Trade question

See next post.

Please tell me how you handle plant or seed trades with non-subscribers. I need to hear from you guys as I have been getting LOTS of requests lately from non-subscribers since posting my trade lists.


Is it unfair to ask for their end of the trade first?

I don't like to do them. So I just don't answer. But this is my way.
Carol

**laughing at your sneakiness**

I only do them for one way(to them) trades.

Thanks Daisy and cityal.

city,
do you mean that they ask you for a plant and then they either send you sasbe- or you just give it to them?
I really want to trade and help people but I dont want to be ripped off either.

I have had just as many good trades with nonsubscribers as I have subscribers..Being subsrcibed doesn't mean they are better traders, believe me, lol..Sometimes you just to have faith.. Some will be great trades and some won't...If they have something I would like, I take the trade, send my plants and hope for the same in return.. If they have nothing I want, I will send plants for postage (upfront) if I have lots of the plant to share.. I love sharing plants..

Larkie

Larkie,
Please don't think I'm trying to argue with you as I do agree with you. I know that being a "paying member" here at DG won't make you more or less honest than anyone else. But...... we do seem to be a "family" here (as much as that is possible in cyberspace) and we are known by our reputations as a person- and as a trader. "Members" do have some sort of accountability ie the rating system for trades. If we wrong someone in a trade then it is made public. I have saw plenty of dirty laundry aired in the Co-ops and for good reasons. It serves a a warning to us not to trust certain folks. I have seen/heard plenty of DG'ers "outed" and again, rightly so.

I don't mind paying it forward and helping someone out. But right now I am unemployed and can't afford to be ripped-off. Perhaps I shouldn't be trading at all? I can't afford new plants- that's the point of me setting up my list- to trade things I have for things I want.

Perhaps I should risk hurting someone's feelings and kindly tell them I don't trade with non- paying members or maybe I should do as Daisy and not just respond- LOL!


Thanks to all who have responded- keep 'em coming!

I don't trade with non members either but that's just my preference. Also be sure to check the dates they signed up. I have been spammed by "new non paid members" wanting me to send them stuff for free and have found out they send duplicate messages to others also.

Berry Girl,

If it is plants I will be a hard nosed trader, I can't use most of the plants that people offer, don't want them or can buy them local for a lot less than postage.

For seeds (I don't have many) I usually just mail them a few since it is only 37 cents.

And a new addition to Dmail that I really like 'Delete this'. I have sent many emails out asking questions and many don't answer, that is OK because we all have busy lives.

There is nothing wrong with asking them to send to you first. I do it all the time. If they are honest and on the level, they won't be offended.

Just tell them you require non-subscribers to send the plants out first then you'll reciprocate.

Lana

when i do plants or bulbs i ask for them to be shipped same day with both haveing tracking #'s or i ask for them to send first usually. if someone is honest they won't mind a bit. i'm a subscriber i've traded with other subscribers and non ones and never had a problem so far with either.
silkie

I'm confused...I am new as a member, but when I was looking through the site (and getting more and more excited at what DG had to offer), I don't remember seeing the option of d-mail or being able to see the threads. Are the non-members looking at your trade lists through a different method?

So far, I have seen nothing but kindness and generosity by the membership. I will have to remember to check for feedback when using coop or before trading. I guess I am naiive through my excitement.

Thanks all for your suggestions and advice! It was greatly appreciated.

I did as wvdaisy suggested and so I'll wait and see how the person responds. Hopefully they will understand and we can trade. If not thats OK too. I just dont want to hurt anyone's feelings.
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RatherB,
A big welcome to DG! I am not sure of all this, so if I'm wrong hopefully another DG'er will come along and correct me. I don't play around with the site much, so I'm not 100% sure what the vantage from a non-subscriber viewpoint is. I had to log-out of DG to find my trade list and other info but it is there.

Non-subscribers can see the first post of a thread in some forums that are only for "paid members" and of course there are many forums that are totally open to non-subscribers. Notice my first post on this thread which said "see next post". I did that so only paid DG'ers could see it. Non-subscribers can also access the trade-tracker and your home page. Apparently they can also send/receive dmail b/c I sure have received dmail from non-paying members- lol! Go to the FAQ and you'll see more info.

While it is true that the vast majority of DG'ers are good people who want to help others, unfortunately there are some who aren't honest. There are other DG'ers who maybe didn't mean to or thru bad circumstances have hurt others. Good luck and I hope you have a great time here!

This message was edited Mar 13, 2007 10:16 PM

I dont respond to non subscriber posts. Having some accountability is what makes Daves a safer place to trade for me. I too cant afford to lose postage money :)

Thanks for the information. I was so excited to join DG when I found you all that I did not take the time to see more clearly the differences between member and non-member benefits...I just saw that there were so many more as a member. As I tell my DH, "I found my people!"

One last question, how do I tell if they are a non-member...is it only by clicking on the name and looking at the area that tells how long you are a member? Or is there another way to identify a non-member?

Also, I have only been on less than two weeks. I am not offended personally if people are wondering if I am creditable just yet. If someone were to trade, I have no problem sending my trade out first. I guess over time, our feedback will speak for ourselves. It only takes a few times, I am sure, for one to be cautious if people do not come through with their end of the bargain. I understand where you are coming from.

Welcome, Welcome RatherBDigging! I feel the same about DG, these are my people :~) DG has changed a LOT since I've been here but has never lost it's sense of community. I think the only way to tell subscriber from member is click on their name to see if there is a subscription date. Maybe others know of another way.

Lana

If you know a DGer's User Name, you can tell whether or not their a subscriber by clicking on MemberList, just to the right of the Home tab, at the top of the page. When you find the user, it will tell you whether or not they're a subscriber.

I've traded lots of times with people outside of DG, from 'that other' trading site.

I've only had one trade that went bad. The sender said he would send mature plants, but when I got them, they were very small seedlings.

When I e-mailed him, and told him that I wasn't satisfied, he replied that the plants I had sent him were 'rotten' when he opened the box. Funny, he hadn't said aything up until that point. I always send plants Priority; they certainly weren't rotten when I sent them, and I'm sure they didn't rot from being in the mail for 2 days. I'm a good trader; the comments people have left for me will verify that. In fact, I give away a lot of plants.

Apart from that one trade, I've found people to be very honest and trustworthy, whether they're DGers or not. People genuinely want you to be as happy with the trade as you want them to be.

I don't think it's fair to ask somebody else to ship before you do. They don't know whether or not you're an honest person, anymore than you know whether or not they are.

It's my opinion that if you can't trust people to be honest and fair, then you should probably find a dfferent way to obtain plants. You might have to eat a plant occaisionally because of a dishonest trader, but again, it's only happened to me once in the last 2 or so years.

Steve

Hi Everyone !
I have traded as a non-member and recently became a paid subscriber. (I used the D-Mail) I submitted new information about the National Germplasm Repository via the D-Mail to a member who posted it for everyone. I didn't have time at the time.
There are also other FREE forums which you can subscribe to. I am a member of some of those, too. One observation that I've made is that most "internet gardeners" love gardening enough to share with others....they are not too concerned about what they GET but what they SHARE. So, if someone doesn't keep their end of the bargain, it's not so upsetting. I'm a little more selfish than that, but I know that trading isn't really monetarily profitable anyway. It IS a good way to share, make friends, and obtain some things that maybe you wouldn't be able to find as easily elsewhere AND from someone who has personal experience with that item. So it's a GOOD thing. I found a few more contacts about sugarcane since I became a paid subscriber. I like DG. Thanks for everyone making it a GOOD place !
Sugarcane52

Some trades are done with special plants for special plants so they are a great disappointment and monetary loss if the other person does not come thru with the trade. Most of us do have more common plants we can share for postage or a trade that wouldn't break your heart if it collapsed. Then we have those special plants... Some of the long time gardeners have much to share but only room in their gardens for special plants they don't already have.

Lana

Just wanted to respond to several folks who have the opinion that trading isn't profitable.
I'd respectfully have to disagree. I know one of the the main reasons I- and a lot of others- trade, is because we can't afford to buy more plants. When I trade: I have the plant already (no cost), and for a couple of dollars postage this is MUCH less expensive than buying or ordering that same plant- even a small one. Plus some folks offer plants that you can't find anywhere else.
Bottom line: for me, trading plants/seeds is VERY smart fiscally.

Deb - personally, I've only traded with DG members...not that I wouldn't trade with non-DGers but it does make me more comfortable to trade with those I "know."
As for the trading not being profitable - I think it depends mostly on how much you're spending on postage and how common that plant is being traded. If I can find a plant for under $5 locally that's better for me then say paying priority mail from CA. If the other trader is between VA and TX then it most always is cheaper for me to do a trade.

Chantell,
I trotally agree with you. If I can find a plant cheaper than I can trade for it, then of course I'll take that route. But I usually trade for plants that I can't find anywhere else or that would cost more than trading for them.

I remember a trade I did last year. It was for a heirloom iris. I had saw it in the catalogs/online but never found one locally. To order that iris it would have cost me mucho bucks. I traded something I had for it and got that plant for about $2- 3.00 in postage.

I have only had a few and they were so nice I just traded or sent for sase. I have never done any big trades but nobody has asked.