Gaia Exchange FAQ - Trading Guide

[The Admin]

Gaia Exchange FAQ

Welcome to the GAIA Exchange! In this topic you will find nearly everything you need to know about conducting business in this forum.

Not everything is covered in here. If you have questions that you can't find the answer to, you are free to PM any GAIA Exchange moderator for advice.

Need help finding the list? Check the "View Forum Moderators" link at the top of the main thread listing page.


Navigation:

1. Updates/Rules/Guidelines
   
2. Trading FAQ!
   - All you need to know about trading!
   
3. Trading Ethics
   
4. Trade Suggestions; Tips for Scam-Free trading
   
5. Bank Services and Loans

[The Admin]

Trading FAQ!
All you need to know about trading!

We've noticed that there are many new traders/auctioneers who are new Gaians and who don't really understand the trading system. I guess most of us are aware of that the trading window was kind of confusing for the first time for us all and if you're really hasty, you can make mistakes. So, here's a guide for the newcomers.

The Trading Window

First of all, our best advice is patience. Think before you act.

If you are new to Gaia it's understandable to be overwhelmed or confused by the trading system here. So to help you along this FAQ will guide you through some of the more common features of the bank.

If your not new to Gaia, but haven't used the new trade system, this FAQ guide is also for you.

So, let's get started.

The Bank

How do I get to the bank?
Gaia has made it really easy to get to the bank from anywhere in Gaia. Hover your mouse over the "Shop" tab and move down to the word "Trade". Click on that.
(You can still get to the bank through the World Map of Isle Gambino)


Trading Pass

How to I get it?
arrow You can buy it for 500 gold at the Bank. Its a one time fee.

Why 500 gold?
arrow It's to prohibit people to create new accounts just for the 400 gold you get in the beginning.

Do I Need It?
arrow It's a matter of opinion. Without it, you can't receive items/gold, and you can't send items/gold either. So trading items/gold with someone else would be impossible without a trading pass. If you're not interested in trading, then you don't need the pass.

Trade Window
Here is an overview of how the trade window may look.

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A) The is the user who started the trade, which indicates that this side is the first offer. This can be good to check if it's really the user you are gonna trade with.

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B) The avatar showing on the right side is the user being traded with. This can be good to check if it's really the user you are gonna trade with.

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C) The Left part of the window is what (A) is gonna send away to (B). Both items and gold are shown here.

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D) The Right part of the window is what (B) is gonna send away to (A). Both items and gold are shown here.

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E) Any items clicked here will be added to the trade. Equipped items are not listed.

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1) Here is where you can edit the title of the trade. You can also leave it as it is, then the topic will be "Trade request from You to Other Person"

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2) Click the box next to GOLD to change the amount of gold you will be sending. Once you are done click change to finish playing with the gold.

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3) A password is required to send or accept any trade.

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4) This button is the last one you should hit. When hitting this button, the trade will be sent right away. The offer button is replaced with an accept button on the final phase of trading. So before hitting this button, do check that everything is alright.

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5) Hitting this button will cancel the trade and you will have your items or gold returned (same for the other side). This button is important if you notice that there's something not correct with the trade.

Trading Phases
Remember you need a trading pass to start or receive a trade.

With the new layout of the bank, the order of trading has been changed slightly. So make sure to pay attention to what the bank is telling you.

1 - Starting A Trade
There are 2 ways to start a trade with a user.

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1) The easiest way to start a trade is to click on the button next to the user you want to trade with.

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2) From the bank in the top right corner you can enter a user name and start a trade by clicking on the button.

After you have open the trade window with the desired user on the right hand side of the window, you can add items / gold that you want that user to receive at the end of the trade.

One you have finished setting up your end of the trade, click Offer Trade.


2 - Other Person Adding

This phase is where the receiving user can add items / gold to the trade, in exchange for the items you added in the first phase.

Its important for users to make sure that all items / gold agreed upon are in the left side of the window.

After the receiving user is finished adding to the trade, they can click Offer Trade.


3 - Accepting Trade

Unlike the original version of the bank. Both users must accept the final trade.

This is your last chance to back out of the trade. Make sure you check over the items and gold amount throughly. Once accepted only the other user can cancel the trade.

Make sure to hover your mouse over the items, as well, to double check that they are the items both parties agreed to. Thumbnails can often be misleading, so it is better to be absolutely sure of the item name(s).

Once you are happy with the results, click Accept Trade to finalize your side of the trade. Once the other user also accepts the final trade, the gold and items will be delivered to the correct inventory.

[The Admin]

Trading Ethics
Note: These are not rules, but some good trading etiquette suggestions.

Auctioneers:

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* Start the bidding on a price that you would accept. To start an auction on 200 gold and then say: "I'm not accepting anything lower than 700 gold, since I can sell it in the store for 700" is not fair, and rather annoying too.

* Set a bidding time, e.g. "This auction will end in 5 hours". Since there's time on your post, it's easy to check when the auction will end. This makes it more fair for the bidders. Many auctioneers wait until they get a price they're satisfied with. It is OK to set auctions for about 1 week in my opinion, though. Then the bidders know that the auction is running the whole week. As long as the bidders are aware of how long the auction is, it's OK.

* To accept PM bidding is really nasty too... I've seen too many disappointed/mad bidders around... so if someone would rather be anonymous, place their bid in your post but don't name them.

* DO NOT try to auction off your item in someone else's thread. That's rude...REALLY RUDE! Start your own thread instead and pick up own customers...I mean bidders....
This can also be reported as spam via the report system by the thread creator

Bidders:

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* PM bidding is really evil! That way, the other bidders can't bid higher than the PM bidders. If you're paying more than anyone else, and no one can outbid you, why don't you post it in the thread instead? No need for the secrecy.

* To suddenly lower your bid, just because someone else dropped from the auction is poor business practices. If you're not ready to pay the entered amount, don't say you're offering it. And I'm not just talking about closed auctions, I mean on going auctions as well. This is not fair for the auctioneers.

Advice

• Be patient. Take a good look on the trading window before confirming. Don't rush things.
  
  
• Don't worry that you'll get ripped off, if you are the one who started the trade, you have a second chance to check if the other side (the one trading with you) have given you the correct amount of gold or item (or both). So CALM DOWN, you will have a chance to check the trade again. You won't lose anything. If there's anything wrong, the Cancel button (no.4) is there for your service.
  
  
• Writing you own topic of the trade is usually better than to just leave it as "Trade request from ****". It'll make it easier for both yourself and the one who's trading with you to remember what the trade is about. This also gives you security in case you are scammed of what the trade agreement was.
  
  Moderators will sometimes need details such as these to verify whether you were scammed or not because this is critical in proving what the original trade offer was.

Sellers

-- Resell Price
Usually on most items you could sell them at the store and get half of their store value. Check out this price before you start off your auction and end up getting a lower amount than what you would have gotten them by reselling them.

-- Minimum Increment
It's a good idea to state a minimum increment, the minimum amount of money people could add after each bid, so that you don't get people winning by adding 1gold more than the previous leader.

-- Time
Leave the auction open for a certain amount of time. Leave it up just enough so people who are interested will see it, but don't leave it up too long or else a bidder or potential bidder finds a better deal else where.

-- No PMs
Don't take PMs during bids. Although you may get a good deal from people who PM you make sure they post their offer at your auction. Not taking PMs is proper etiquette for you as a seller and you may get someone to give a better deal.

-- Don't Back Down
Don't back out of an auction because you know you wouldn't like the same to be done to you.

Buyers

-- Patience
Wait until the end to place a bid. If you bid too early someone would have enough time to make the gold to outbid you with.

-- Updates
Check the first page for updates on an auction, in case the seller decides to place an auto-buy option, or states a change of time.

-- Night Time Auctions
Naturally people sleep during the night for the USA, thus less people on Gaia, meaning you have a better shot of winning something if most people are asleep.

-- Don't Back Down
Don't back out of an auction because you know you wouldn't like the same to be done to you.

Questions and Answers
Written by Yitomic

This is to help answer question about the exchange and to supply helpful links to threads that hold information that will help you with the Exchange ways. Enjoy!

Q. I want to sell an item from the store. How do I set the price?
A. There are two prices on store bought items. The "buy" price and the "resell" price. The "buy" price is what you pay for the item in the store. The "resell" price is what the store pays you for the item. Your best bet is to set your sell price for the item your selling in the exchange somewhere between the "buy" price and the "resell" price.

Q. What does "1k" mean?
A. "1k" is short for 1,000gold. When ever a number ends with "k" without a space it means X,000gold (X being the number next to the "k")

Q. Why are some items worth more than others?
A. Supply and demand. The harder it is to find the item, the higher its market value will most likely be.

Q. What is a Donation Letter/Monthly Collectible?
A. A Donation Letter, or now commonly referred to as a Monthly Collectible item, is a special item received for contributing to Gaia with real money. Every month there is a different item received by donating to Gaia.

Q. Why does a Donation Item/Monthly Collectible increase over time?
A. As new Donation Items comes out there is less of a chance of getting a past month item. As more Donation Letters are opened that makes the Letters more rare than the items so the letter will become more in value.

Q. How can you tell if you have a trade pass?
A. Go to the bank. On the picture of the desk if it says "Buy Pass" then you will need to buy the pass before you can send anything out. The "trade pass" costs only 500gold and you only need to buy it once.

Q. What is a "Vending license"?
A. A "Vending license" is what will allow you to sell items in the Gaia Marketplace. You do not need a "Vending license" to purchase items from the Marketplace. You do need if you intend to sell items to other users through the Marketplace. This costs an additional 1,000 gold on top of the previous trading pass cost.

Q. I can't find a certain item in the stores. Where can I find it?
A. Chances are the item you are looking for is a rare or uncommon. If this is the case you will have to buy it from another user. A list of all available rare items and uncommon items are located in various guides in the Gaia Guides and Resources forum

Q. Whats the difference between a "Rare" and an "Uncommon"?
A. A "Rare" item is found in Pink Boxes. "Uncommon" items are found in Brown Boxes. Blue boxes however can contain either of these. Pink Boxes, Blue Boxes and Enchanted Trunks are found around the site in what is called an event. Events are random and don't always come.

Q. How long does this auction last?
A. Certain auctions have time limits and others don't. Sometimes it is wise to ask before you place a bid IF they don't have something posted in the first post about the end time. If there is something talking about "no end time" then don't ask them for it may get them mad.

[The Admin]

Trade Suggestions;
Tips for scam-free trading

While it's definitely fun to do business in the Exchange, some people still invariably get taken advantage of by others. It's sad, but true. However, there are steps you can take to try and prevent this from happening, as well as making it easier for moderators to aid you.

• General Trading Tips
  • Always take the time to carefully examine what is on the other side of the trading window before you accept a trade.
    
  • It's a good idea to check the text description of an item and not just look at the image since thumbnails can sometimes be mistaken.
    
  • NEVER confirm a trade if what is on the other side is not what you agreed to. Cancel the trade and start over, or ask the other user to edit and put in the agreed upon items or gold.
  
  
  
• Wrapped Boxes/Present Boxes
  • Don't accept deals where users promise that a particular item is inside a wrapped present box. These are usually scams.
    
  • Reminder: Wrapped present boxes are now soulbound and cannot be traded. They can only be used as prizes or mystery boxes in the Lotto/Money Games subforum.
  
  
  
• "Loaning" items to other users
  
  • Take note of what pages or posts the deal was made on for the "loaned" items. For added security, take screenshots of the posts so that you have proof of the transaction
    
  • If this was through PMs, if you absolutely need to clean out your inbox, take screenshots of everything and note where you saved them
    
  • Whichever way you go, try to make the trade agreement in Gaia and keep proof of it rather than making the agreement via IM program, telephone, or some other off-site method where you will later be unable to prove that an agreement was made.

• Complex or 'Multiple trade' Trades
  (This is when, for instance, you're trading an OMG for 24 letters and more than a single trade is required to complete the agreement.)
  
  • Recommended here are the same things recommended for loaning out items above.

Helpful links
The Monthly Collectible FAQ: Listing by Arwen
How to take a screenshot; Tutorial by Dino (image-heavy)
Photobucket.com (free image hosting)
TinyPic.com (free image hosting)

[The Admin]

Bank Services

Due to the high risk of abuse associated with bank services and the resulting difficulties stemming from that abuse, we are posting a reminder about the recent increase in "loan" threads being posted in the Exhange.

These rules are referenced in the Services subforum of the Mini Shops, but still apply to this forum.

User Run "Banks" Disallowed

We realize that sometimes you want an item and just don't have the gold for it. Asking for a loan then is fine when done in the Charity/Quests subforum. This, however, is not the same as asking for a loan, or offering loans, for the purpose of giving or receiving interest as a service. That is not allowed, nor is it allowed for one to create a loan service as a business plan.

Please also note that should you wish to help somebody looking for a little extra gold in Charity and wish to loan them gold rather then outright donate it to their cause, enforcement of repayment and any potential agreed upon collateral is your responsibility.

As with all transactions, unless you trust the other party to live up to their end of the deal it would probably be wise to not trade with them.


What is considered a bank service?

Bank services typically consist of, but are not limited to, services that take gold or items from users and promise a return on their deposit (called interest), offer loan services to users, or offer pawn shop services.