Mafiaclan's Safe Sellers' Guide

[Bisuone]

Introduction
The virtual goods market is always a risky place for both buyers and sellers who work individually rather than part of a larger corporation. When I first started I'll admit that I was like most new sellers, very cautious and paranoid about sales. What drove me to become a member at ownedcore was the reputation system and how you could become I.D. verified. While both good measures of past success, these are not indications of trust or how successful a sale will be. Because of this, even the lowest repped users can be honest and are capable of making successful trades. With these following tips, I have outlined how to be cautious, but not over-cautious in your black market dealings, enjoy.



Paypal Verification
Make sure your buyer is verified with Paypal. If they have a verified account, that means they have
their personal bank account linked to their paypal account. It also means that the account they are
using is probably their own and has made successful transactions in the past. Trading with a unverified
account is one of the easiest ways to be scammed.

Sample of a Verified Account
https://i.imgur.com/LtMZe.png

Sample of a Unverified Account
https://i.imgur.com/1X7OY.png



Using Google
You should't neglect searching the username, e-mail or ingame name of the buyer before agreeing to trade. Sometimes other people that have dealt with the person before will have left feedback that you can easily find by simply googling the person's name. In Diablo 3 you have another resource: Diablo III Search



Setting up a Paypal Checkout Page
I used to use the gift option in Paypal before I found out how to make my own merchant shop. Now, users have to go through this shopping cart/checkout system in order to buy from me. It gives the seller some added security because now you have some evidence that the customer has agreed to paying the cost. You can even go so far as to ask the customer to forward the paypal email confirmation page to you so incase they try and use an unauthorized charge to steal the virtual item, you can send in the confirmation page as proof. A legit buyer wouldn't mind taking a few extra seconds to go through the checkout. I've fought unauthorized chargebacks in the past with this method and won. Remember, any email sent to you can be traced to the IP from where it was sent from. Use this link for details: Paypal - Near Reality

If It Feels Bad, Don't Trade
I can't begin to tell you the number of times a day I will turn down a trade because something doesn't feel right. Your instincts are not a crystal ball, but they will remind you of previous encounters and alert you when things don't line up. Google puts it best: "An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli: 'predatory instincts'." You take a risk every single time you decide to trade with someone, so you may as well feel good about it and get the most reassurance possible before proceeding. I usually follow these rules: Don't trade if their paypal account isn't verified; if they are banned or have infractions in at least (1) other website when I google their name, even if they claim that it is another user with the same exact name, don't trade; If the user seems hurried to get the transaction over with, don't trade.

Titles and Reputation Are Not To Be Misinterpreted as Trust Symbols
Any deal can go bad. Even paypal verified users, moderators of your favorite website, or even long-time return customers have the ability to go bad on a trade. So don't let someone's reputation or title on a forum be an excuse to let your guard down. Be smart about your transactions. It is very risky to do high-value trades all at once so consider trading in increments if you are buying or selling gold. Paypal limits users to (3) chargebacks/disputes a month per account against one person. So if you're doing a transaction for a billion gold, split it up into 10 transactions so you won't be left with nothing if the person you trade with decides to scam you.

Odd Threads
Ever seen a thread where the advertised price or item being offered was too good to be true? It probably is. Every now and then you'll find a good deal, but don't kid yourself. We don't live in a fantasy world, there's a reason for everything. If a user is buying gold for a really high price, you can assume that something fishy is up. No one would spend money unnecessarily... maybe in very extreme cases. Similarly, someone selling gold for a really low price, but insists that you trade first is either looking to get rid of stock really quickly or is planning to just take your money and run. As a rule, I will only trade with users who display some semblance of the English language. Any thread written with a style that's too funky or incomplete sentences is an instant red flag for me. Of course, this isn't always the case, but you are putting yourself at unnecessary risk by contacting odd traders.

[vegasmoney]

Great tips! Thanks

[threattii]

Thanks for these tips! Definitely going to obey these on my future buyings.

[Sphynx28]

Great thank ! But i have a question about gift method, how do you know if the buyer payed in gift ? Where i can check this when i got the money ?

[Sphynx28]

You will see that it is gift when the "net amount" you received is the exact amount the buyer paid you. This means you will have no paypal fee deducted from the amount the seller sends you.

For example, if you sell some gold for $20, you will receive the full $20. No fees.

Thanks : ) second question, this note (This is payment for virtual goods which I have received) it is necessary to protect the seller ?

[Sphynx28]

Nobody can help me ?

[stephanepare]

i like your checkout and email confirm idea way more than having to send my personal ID to some stranger selling me gold

[Bisuone]

Thanks : ) second question, this note (This is payment for virtual goods which I have received) it is necessary to protect the seller ?

No, whoever told you to include a "note" doesn't know how Paypal works. The note doesn't do anything for you if the buyer files an unauthorized chargeback. Paypal doesn't even need to speak to you because they do an investigation where they check if the user who owns the account made a payment from the same location or not. If they find out that the payment came from a different location, they will refund the money to them. And they take out funds from your Paypal, or give you a negative balance if you don't have any funds available in order to refund the buyer.

But having them forward the e-mail confirmation from your checkout page to you after they make the purchase will give you proof that the buyer who owns the Paypal account also logged in to their e-mail to send you the receipt. Then they can't win an unauthorized chargeback because clearly they authorized the payment.

[Bisuone]

updated some sections, hopefully this helps some of you make wiser decisions.

[markesd]

Nice guide mafiaclan. I'd rep you again, but I gotta spread.

[Bisuone]

Nice guide mafiaclan. I'd rep you again, but I gotta spread.

Haha glad you had the chance to read it, I've heard way too many horror stories of trades gone bad.