You ship off your beautiful baby for a trade, and you hopefully await a wonderful new baby in return. But how do you know that the other person will send you a baby that looks like their photos, or anything at all?
So many reborn collectors get burned when trading dolls. Because it is not a transaction and no money is exchanged, there are no protections in place. There is nobody to turn to if you’re scammed, or if you’re just not happy with the result.
It’s important that you treat a trade as a financial transaction. When you’re giving up something of value, and hoping to receive something of equal value in return, it’s not enough to just ship your baby off and hope for the best.
The Only Safe Way To Trade
I’ve never traded dolls with anyone, but if I were going to, here’s what I would do to guarantee a success:
Exchange PayPal invoices or send equal payments using PayPal’s Goods and Services option – never Friends and Family.
This is the only way to ensure you’re protected. Since you’re sending one another the same amount of money, you’ll only lose a tiny percentage, PayPal’s selling fees, which is well worth the peace of mind.
Nowadays, USPS does not charge extra for a tracking number. Remind your trading partner to hold onto the receipt or send you the confirmation email if they pay for postage online.
If your package never arrives, or you feel you have been scammed, PayPal will usually refund your payment if your trade partner does not provide proof of shipping, or if you have photos of your item that shows it is not as described.
This is not foolproof, and if you are scammed, you will not get your doll back, but you will at least not be left in the dust. It’ll be as though you just sold your doll, and you can use those funds to buy the baby of your dreams.
Happy Trading!