Guide to trading items for $$ [.Net]

Update 11th Aug 2014: It is now illegal to sell ingame items for Paypal $ or anything that does not directly benefit the server. Upgrading or purchasing kits/ranks for ingame items are still allowed.

There's an increase in the number of Real World Trades (RWTs), where people are trading in-game items for real money. This is an inherently risky process, and hopefully this guide helps everyone stay as safe as possible.

A few factors need to be considered:

1) Mods do not refund items in case of a scam. They'll attempt to investigate and extract a confession from the accused, but if they are unable to find traces of the items, no refunds will be issued. This is because Mods have no way of monitoring trades that happen externally to Skyblock.NET, and as such, are unable to verify if the trade has indeed taken place
2) If the buyer or the seller is going first, or if some 50-50 decision is reached. This will depend on the individuals. I personally would never go first in this transaction, but then again, most people won't risk real $$ if they don't see some items first. I personally would require the person providing the upgrade to go first, since if the buyer defaults they can simply open a chargeback and get their money back, whereas if the buyer went first, they'd have little recourse if this turned out to be a scam.
3) How the funds are processed: the most common methods are paypal, however there are others, see below for more details.

As of this time of writing, the going price for RWT is 5-10 dias per $1 USD. This means that a $50 upgrade would cost between 250-500 diamonds.

How I would personally conduct the trade:

1) Make sure to take a video recording of everything. Screenshots are simply not enough. Make sure you capture both parties agreeing to the amount paid, for the amount donated. If possible also capture the method of payment, and who goes first etc. There are many free good screen capture programs out there, just ask google.
2) The buyer should always trade in a chest, preferably with a mod spectating. Most mods however, wont want to spectate these trades, but at least, trade in a chest that can be log blocked (with your video evidence of course). Never pay the full sum up front - only pay 1/2 at max, and leave rare valuable items after. Eg. If you're paying 256 diamonds + Creeper head for an upgrade, pay 150 diamonds first, and the remainder plus creeper head after you recieve the upgrade.
3) You should always request that the money be transferred to your paypal directly. NEVER EVER ask for a direct upgrade through buycraft. This is to help minimise the chance of your account being banned if a chargeback occurs. Request the money be sent as payment for services, since it's harder to charge that back too.

Finally:

1) If it seems too good to be true, DON'T DO IT. Someone upgrading you to $100 donor for 50 diamonds? Not likely. More like 500-1000 diamonds.
2) NEVER EVER accept a an upgrade from a non donor. If they don't have enough money to upgrade themselves, they're not likely to have money to upgrade you. Think of it this way - if you're hungry and don't have food, how can you then offer food to a total stranger? Just don't - it's not worth it.

Hope this helps!

 

Good tips, nice thread.

 

You still need to let me know about our deal...

 

one thing ive noticed in .org is that cookies sell so well in .org and theyre easy to make

 

I would ask a mod to put a [.net] behind the thread title.

 

Diamond value sure went down

 

I'll sell 10 diamonds for 1$ msg me on forums or in game if you see me. Ill sell 100$ worth of diamonds.

 

Always good to have the person upgrading you to upgrade you first. Nice tips!

 

Thanks! .

 

Meh, the buycraft prices don't really count for much. I think diamonds have lost value due to the increased availability (ever since they were added to donor100 kits)