elitepvpers - Announcements in Forum : The Black Market

Kentika · 06/19/2014 until 07/19/2025

Trading Guidelines

Foreword

In order to make trading on our platform safer, you should read the following text carefully. If you want a more in-depth explanation of everything related to trading, look into our glossary. We cannot accept instant messenger logs (e.g. Skype) as evidence since we are not able to retrace and verify them via our system. Trading between private individuals always involves high risks – you should therefore always be wary of this fact and open to the idea that things could go wrong. This is why it is important to anticipate such an outcome and be prepared (for instance by requesting an identity card picture [only if there is a current newspaper and handwritten note on the picture as well], make a phone call via landline so you got their number, etc.) should it come to pass. In case of a scam, we can merely ban the affected accounts, but the damage is on you if you did not prepare for this outcome.

Preparation

Research
You should look into your trade partner before starting to trade. The forum search is very useful for this. Should the trade partner have already attracted some negative attention, you know to be even more careful or rather trade with someone else instead. Research can help in avoiding scams.
Trading Conversation
If you would like to discuss the trade with your trade partner, do it via private message. Make sure to enable the option for saving copies of sent messages via user control panel. When discussing trades via private message, also make sure to be as clear and unmistakably as possible, especially when discussing the specifics of your trade; you should also make sure to have your trade partner explicitly agree to said specifics.

Example
Safe Payment Methods
1. elite*gold
  elite*gold is the virtual currency that is being used throughout elitepvpers. Among other advantages, elite*gold allows for using so-called treasures which will lock the amount of elite*gold charged for the treasure for 24h after purchase. This means that whoever sold you a treasure cannot spend the elite*gold received from you for another 24h after the purchase. If it becomes clear that there is a problem during that period, the respective amount of elite*gold can be locked for even longer by opening a dispute on the elite*gold transaction - this gives you plenty of time to discuss the matter with whoever sold you the treasure or contact our support about the matter.
  You can always lock elite*gold by opening a dispute on the respective transaction, even if it was send to another member directly, without any treasure. However, when sending elite*gold directly, the amount will only be locked for 5 minutes before the recipient will be able to spend it; so if you are planning on opening a conflict on such a transaction, you need to hurry.
2. Bank Transfer
  Bank transfers are deemed to be quite safe. The payment can be proven after many years and you also have the home address of your trade partner, just in case.
3. PayPal
  PayPal is safe as long as you have the identity card (including a current newspaper and handwritten note with the nick name on elitepvpers in the same picture) and also the home address. If you're the one sending money via PayPal, never send the payment as a donation since this will make you unable to charge the money back to your account. Note that if a payment is made for virtual goods, PayPal almost always charges the money back if the payment is disputed. As a buyer you should always provide a clear comment for the transaction!
Middleman (Optional)
Middlemen serve as a trust that receives sensitive data from both parties and then takes care of the exchange. Be aware that middlemen first need to accept the trade request and then also approve it. Furthermore, you should take precautions against the risk of being scammed by middlemen (for example by requesting an identity card, since they are also just private individuals who might have an agenda or their own)

How do I trade?

When it comes to the actual trade, you need to be particularly careful, so follow the steps below:

Request a Trade
Before you begin your trade, a trade request needs to be sent to your trade partner. This is possible in every forum of Black Market with the exception of elite*gold trading, freebies and middleman. When the trades has been requested, there are a couple of options. Use the "Private Field" for any sensitive information on your end. By doing this you ensure that your trade partner may only access this information after accepting your trade request. Keep in mind that the field for notes is not the same, but is meant for general remarks regarding the trade at hand!

Example
The Actual Trade
The actual trade should always be conducted on elitepvpers so that we can figure out what happened in case of scam. Therefore, please always use "Private Field" for transferring sensitive information, as already mentioned earlier.

Example
After The Trade
After the has been conducted, you will be able to rate your trade partner. Make sure that your comment for the rating is as plausible and factual (i.e. no insults etc.) as possible.

Example
1. Positive Rating (+1)
  Positive ratings should only be given if the trade was a success for both sides.
2. Neutral Rating (+0)
  Neutral ratings should only be given if you weren't satisfied with the behavior of the buyer/seller.
3. Negative Rating (-1)
  Negative ratings should only be given if the trade didn't go well for one side; for example, if you did not receive what you were promised and such.

What methods of scamming are there?

In order to further reduce the chances of getting scammed, it definitely helps to be aware of some common methods of scamming.

Middleman Method
In this scenario a middleman is consulted who accepts the trade, but does not approve it so that the trade can be still be cancelled at any time. The scammer takes advantage of new members' inexperience with the trading system. You should also make sure that your trade partner does not simply add a middleman to the trade request without ever consulting you about it beforehand. Never accept a middleman in a trade unless you agreed on using a middleman and the middleman contacted you via private message before the trade.
Instant Messenger Method
The scammer claims that elitepvpers's trading system is not working and suggests to conduct the trade for instance via Skype instead. In doing so, any sensitive information would be exchanged via Skype. This method is very dangerous, as we cannot accept instant messenger logs (including Skype) as evidence. Not only would you end up being scammed, you could not even proof it and thus cannot get the scammer's account banned or warn other members by giving a negative rating.
PayPal Method
When fairly new members try to trade large amounts of money via PayPal, you should be particularly careful. There are some cases in which stolen PayPal accounts are being used for making the payments. Any payments might later be reversed once the original account owner learns that his account has been hijacked.
Name Faker Method
This method involves another account that is used for requesting the trade. Its nickname looks very similar to that of the scammer's main account. By requesting the trade with a fake account, the scammer avoid receiving negative ratings on his main account that would warn others. In order to avoid falling for this method, you should always make sure whether the trade request has been sent by the main or name fake account. You can verify this by visiting the profile via the profile link and checking the account statistics (posts, join date, ratings).
elite*gold Method
You might at some point stumble across someone selling elite*gold for money, maybe even at ridiculously low prices. The seller seems to have lots of elite*gold, but requests the payment upfront (preferably a PSC or a similar payment method that cannot be reversed); since the price is so low, you agree and sent the payment upfront. This is when your money is probably gone for good since you made two mistakes here: you agreed to pay for elite*gold upfront and you did not notice that the seller could not send you any elite*gold even if he wanted to, since it was locked because of open disputes or recently bought treasures.
You should always make sure that a seller can actually spend the elite*gold he is offering. You can check this by accessing the seller's TBM profile; the amount of elite*gold that is currently locked is shown as a red negative number following the elite*gold balance (e.g. elite*gold: 150 (-15) which means this member has 150 elite*gold, 15 of which are currently locked and cannot be spend).
When buying elite*gold, you should always demand to receive the elite*gold upfront - you could also put the payment (provided it is in the form of a gift card, PSC or similar) in a treasure and have the seller buy your treasure. In any case, the seller is protected by the dispute system, which allows him to prevent you from spending any of the elite*gold until he has received the payment. So if someone ever offers you elite*gold and insists on your paying upfront, you should kindly decline the offer and find someone else, since you would be taking the entire risk while the seller takes none.

I've fallen victim to a scam, what are my options?

If you were scammed, read the following thread:

Scammed - Now what?

Please also make sure that we do not allow scammer accusations on this forum. Any accusation will be removed and punished accordingly! In order to trade safely on elitepvpers, you might want to look at this thread more closely for next time.

Written by Mr. Highlife, Pyro, Muddy Waters & Kentika. Translated by Pyro.