Many users come on this forum for trading activities. And the merchandise is varied - physical goods, digital goods, cryptocurrency exchange, auctions, collectibles, PC equipment, mining equipment and so on.
The forum acts as a free market and the good reputation is fundamental for successful deals. As Tim May
said more than 30 years ago, "
Reputations will be of central importance, far more important in dealings than even the credit ratings of today".
On BitcoinTalk, the reputation in trading is represented by the "
Marketplace Trust", which is a score which shows your positive, neutral and negative feedback. If a trader has a bigger positive trust score, it
should mean that he is trustworthy. The opposite is true as well: if a trader has a relevant negative trust, he / she should be avoided.
The system is more complex than that, but this is not the point of the topic. However, two important aspects need to be mentioned:
- for negative trust feedback, on this forum exists also a "
Flag System" which can be used for a more detailed explanation about a trader's untrustworthiness
- although the trust system was designed for trading activities, forum members tend to give feedback also based on their personal opinions about others, thus influencing the trust score. Thus, the users interested in trading with someone should read carefully all the feedback about the respective person in order to have a clear impression about who is the one they're willing to trade with.
As mentioned above, the topic is not about the trust / flag systems, but about the importance of having a strong reputation. The bigger the reputation is, the bigger chances are for an user to make a transaction. As well, the opposite is true:
an attempt of scam or a violation of a contract may ruin a reputation.
Generally, people involved in trading - no matter if they are sellers or buyers - are looking for smooth, successful trades. And the general idea is that if a person has good recommendations (in this case - feedbacks), there are low chances of getting scammed. That's why, a trader who wants to sell a product will be interested in a buyer who has good feedbacks (and also a good trust score), stating that he / she pays fast (for example). A trader who wants to buy is interested in a seller that has good feedbacks stating he /she sends the product as he /she agreed to do, his / her product arrives fast, it is in good shape, without damages etc.
Another problem which occurs often is the following: generally, if the parties don't have (both) a good reputation, the following question is asked: "who is the one who sends first (the money / the good)?". Basically, the one with reputation asks the other one to send first, as he / she can't prove his / her trustworthiness. If the other one is not willing to take the risk and send first, the deal is off (not to mention how this situation goes when there are two parties having both a bad reputation). This problem has way lower chances of occurring if there are implied two parties having both good reputation - in this case, most likely, none of them would mind to send first.
Reputation defines us as individuals in the society and as a consequence, in trading activities.Honest persons and traders should be very interested in proving their trustworthiness on the free market, thus being able to easily, smoothly and successfully transact their merchandise.
However, if the respective trader is a new member here, he /she should perform some steps, in order to gain trust from the others in trading activities.
Reputation isn't built over the night, nor over the month. It takes time to build a strong reputation or for your (user)name to become known by others and seen as "
trustworthy". But once a trader achieves a good reputation, his / her reputation
certifies for being a trustworthy merchandiser.
There are several ways for starting a career in trading on the free market. Maybe a new member can start, as a seller, with sending his good first and wait for money afterwards. Or, if he /she is a buyer, he / she can send money first and wait for the good afterwards. But he / she must choose cautiously the other party and ensure that party is someone with a good reputation, thus minimizing the risks of being scammed. If the trade is successful, it should be followed by another and another and in time, with easy steps, the career in trading and the good reputation are built.
As an end note, BitcoinTalk is even more complex when it comes to trading. Besides the trust score and the feedbacks, a trader can also take into account the other party's rank and merits earned. Not to look only at the rank / merits, but take them as a whole, together with the trust score. If an user has a high rank, or he / she earned many merits in the past, these
should be signs of someone having good intentions. This is not always true, though. But these aspects together with a strong positive trust score show an overall picture of someone which is
less likely trying to scam.
Everybody must make their due diligence.
But have in mind that for being trusted, you must have a good reputation. And for having a good reputation you should prove (many times) that you honor your agreements.
Translations (in chronological order):
It is a different subject. Related, but not the same.
