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Last updated: January 14th, 2011.

There's many rules that we all (should) know and (definitely should) follow. But then there's those rules that aren't just written down in black and white for you to see, but that you would be wise to follow anyways: etiquette! Here's just a small page with a couple of thins you should keep in mind when you're caught up in the exciting world of NC Trading. Being polite and following these rules will actually get you a long way - more friends, more success, and you'll be known for being a great person. They're not that hard...

the etiquette

|| Only make offers that you yourself would accept. If it's something you wouldn't take, you're being rude by offering it to someone else.

|| If you aren't 100% interested in a trade, don't string someone along. It's not nice to make someone think you're interested while you're trying to get another offer.

||During a trade, don't accept the other person's item before sending your own.

|| Don't go to the board of someone seeking the same item as you and post 'I'm seeking that too, here's my tradelist!' Make your own board.

|| Before contacting someone that you have their wish, make sure they have something you're interested in. It's unkind to get someone's hopes up when there was no chance of a trade in the first place because you don't like their offer.

|| Once you accept an offer, don't back out because you got a better one. Think offers through before you accept, that way you won't change your mind. It doesn't matter if you got a better offer: once you accept, it's only proper to follow through.

|| Have a tradelist, or make it so that only the items you are willing to trade are visible in your album. It's extremely annoying to go to someone's album only to find out that everything you saw there and liked isn't actually UFT.

|| If you're discussing a trade with someone and are no longer interested, then TELL them instead of not responding. A lot of us have not responded at some point, usually by mistake, so this is one thing we should all start practicing.

|| Just be polite! Once you've traded, mail the person and say 'Thank you.' Put a please in your conversation somewhere. Simple, simple things, but they're important.

|| Don't ask someone 'Is ________ this UFT?' unless they don't have a tradelist. If it's not on their tradelist, and there is no note like '_____ may be UFT for ______', then it's probably not UFT and you'll probably annoy the person by asking.

|| If someone doesn't know the values of items, don't jump and rip them off. It's absolutely horrible when, once you know item worths, you realize that people took advantage of your cluelessness and now you're left with nothing good to trade. TELL someone if you see them making a bad trade!

|| If somebody is offering you buyable items, ask whether they already have the items or whether they are purchasing them. If they are buying them, once the items are bought, you must trade!

|| Have the necessary items and boxes in your inventory before you trade, or at least be aware of where they are - what account, closet/SDB, etc. It can get irritating to wait several minutes after agreeing to a trade where someone tries to track down an item.

|| Be aware of the number of boxes you have before offering on something.

|| Always double check to make sure you actually own the item the other person is seeking before making an offer.

|| Do not attempt to make last minute changes to a trade that has already been agreed on.

|| Direct links for the win. People hate it when you just post 'My wishlist is at ~petname.' Posting the entire URL is more convenient for others, and not much extra effort for you.

|| If two people are agreeing on a trade on a board and you feel it is unfair, mail the person. Posting that it is a bad deal is only making the person offering look greedy, when they might not be.

|| This isn't behaviour but necessary anyways: fair trade boards are not citing laws. They are opinions of the people posting, and are never 100% correct, as the posted values are influenced by the person giving the opinion.

|| Try to be specific. If someone posts on your board and you want to mail them later, include some information in your subject line. We NCers lurk around a lot of boards, and mails with the subject line 'hi' get confusing and annoying after a while.

|| With the advent of gift box caps, a lot of people are seeking them. If you're asking for a GB cap to be included in a trade, remember that GB caps cost NC as well! Too many people are acting like they are free, while their value should be considered as well.

|| Another capsule point: a lot of NCers are doing 'one-cap' sales in an effort to get rid of old items and gain capsules. However, just because one person puts an item up for one-cap sale doesn't automatically make that item worth one capsule. Don't expect everyone else to only ask for one capsule as well.

|| Be considerate. Some people will be willing to send you gift box caps so that you can get boxes and send them your items; other people won't be. If someone says they don't want to do something, just respect their opinion. :)

|| Sometimes it's hard to part with your bigger items, so everyone understands if you want to think abouit a little bit. But 'considering' offers for a GB cap or collecting tons of offers and 'considering' them all may seem a little irksome to some people.

|| It's not really polite to demand a GB cap as part of a trade so you can get a box. Plenty of people are willing to send you one; that's fine, but asking for one when it wasn't mentioned may seem a little rude. Remember, GB caps do cost the other person money, and they do have a value!

|| We all know some items are rarer than other ones, and more popular. But it's not really polite to go around /asking/ for over offers; if someone wants to offer you more and they're aware of what they're offering, that's okay. Asking something to offer more than what your item is worth - especially if you know you're asking for too much - isn't a nice thing to do.

|| Trading is supposed to be fun, and the NC chat has a reputation for having great users on it. Don't be rude and talk down to others; let's preserve that reputation and keep the boards a fun place for everyone. :)

Think of something that belongs here but hasn't been put up? Mail me @ roboticc with any ideas you have!

These are opinions, and not law. The majority of traders I've spoken to while making this page have agreed with the points, so I'm trying to represent the general population. I am not forcing anyone to listen to these and neither am I claiming this is the 'right' or 'only' way to trade.

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