Top 11 Dos and Don'ts for Pet Trading (Because top 10s are so last week!)

Ah, the PC. (Or Pound Chat for newcomers.) If you have an unconverted dream pet that you are determined to own, it’s the place to go. But if you’ve never traded before, it can be both intimidating and confusing to start – especially if you, like many others, have heard that the PC is a scary place to go.

In truth, the PC isn’t a scary place. It is a very very fast place, and can sometimes be a very impersonal place, but there’s no reason to be scared. Bored, possibly. The PC involves a whole lot of board bumping to keep your board afloat amongst the masses, and that can be a little mind-numbing. And sometimes there are rude people who will lash out at others, but people like that are hardly unique to the PC. What the PC is, however, is a way to your dream pet – trading is a very effective, very viable way to obtain the pets you want even if you don’t have all the NP in the world. Here, you can trade up to the lovely Draik you’ve always wanted, or an unconverted that you can’t make yourself even if you do have a lot of NP.

Trading IS, however, a little confusing when you first try it. It’s hard to know what pets are worth trading for and what aren’t, and how the trading process works. I won’t address which pets are valuable and which aren’t, as popularity for all pets – particularly UCs, but even converted pets – fluxes often based on who happens to be on the PC that month, week, or sometimes even day. With that in mind, as I have successfully penny traded my way to several UCs, I have put together some tips to keep in mind as you pet trade. Without further ado, here are the Top 11 Dos and Don’ts for pet trading!

1. DO have patience! Penny trading is very possible, but it doesn’t happen over night. Everyone feels impatient when pet trading sometimes, but don’t take an offer you don’t want just because you feel impatient. You will usually regret taking trades like that, as they waste your transfer and don’t help you get much closer to your goal.

2. DON’T over-reach and get discouraged. Your goal may be a lovely unconverted faerie Xweetok, but you’re not going to find one for your royal Usul. While amazing trades do happen, you can’t count on them or get upset when you don’t find them, or you will not be a successful pet trader. Think of it this way – if you had a penny, would it be easier to find someone who would trade you a nickel, or a dollar?

3. DO remain polite. Yes, it’s the PC. And yes, there are a number of people who are rude... some are very rude. But if you wouldn’t say it in real life, don’t say it here – and if you wouldn’t lash into someone over a similar thing in real life, don’t do it here. While there are rude people on the PC (or anywhere, to be honest), you gain nothing but a moment of satisfaction... courtesy will get you further than most people realize or care to admit.

4. DON’T harass people you would like to trade with. It’s okay to keep in touch, or to check in – but most people know quickly if they want to take an offer. If you don’t hear back quickly, they’re probably keeping you as an OTB – so don’t hold your breath, because chances are that trade will never happen. If they’re truly on the fence about the trade, hounding them will most likely cause them to bail. You’ll either annoy them, or they’ll assume it’s a huge trade up for you. And on a similar note...

5. DON’T beg for pets. Seriously, where is begging ever okay? You’re not going to get that UC plushie Draik just because you fawn all over it and tell the trader over and over how much you love it, or worse, because you ask for it. Penny trading is work – do the work and earn your own pet. There is no need to beg for someone else’s work.

6. DO respond to mails from people you’re considering. This goes hand in hand with being polite. If you don’t have an answer for them yet, tell them that. If you’re waiting to hear about another pet, tell them that. Don’t ignore the mail. What if you were on the other end of that game? Mails do get lost sometimes, and that just isn’t something you can do much about – but if you have the option, respond.

7. DON’T trade for a bn or dn converted pet unless it’s Draik or Krawk. Even badly named plushies and pirates can be very hard to trade, so unless it’s a huge overoffer, if it isn’t well-named... pass it by. The PC gets name pickier every day, and most so-called “lucky trades” happen because your pet that is worth less than theirs has a fabulous name that they fall in love with and want as a permie. While trading a nicer named UC pet is also easier than a badly named ones, there is always someone willing to trade for a UC – the market for badly named or even decently named converteds is vanishingly small.

8. DO follow through on a trade once you’ve accepted! It’s okay to tell someone you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to trade, even if they’ll be disappointed – they’ll thank you for not burning their transfer. But if you tell someone to send a transfer... accept it. Is it against the rules to bail on a trade and reject the transfer after you’ve asked someone to send? No. But many, many people only have 1-2 transfers a month, which makes them very, very precious – if you burn a transfer, not only are you being rude, but you are actively preventing them from actually being able to use that trade. It’s the Golden Rule, people – if you wouldn’t want it to happen to you, don’t do it to someone else.

9. DO follow through on a trade if you request a custom and they perform the custom! Again, is it against the rules to bail on a trade after they’ve done a 20 million NP custom and can’t get their NP back? No. But if it were you, how would YOU feel?

10. DON’T advertise a pet you don’t own. Does this seem like a no-brainer? Maybe, but many people will advertise a pet they are getting the following month. Might seem like a good idea – after all, why waste possible advertising time, right? – but this is a bad idea for two reasons. First, the most recent editorial from TNT on the subject has said this is against the rules. But second, if you get an amazing offer on the pet you’re trading for, the person who still –actually- owns that pet might just decide that that offer is better than yours... and trade with the new person. Oops!

11. DON’T announce that you’re penny trading. Yes, you’re excited to embark on your UC RG Cy quest. I get that. But saying you’re looking to penny trade is like saying, “Hey, I want you to trade down to me!” Even if you were looking for a permie, how would YOU feel about that? You’d probably feel you were overoffering and look elsewhere, right? Of course – that’s human. In reality, most of the PC is trying to penny trade – someone who may have offered will probably just move to the next board because you’ll cause them to think their pet is worth more than theirs.

Well, folks, that’s it! I hope the tips outlined above help make your trading experience much more pleasant. Go get that dream pet!