What would be the right amount of time to wait for a response back from a trader? We were messaging back and forth a few time about a trade, agreed on the terms and now nothing. It has been two days and he/she said they'd be in contact after they drove home. Did they get offered a better deal after accepting mine? Just wanting to know, when is it ok to agree to another deal with the same beers that I already agreed to trade?
Since it appears you and the other party had consistent communication up to a certain point, here is what I would do. This is just me, others will probably do things differently: Reach back out to them again. Reiterate the fact that they said they would be in touch when they got back and it's been 2 days etc. Be nice. Say you hope all is well and they got back safe and sound. :-) In the spirit of fairness, give them a timeline by which you expect to hear back from them one way or the other. Be reasonable with the timeline to give them every opportunity to respond and if you still hear nothing back by then, move on. Also, once you and the other party have confirmed a trade, it's a good idea to send them a formal trade request offer. Indicate to them that you are going to do this, however, before you send it so they are aware and can respond back to you if for whatever reason they don't want that to happen.
Did they actually read the message? It should show the last date that they read it in the 'Conversation Participants' area
I guess I am a bit of a dick, because if there is a breakdown like that, I see it as an immediate red flag. Unless they get back to me with a 'shit, my kid got sick and I haven't been on in 2 days' sort of message then I move on to a different trade. You can usually see the last time they were on the site (unless they have private settings) and you can also see when they last read your message. There aren't that many opportunities to identify if someone is going to be inconsistent as a trader, but I figure if they can't respond to messages in a timely way, what are the odds they will ship their box and do all that other stuff on time? I am not willing to take the chance. If it was a fair deal, you will be able to get it done with someone else. Until the details are locked down, addresses exchanged, ship date agreed and a trade accepted I reserve the right to bail at any sign of shitty behavior - not responding to messages for 2 days (assuming you can see they have been on the site) is a pretty clear sign that the trade isn't a priority for them.
Thanks for the help. I guess I need to send another message giving one more chance and then move on without feeling so bad about it if nothing happens.
I am fairly new to trading through the forums, but feel I have enough trades under my belt to give a new trader some advice with communication. You will be able to identify right away those that are truly interested by how quickly they want to close. I appreciate fast and honest communication and tend to gravitate towards those that are decisive. I always look at when my last message was read and give them an appropriate amount of time to respond. But if a few days go by, I will send them a nice followup setting a realistic deadline for when I am going to move forward with a different trade. Vague responses are also a red flag for me because it becomes obvious that they are entertaining other deals and are just stalling in some cases. Go with your gut. I respond to every request as soon as I can. I hate it when I reach out to someone and they don't respond back so practice what I preach as well. Cheers! Liza
