How to safely trade dollies
Doll trades can be an option for changing up your collection, or adopting a doll you love in place of unloved dolls or doll accessories you have to spare. However, they can be very risky if you don't protect your trade.
In a trade you're trusting the other party to send their side of the deal to you as you send out yours. If the other person is a scammer, you could be sending your beloved goods off only to receive nothing back with no way to get your goods back either.
So how do we avoid this?
PayPal-backed trades
In a PayPal-backed trade you:
- Each decide on the value of the items you're each sending, what kind of shipping, and when you will be sending the items to each other, and whether you will be refunding the agreed amounts back at the end of a successful trade
- Then you each send a money request for the full amount covering the above for your goods to your trade partner using PayPay Goods and Services
- Once you've both received your agreed PayPal payments it's safe to send your side of the trade
- After both sides receive their goods and are happy, you can safely refund the money used to back the trade if you've both agreed to do so.
This kind of trade keeps you safer and gives you a way to be compensated if things go wrong. You will end up losing a little of the money sent to you due to PayPal fees because you're using Goods and Services, but with those fees you get buyer protection. If your trade partner doesn't hold up their end of the deal, you can raise a PayPal claim like you would with a regular doll purchase gone wrong.
As with buying dolls and other dolly goods, I would always recommend choosing a shipping option with insurance that covers the cost of the items being sent, and also has tracking. This protects you as well as your goods as it will allow you to be compensated if something goes wrong in transit, and also gives you a way to prove you have sent the items.
It's also a good idea to take photos or video of the items at the time of packaging and shipping so you have proof of the conditions of the items being traded. Make sure to use adequate packaging to protect the goods. This way it will be harder for a scammy trade partner to claim the goods weren't as described when they receive them.
If you don't have the funds to do a PayPal-backed trade, it's probably not worth doing a trade at all. You're much better off selling what you're considering for trade, and waiting for an opportunity to buy the doll or item you're after once you have the cash in hand. If you still really really want to trade without PayPal-backing, I would only advise doing this in-person where you can guarantee a fair and transparent trade, or with a trade partner you know extremely well. Like, well enough to let them look after your kids/pets/plants/entire doll collection.
Happy trading, and stay safe!