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Guide to Trading Online
By Dark Marik
 

March 4, 2009

Article #3: Protecting Yourself From Rippers

            Online trading is a breading ground for what is known as rippers. Rippers are the real life equivalents of Rare Hunters from the original anime version of Yu-Gi-Oh! As you remember Rare Hunters would steal rare cards from weaker people and make profits off their illegal actions, thinking they would never be caught. Online and in person rippers, thieves, scammers are everywhere, and this game’s expensive cards attract them even more. There are just as many people online who are willing to steal your cards as there are in person, especially now with the hard economic times of the world. A ripper will confirm a deal with you, when they have more references then you, and then ether A) Pretend they never receive your end, B) Pretend they sent to you when they actually did not, or C). Simply ignore you and not send your end of the trade.

            Rippers are what can make online trading risky. Some might say that one of the smartest things to do when trying to make profit is to take risks, however this is not a secure legalized security trading system like the NYSE, this is dealing between two normal every day people, who live on different parts of the country, and some risks, just are not worth it. There are ways to take this risk-taking situation and make it very secure and safe, just it will cost more in the long run.

            The first way to do this is not to trade with Rippers. How do you know if someone is a ripper? It isn’t too hard to figure out most of the time. As I described in article #1, every user on the message boards has an I-Trader Score, which is listed under their avatar and post count. By clicking on this number it will take you to that user’s I-Trader profile page, which will give you a history of all their previous trades that have been reported. Any green smiley faces represent good trades, and positive feedback, while red frowns represent negative feedback, and bad experiences. If the person whose I-Trader you are checking out has a lot of negative feed back, it is a sign they are a ripper. If the person has only one or two negatives, check out what that user said about them. Typically it will result in the person not following the rules, backing out of a trade, or sending damaged cards, which don’t mean the person is a ripper parse, but it doesn’t mean that the person isn’t a ripper ether. Don’t trade with anyone whose feedback reads “This person ripped me” or “This person stole my cards!” This means they are a thief!

            Also to help you determine who is a ripper, as in when people make new accounts, the moderators have created a sticky thread (threads locked to stay on top of the board) on all three of the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Forums which states the city and Zip Code of all known rippers on the boards. If someone send you an address ending with that city and zip code, contact someone in the Trading Committee and they will confirm with you if the person is the same person (Based on the house number and street).

The safest way to trade with someone is doing what is called a Mod-Trade, or a middleman trade. With these trades both parties will send their ends directly to a moderator on the message board (normally one with high reference count), or a user who is highly respected in the Pojo Trading Community. Once the moderator receives both ends he or she will send the cards back off into the mail to continue their destination to their new owners. This will allow you to be sure you will receive your end of the trade, because your cards will not directly be handed to your trading partner, but a person respected, well-known, and trusted on the message boards. This is the safest way to do trading online period.

            Mod-Trades are very safe, effective, and secure in all aspects, however one thing makes these types of trades kind of unpopular with the veteran traders, which is it takes more time to complete, however if the deal is worth it, most will give in, especially if you tell them “How would you feel if you were in my position right now.” Everyone starts off with zero references, so at one point they too were in your shoes, and probably had some cards stolen if they were not precautious (It has happened to me!).  The other unattractive item about Mod-Trading is most users charge a fee to perform their services. Whether it is in cards, money, stamps, etc, be expected to pay at least items valuing $3.00. Personally when I am requested to perform this duty, my charge is enough postage to cover the trade, and one or two common or rare cards from my wants list. Not very expensive if the trade involves cards valuing more then $30. You should also note that if the person who is serving as your middleman does not receive one of the ends of the trade, he or she will return your cards to you.

            A general rule of thumb should be if the trade costs more then $25, do a mod-trade, at least until you are familiar with everything and build up a reputation, and see who is trustworthy and not. Keep in mind that whenever a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is the truth, unless of course your on the receiving first side.This will make your experience with online trading so much more rewarding when you open your mail box and find your secret rare cards waiting for you after school!  

            Another way to keep an eye on your trades, both mod-trades and regular trades is to purchase Delivery Confirmation from the post office. Delivery Confirmation is a feature the post office sells that will track your card’s progress. When you purchase it, on your receipt you will have a code. Take this number and input it on the USPS Website and it will tell you the city and zip-code it is currently in, and will tell you when it has arrived at its final destination. This can help you if you are ripped and need proof to show the Pojo Trading Committee, or even to the police or a judge. Delivery Confirmation costs about $2.00, and is available at the post office.

           At this time I wish to address a rule that is on the trade forums which involves both ripping and time wasting. It is called the 30-Day Rule. The 30-Day rule is the defines the maximum time a trader is allowed to take in sending their end of a trade. The 30-Day Rule begins taking effect the day that the trade is confirmed. From that day, the trader with lower references must send their end within the completion of 30-Days, or the trade will become null and void, and unless under special agreed upon circumstances, the trade is over, and the other trader no longer has to hold cards for their partner. However once you receive your cards on the send second side, you have thirty days to send out, or else you can be declared a ripper.

            So you didn’t follow the above guidelines, or you put too much trust in someone and you got ripped off. Now what do I do? The first thing you should do is contact the other person to make sure nothing is wrong with the trade or anything. They ignore you, or tell you the truth that they have no intention of sending your end of the trade. This is when you must take action. Before you take action it should be noted that all people more easily deal with people who speak calmly and respectively. Cursing someone out, will not get you anywhere, and anyone who tries to help you will probably just blow u off for being rude, and since the boards have a filter, what your saying will not mean anything. Cursing does not make you sound more important, or scarier! First thing you should do is post a statement about what has happened in the Pojo Trading Committee Forum (PTC), located here. Then the Moderators of the Trading Committee will summon the person in question to the thread and have them state their case. Think of this as a “Pojo Courtroom” or something, because both parties show evidence (messages, receipts, pictures, etc), state their defenses and are given punishment based on the decision of the moderators. Punishments that will be enforced can include being forced to send first, being banned from trading, or even being banned from the message boards in general.

            Since Pojo.com is not a government agency, they cannot enforce the law outside the website, so they cannot force the person who ripped you to send to you by law, nor can they really do anything but suggest them to send to you. However, you can take justice into you own hands now. And no I do not mean threaten the person, battery and assault can get you into trouble, so it is easier to do things legally. The first thing you can and should do is file mail fraud. Mail Fraud, which can be filed here, won’t do anything for you, but can get the person fined if they receive enough claims against that person, and since the Post Office is a Government agency, they can make them pay.

            As for you, you do have the power to file a Police Report, which will work best if you file it with their local police department, since the crime took place there. Just Google the name of their city and the word Police department, and you should be able to find their number. If the trade was worth enough to you, you can also take them to Small Claims Court. You may think it is a joke to sue over trading cards, however when trading cards have value they are money. I have seen many court reports over Pokemon and Sports cards, and also on ebay scammers, and if you provide proper evidence YOU WILL WIN, which if the person has the cards on them you will get those, if they do not, you will be rewarded money equal to the value of the card, or that the judge feels is a good amount.

           Basically by remembering the following, you will be prepared to deal with rippers, and also avoid their games: 

ü  Check Your Partner’s I-Trader Profile and The Rippers Sticky Thread

ü  Use Mod-Trades for trades valued over $30.00.

ü  Delivery Confirmation will help you confirm your partner has received.

ü  Be Polite when speaking in the PTC Thread, no cursing.

ü  Use Mail Fraud and Police Reports When You have been ripped.

ü  You have the power to sue if you have been ripped.

Thanks for reading and hope you are more informed then you were before, and will not allow yourself to be ripped off of your cards. Thanks, and hope you will enjoy my next article, which will go over the confirmation of a trade.

If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at mrh40@uakron.edu or contact Dark Marik 07 on the Pojo message boards.