, on their ULU, or on the neoboards. Or heck, even on fansite forums. I get ignored with offers of Items, or if they do reply, generally it's a terse "I'm looking for pure".

 

Now, that's been my experience a good portion of the time. However, I HAVE traded with some very nice Neopians who DID reply. If they are kind about what they are looking for, and I can either haggle or supply their desired item, sometimes I'll throw in a small bonus item, or offer battle or game advice, if it's something I know something about. Just out of gratitude. A little kindness can go a long way.

 

But back onto inflation, it can be insane. A new stamp or book comes from an event, and suddenly some people go nuts and ask for millions, I DID see that on the TP for some of the AC prizes this year. Or during the Daily Dare, or whenever. People know that books and stamps from events are finite, there are only so many of them, and then they'll be gone forever once they're all used. So people try to get what they can for them NOW instead of later. While the prices of many items do tend to settle after a while. That initial rush, to get something sold before the supply increases, by users logging on and claiming those prizes themselves if they've earned them, well that's also Supply and Demand. I get it, I don't necessarily LIKE it, because I think the asking prices have WAY too high in a number of cases.

For example, it took me years to Secure a Peophin Bubble for my collection. I forget what I traded and paid for it. Even back when I was playing and started collecting, it's price was over 400k just because it was an r99, even though it's attack is fairly weak and useless. Rarity too, tends to go into the whole price-thing. Full Peophin Armour, I again forget what I traded and how much NP I paid. It WAS going between 1-3 mil. I got lucky and I think my payment was in the 1 mil range, counting item-value too. I THINK I had a paintbrush from a world challenge that was the bulk of that trade offer.

 

Just a couple of examples.

Frankly, though I don't know the difference, but I don't see why someone would say no "reseller" or "no collector offers". I think whatever you'd consider from a collector, should be the same consideration for a reseller. Unless the seller is motivated to sell. lol Then they might take the quickest offer that might be closest to what they want. That being said, I HAVE seen some advertise discounts for one or the other. But those seem fewer than most.

[jellysundae]

 

Frankly, though I don't know the difference, but I don't see why someone would say no "reseller" or "no collector offers". I think whatever you'd consider from a collector, should be the same consideration for a reseller. Unless the seller is motivated to sell. lol Then they might take the quickest offer that might be closest to what they want. That being said, I HAVE seen some advertise discounts for one or the other. But those seem fewer than most.

 

What difference does it make WHY someone wants your item (☉_☉) That's weird and disturbing that people would discriminate like that, W.T.F!

 

LOL, seriously, that's like the supermarket quizzing you about what you're going to do with the food you're buying, and not letting you have it if they don't approve of your intentions. :laughingsmiley:

[Angeló]

im not patient

 

if they dont answer within a day i withdraw my offer

 

this usually makes them send NM's begging me to offer back :p

[Lamppost]

Frankly, though I don't know the difference, but I don't see why someone would say no "reseller" or "no collector offers". I think whatever you'd consider from a collector, should be the same consideration for a reseller. Unless the seller is motivated to sell. lol Then they might take the quickest offer that might be closest to what they want. That being said, I HAVE seen some advertise discounts for one or the other. But those seem fewer than most.

 

What difference does it make WHY someone wants your item (☉_☉) That's weird and disturbing that people would discriminate like that, W.T.F!

 

LOL, seriously, that's like the supermarket quizzing you about what you're going to do with the food you're buying, and not letting you have it if they don't approve of your intentions. :laughingsmiley:

Those offers are usually lower than others. A reseller isn't going to pay full price for an item just to resell it, since they won't make any profit. Sometimes they offer low, hoping that the seller will be frustrated enough with trying to sell that they'll accept the offer. People who say "No resellers" indicate that they are not going to consider these low offers.

 

Collectors are a little different, and honestly I've never seen a "no collectors" qualification. I'm guessing it may be because many people WILL provide a discount to collectors. Collectors are usually looking for a specific item and there may be many people selling that item, and some people would rather sell to a collector for 90% of the price because it makes them feel good that they're helping another Neopian complete their collection - while selling to a reseller for 90% doesn't feel good. Somebody who says "no collectors" is probably just implying they won't provide a discount to collectors and they don't want to hear sob stories about collectors in an attempt to lower the price. I would guess if you offered full price on that lot, even if you plan to use it in your collection, that offer would be accepted.

 

Auction advertisements demanding "Pure" on the TP are also frustrating imo. It's called a TRADING Post for a reason, you trade items AND NP. The way I see it after getting nowhere with most of my NMs over the years, is if they want pure, they should set up an auction and advertise, on their ULU, or on the neoboards. Or heck, even on fansite forums. I get ignored with offers of Items, or if they do reply, generally it's a terse "I'm looking for pure".

I disagree with this. The auctions are not as easy of a transaction process as the TP. What people really want is a place to sell those items for pure NP like a shop, but because of the price limit on shops, that can't be done. On the TP, you can list an item for 2 weeks, but you can accept a trade at any time during those two weeks and sell your item. If you want your item to appear that long on the auction, any buyers would have to wait until the end of the 2 weeks to receive their item. As you all have expressed, people don't want to wait more than a day once they've decided to buy something, so 2 weeks would be quite awhile. Plus, people don't check the auctions frequently, so if somebody's looking to buy they're probably looking on the TP, not the auctions, making auctions a tough place to sell your items. Furthermore, as you all have shown, many times sellers won't truly know the price of the items they are selling. They don't want to set a price on the auctions that's super low, as many buyers won't see it and then they'll miss out on profit. On the other hand, if they set a high price, they might not have buyers. TP allows them to adjust the price as they see fit.

 

Sellers on the TP have the prerogative to sell for whatever they want. If that means pure NP, then that means pure NP. (Well, it really means pure NP plus a junk item, but that's kind of splitting hairs.)

 

My suggestion is to not interpret that "I'm looking for pure" as terse. It could be said in a nice tone as well. I often sell for just pure and when someone offers items, I aim to nicely let them know that I'm only interested in pure NP. (Although I usually include that in the wishlist so they know.)

 

I've been ignored just for ASKING a price or price range because my NM didn't include an offer. Sometimes I offer, but on an item where there's no price data on the TP or in item databases, it's pretty much a given that ASKING would be necessary. ESPECIALLY if they don't have anything listed for what they want.

It's not always true, but this is generally an indication to me that the seller doesn't really know the worth of the item or what they're trying to get for it. They want to see what offers they receive and then set a price. I generally try lowballing them and see what they say. Sometimes they come back with how much they're thinking of, and often we can reach a price in the middle. Sometimes it doesn't work, and then it's best to try a different seller.

 

I wrote an NT article about trading. You might want to check it out for some advice: http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=556838&week=617

[jaydeed]

I usually want pure (saving up for stamps!) and I never mind getting rubbish with it so I think you're being super nice offering a red codestone. Save your money though; that will add up and kadding is expensive; I did it for the avvie and remember it well :-) Maybe send a dubloon? They're cheap but they don't look it?

[jellysundae]

 

 

Those offers are usually lower than others. A reseller isn't going to pay full price for an item just to resell it, since they won't make any profit. Sometimes they offer low, hoping that the seller will be frustrated enough with trying to sell that they'll accept the offer. People who say "No resellers" indicate that they are not going to consider these low offers.

 

 

Hmm, ok, that makes sense. So basically they're just not wanting people to offer less than what they're asking, right? Though it's easy enough to just reject an offer. I was selling something once and received an offer that was close to 100k less than what I'd put as the price, I just rejected it.

 

Right, I've got this...people selling on Neo's TP are no different to the variety of people that sell on Ebay for example. Lots of people with different ways of doing things, that spring from their own personal make up. Some people on Ebay write things in their description - laying down laws, basically - that makes me back away immediately, and I suppose it's the same kind of mentality for the Neo people who state up front about no resellers.

 

It's just a mindset thing. Me, I'm not naturally antagonistic (I'm not saying these people are) so I'll just reject an offer that I don't like, rather than jump in there with a bunch of (to me, unnecessary) NO beforehand that can put people's backs up needlessly. If other people prefer to do that that's their business. *shrugs*

[Lamppost]

Hmm, ok, that makes sense. So basically they're just not wanting people to offer less than what they're asking, right? Though it's easy enough to just reject an offer. I was selling something once and received an offer that was close to 100k less than what I'd put as the price, I just rejected it.

 

Right, I've got this...people selling on Neo's TP are no different to the variety of people that sell on Ebay for example. Lots of people with different ways of doing things, that spring from their own personal make up. Some people on Ebay write things in their description - laying down laws, basically - that makes me back away immediately, and I suppose it's the same kind of mentally for the Neo people who state up front about no resellers.

 

It's just a mindset thing. Me, I'm not naturally antagonistic (I'm not saying these people are) so I'll just reject an offer that I don't like, rather than jump in there with a bunch of (to me, unnecessary) NO beforehand that can put people's backs up needlessly. If other people prefer to do that that's their business. *shrugs*

Yes, you've got it. I think some people get incredibly frustrated by lowball offers or think that by saying "no resellers" they'll get better offers. I can see how getting a lot of reseller offers could be frustrating: you get excited to see you have an offer, but then it turns out to be way too low. If that happens over and over again, it would get annoying. But I agree with you - conditions like that make me less interested in working with them.

[midnight_spell360]

Thank you Lamppost, for the link to your Trading Post article! I would say it needs to be a "must read" for all new NP players like myself. I t really went a long way to break things down and yet didn't talk down, if that makes any sense. Great job! So helpful.  :rambo:

[Musical_Shoyru]

I think with some items the price doesn't really matter. I noticed when I play Animal Crossing; New Leaf that a lot of players, collectors, sellers, etc would offer what they wanted for an item, sometimes something rare would go for a low price in bells and or a set of items that can easily be gotten. I've noticed on Neopets it kinda of goes the same way. 

 

I think with some items the buyer decides how much they're willing to pay for something, weather that be more than it's worth and in rare/awesome cases, less then it's worth. Buyers can offer tons of items or NP. I also see a lot of people willing to lower prices to collectors. I really think the JellyNeo database is a good base price, however the buyers/sellers really determine the price and worth. For example; if someone is desperate for a Pirate Draik Egg which isn't priced over 400k on Jellyneo, they could very easily offer 500k because they want it so bad. 

 

I usually don't put any wants when I put up trades and I won't take less than what Jellyneo has listed and I wait for the offers. (Normally I lower prices for TDN members I know or Neo Friends)

[Angeló]

Today I bought a Bat Boy for 1 Mil NP , although JN says 2.1 Mil .. and the last price I saw on the TP was 1.5 Mil .. but the seller was nice when I said it's for my gallery .. and some items are HTS so they're willing to take the first decent offer.

 

Kad food is a bit more popular i suppose and more people are willing to offer the exact price ...

[pulpfreeoj]

 

 

and some items are HTS so they're willing to take the first decent offer.

This is a very important point too, whether something's HTS or not can really affect the flexibility of the seller.

[jellysundae]

This is a very important point too, whether something's HTS or not can really affect the flexibility of the seller.

Yeah, I'll bet. Which would make my situation of them holding out for a better offer on Kad food a whole lot more understandable.

 

But still...

 

I HAD offered what they were asking for, AND offered a 30k+ codestone, so I'm still kinda miffed at being ignored >_< But like I said before, it's all down to the mindset of the particular seller.