This is JUST an idea. So do not spaz at me.

Okay, so recently there have been a few scammers on the Blackmarket (carlie, alongwaytohappy, etc.). I noticed most of the scamming is coming from Level I Users, and so I was thinking maybe making the blackmarket accessible to level II and up, or making a restriction based on post count, like the daily giveaway. I think this would just make it harder for scammers to get in which would make trading safer. Also, it really doesn't take to much effort to earn Level I.

Once again, JUST an idea. Free feel to state opinions and ideas though.

Well basically the reason for this is people level to 1, get an opportunity then scam, all they would do is level to level 2, get an oppurtunity and scam xD
Just takes them a few days longer.

if everyone used a middleman then it'd be a lot simpler
and we'd have a scamfree world

To get level I, its 40 posts. That can be accomplished in like.. four days. But 150 posts for level II would take some time. Most scammers would not have patience.

But yeah, middlemen should be used. :l

Problem is market isn't that active anyway, we don't want to hinder the website further than it should be.
Maybe reducing level 2 to 115 posts and then upping it to level 2. Or creating a trade group, that is accessible at 100 posts (Not a group) and then mods can remove people from the group when they're under suspicion. And it's clear for everyone to see they dont have access. :S

That`s a good idea. :3 I really like it.

+1

That and it makes it seem like all lvl 1 users aren't trustworthy. I've been here for a few months already and I'm still a level 1 simply because there aren't enough topics out there that interest me enough to post (except for the spam forum i love those but they don't count )

I'm sure in the past there have been some very reputable people in the higher levels that for some reason decided to scam others after being with NF for months.



Not a bad idea.

When you trade with a Level I, you should make them go first in the trade if you have a higher level or iTrader rating. I would use a middleman for anything over 5 mil or so just in case.

I agree completely Zer0, but most people do not use middlemen and some get scammed. I can kind of understand why, because people get excited and trade without thinking. xD

Even if they go first you can get chargebacks right? - I would definately use a middleman for bigger amounts, and as SoC said the activeness would probably go down if you set high requirements, because some people only come here to buy or sell stuff and most of them are legit I'd say.

Exactly, always ask the level one to go first.

I counter more stringent requirements, but I agree with most of you on the point that using middlemen and looking at itrader points is crucial when deciding to trade. Also, talking to an individual on an i/m extensively so you can gauge if they're a scammer or not is important. But stricter requirements for trading would probably deter people from joining and being active...just my opinion

I dont know, I am waiting to get enough to get into the market so I can jump right in. Reading these posts though it seems a middleman is the best way to go, not too sure how that helps avoid scammers though.

Perhaps someone can explain it to me lol

A middleman is someone proven reputable/reliable that facilitates a trade,

ie. Person A and Person B want to trade but to be safe there has to be a middleman

Person A and Person B both send their sides of the trade to the middleman and the middleman sends the goods to the rightful recipient. The reason middlemen are needed is that trades are often not neopets items for other neopets items else they could just use ordinary trading post, but this is the blackmarket we do cash trades other games etc... If Person A is paying cash and Person B is paying Neopoints one person would need to go first in the absence of a middleman as the trading post does not support USD to neopoints transactions. Now if Person A is a scammer and Person B goes first, then the scammer will be able to skip out on the deal and effectively steal Person B's goods.

Middleman pretty much means your safe and there is a stickied list of approved middlemen/women that you can use. If you use an unapproved middleman they can easily steal both sides of the transaction so stick with the approved list.

Maybe it's even necessary to make it a mandatory requirement for level 1 users to use a middleman in trades if the trend really is level 1 traders scamming or maybe set a standard such as level 1 members below x amount of itrader feedback must go first or use middleman if the other person is level 5 or has x amount of itrader feedback.

I don't think the Level 5s here getting scammed would really be an issue...

And making middle-men mandatory would be ludicrous. It'd be so time consuming for the middle men, firstly. And if someone's pounding a BN Jetsam for the avatar in exchange for one or two hundred k, there's not really much of a point in using a middle man.

I kind of like the idea of a separate trade group, though, and definitely use middle men for any large transactions you don't trust/know the other person in, or if you want to in general.