NOTICE: I do not play Neopets as frequently as I did in the past. If you contact me concerning this page; I -WILL- respond but it may -NOT- be right away. Do not take offence if your neomail goes unanswered. This simply means I did not get to it before it was automatically deleted. I apologize. Feel free to send another one.
The goal of this guide is to keep you informed. It is NOT about having a fancy layout. It is NOT about having the most up-to-date coding. As such, I've removed links that relate to that; it's just not important when it comes to safety and fairness and fun play on Neopets.
Linking only to people who have a certain status of skill in coding/graphics is a bit of an ego thing.. (..and I say that in my own opinion. Don't bother neomailing me complaining on that one.) Not that I've experienced this myself, it's just something I've come across from time to time. If being fancy and linking to and fro with fancy is your thing, more power to you. It's not always about popularity.
Anywho..
I updated the guide after losing the pages BUT I lost some links. Namely the guides that have listed me. If you listed me, will you kindly neomail me again? I have your buttons but I can't seem to find your petpages. (...^^;...)
Welcome
This is Paint Brush 101 (PB101). The goal is to teach you, as best as I can, all about the scams that involve paint brushes throughout Neopets so that you can avoid them. Whether you're brand new to Neopets or a long time player, there's always the chance you could fall for a scam.
Neopets is a game. If you can't play a game fairly, and by the rules, what's the point in playing it at all?
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Site Rules
Before you do anything on this site, you need to get familiar with the rules. The Neopets Team (TNT) didn't put them up to just look pretty. You can find a link to the rules at the bottom of any page on the website or by clicking here.
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It Bears Repeating..
TNT will never ask you for your sign-in/sign-up information. They simply don't need to. They have this on file. If you ever get a neomail asking for this information, report it immediately.
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The Guide
In this guide you will will find:
o Screenies of scams
o Descriptions of scams
o How to avoid each scam
o Ways to report scams
I hope that you find this guide helpful. I (_kristina_anne_) put this guide together myself in hopes that it will prevent as many scams as possible. I ask that you do not remove anything from it without permission. If you need further help, have questions or comments, feel free to neomail me. Enjoy the guide!
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Scam: Cheap Paint Brushes at the Trading Post
This seems to be the most popular of scams. This is the scam, in fact, that inspired this entire guide. (In fact, you should look at this chart to help you get to know the Paint Brush and Paint Brush Plushies.) As you know, you can not make a purchase of an item 100k (k=1,000) np and up in a user shop. Since you're not good at beating out those fast players at the auctions, you pretty much assume you're best bet is the trading post.
You then see a great many trades with the paint brush you want. Now, it's just a matter of finding the cheapest one. And then, you see this:
There doesn't seem to be a price requested. Maybe you can neomail the seller and ask for a good deal. 5k, 10k, even 15k less than the other trades up. There's just one teeny problem that the seller isn't mentioning. In fact, it's a problem the seller is taking advantage of. This particular paint brush is just a toy!
You can NOT turn your pet any color using a Paint Brush Plushie!
You can avoid this scam by simply using caution and paying attention to what you're bidding on. Do not bid simply by what you read in the player's wishlight. Read everything within the trade. It's what it's there for. Simply compare the screenie of the scam above and a real Starry Paint Brush trade below.
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Scam: Cheap Paint Brushes = Page Error
What a wonderful deal! You're on the message board an there's a board from a 'generous' player advertising a few paintbrushes at low prices.
In order to get your hands on one of them, you need to get to that shop as fast as you can and ask questions, like why the player is making such a deal, later.
When you get there, you spot 2 items. The paint brush and a random cheap item that is way over priced. No matter, you're there for the paint brush only. So, you click on it.
Rather than the 'are you sure you want to buy _____ paint brush at _____ np?' box, you get a popup stating there was an error. Only, this error (which is supposedly by TNT*) says that in order to get the paint brush, you'll need to purchase another item.
Remember that shop only had one other item? By sheer coincedence, it was priced the same amount as the paint brush!
By buying that over priced cheap item, you're falling for a scam..
What has happened is, the paint brush was a fake. The intention all along was to get someone so excited to buy a cheap paint brush that they'd be willing to buy an over priced cheap item.
How can you avoid this scam? Avoiding this one is actually pretty easy! If this were a real sell, the paint brushes would probably be gone before the seller could make the post. Restockers can be really fast. If there were any left, chances are there wouldn't be more than 1 or 2.
Also keep in mind, while players like to be nice here and there, a lot would prefer not to lose a profit. Intentionally selling paint brushes at amazing prices would serve them no purpose.
If you take note, the paint brush is never next to the over priced cheap item the way a real one would be. It's above it, in the same place an image, text, or any other custom content placed by the shop owner would be.
* This is not an option by TNT anywhere on the site. You are not redirected anywhere, given a message to purchase a different item, and returned to a shop, all just to purchase the desired item.
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Scam: Non-painting Paint Brushes
To be honest, this is a pretty rare scam. I've hardly ever seen it done, but I'm sure it's still used somewhere. This scam involves convincing someone that a paint brush will paint your pet when the item has no use at all, other than either being a toy, grooming item, or something to just... have... They do not paint your pet (or petpet; petpetpet (nothing paints petpetpets!) for that matter...) at all.
These items would include (but are not limited to) the following:
Sparkley Paints
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Hoof Polish
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Scam: Petpet Paint Brushes
This one is even more rare than the one above, but I have seen it done once or twice. It usually just involves a person (usually a newbie) buying a petpet paint brush thinking that they purchased a normal paint brush.
Unless a person expressly says it will paint your pet, you were not scammed for simply buying it. You just made a mistake.
(You can apply this scam to the one above.)
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Scam: Retired Colors
Retired Color: A paint brush color that you can no longer use on your pet.
Retired Paint Brush: A color that you can still use on your pet, except the paint brush is no longer sold in Neopets' shops, just user shops, trades, and auctions.
You may be able to guess what this is. A person sells you a paint brush that can no longer paint your pet, but tells you you can. You in turn just lost a whole lot of Neopoints to obtain an item that serves no use.
There are only two colors that no longer work! They are:
Glass Paint Brush
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Stone Paint Brush
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I'm 95% sure that these colors became Island and Tyrannian, respectivly.
Once again... Neither of these brushes will paint your pet.
Do not confuse Glass with Ice. Yes, there is an Ice color, but it is only available through the lab ray. There is no paint brush.
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Scam: Buy From Me
These scams essentially work this way..
1. Shop owner says 'Buy an item worth at least (a random amount of neopoints).
2. Be entered in a drawing for a paint brush.
-or-
1. Shop owner says 'Buy an item worth at least (a random amount of neopoints).
2. You will recieve a paint brush.
Either way.. there's no paint brush. If there was, they probably wouldn't give them away in exchange for buying items.
In a side note, this is considered a giveaway. And to prevent scams (ironically?) giveaways are against the rules.
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Scam: Post A Chain Letter
I guarantee you, if you post a chain letter, you will probably be in as much trouble as a scammer will be. Chain letters do not work and are nothing but pointless spam.
Chain letters have been spotted on the message boards, neomails and even trading post.
They sometimes claim to have TNT's full support, which they do not. They claim that posting the message enough will magically produce paint brushes (and other expensive items and neopoints) into your inventory.
The only effect this produces is spam. You have succeeded in making yourself a spammer. And a lot of serious players who follow the rules may just report you for spamming.
(If you want to get logical, how does a bunch of text know when to put a bunch of items in your inventory?)
If you want to further read TNT's opinion and policy on chain letters, you can do so by reading #13 of the Neorules here & the Terms and Conditions - FAQ (You'll need to count for the 7th question, these are not numbered.)
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Scam: All The Paint Brushes You Want!
This is mostly seen on boards, but every so often, one of these will grace your neomail box.
And if it's in this guide, I guess I don't need to mention it's a scam.
A. Neopets isn't just a site, it's a company. They don't have (or need) hotmail accounts. (Is hotmail like #1 for scams, or is it just me?)
B. TNT doesn't need you to send them information. They have it stored. How do you think you get your information sent to you when you forget it?
C. Let's assume it WAS true, why does someone need your information to send you something?
Remember, no one needs to know anything about your account information except you.
Please read Safety Tip #2 for more information.
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When You Spot A Scam
If you spot a scam, you should report it. Make sure that it is in fact a scam, then report it by the following methods:
Trading Post
If you spot a trade attempting to scam, report using the link that TNT provides for the scam at the top of the trade in question in the upper right corner.
Make sure you're using the link on the correct lot or else TNT will think an honest lot is a scam.
Neomail
If someone through Neomail is trying to scam you, report using the link in the blue box to the left of the body of the Neomail.
Shops
If you spot a scam attempt in a user's shop, use the link next to the shop's name just under Neopia Central menu map.
Message Boards
If you notice a scam attempt in one of the message boards, use the link the upper right corner of the message.
Other
As always, you can make a report by going to the 'Contact Us' at the bottom of -any- page through out the site; scroll to the second section titled Abuse Questions and select 'Reporting'.
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To Report
All links take you to the same page. (You can also get to the report page by going here. In this case, the entire form is blank.) Once you get there, you're asked to fill out a form, simply fill it in accordingly.
To report an attemted scam, you'll want to select the option Scamming to get items or Neopoints from the drop down menu.
When you report, be sure that...
- You fill it in to the best of your knowledge. (Include as much information as possible.)
- You type clearly. (Don't use chatspeak or excessive puncutation.)
- You're positive that it is indeed a scam you're reporting.
It may not seem like your report will do anything, but once TNT gets it, the easier to understand the situation, the quicker they can handle it. Don't submit a report and leave it up to TNT to decide what it is you're reporting.
Do not abuse the report form! You can get into trouble for false reporting. (That would be reporting without a logical reason to do so.)
There is also no need to report more than once on the same case. Once is enough.
And, in case you were thinking of doing so, there is no reason to go into a message board to request others report someone as well. (That can actually be considered harrasment..)
The rule usually goes: Report and move on.
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In Closing
There are many ways people try to scam. But, there is only one reason they do: greed. They want it all with as little effort. I hope this guide has given you enough information to obtain a paint brush fairly and 'legally' on Neopets.
If you need further information, or to simply clear something up, by all means, send me a neomail. Do not hesitate to do so. I would be more than happy to help you!
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