TasTrader is committed to making your trading experience safe and fun.
Whether you are a buyer or seller, you can rely on
TasTrader advice and guidelines to help you make informed decisions with confidence and trust. TasTrader is a marketplace - a platform where sellers and buyers can meet and trade. TasTrader never sees, takes possession of, inspects, or authenticates any of the goods for sale. Therefore, you should follow the guidelinesset outbelow and always apply the same common sense to online transactions that you do in your everyday life offline.
Use of our guidelines and your common sense will help you trade safely. Top
TasTrader provides a feedback system, trust & safety advice and openly available information and tools - it is important that you use all of this advice and the tools to make sensible trading choices. You need to use all of this information together. Learn from experienced buyers and sellers. It is essential you always complete your transaction on the site - do not trade outside of TasTrader with people you meet at TasTrader. TasTrader is a friendly and open community so it is important you treat everyone with the same integrity and respect you expect to receive from others.
TasTrader members can leave Feedback about a transaction after buying or selling. This Feedback is posted on each member's Feedback profile and is a key indicator of their reputation. Checking the seller's Feedback rating and positive, neutral and negative comments provided by other members of the eBay community can help you evaluate the seller's previous trading history and gain an understanding of their reputation.
In addition to reviewing a member's Feedback it is important to learn even more about your seller so you can make informed choices about your purchases:
Check the other items to assess the overall quality and type of items the seller trades. Ask the seller a question to learn more about them and the item. Ask questions about the quality and condition of the item, postage costs and accepted methods of payment. Be wary of sellers who respond slowly or try to entice you to trade outside of TasTrader. If you trade outside of TasTrader, you will not be protected by TasTrader safety measures. Learn as much as you can about your seller. Many sellers have an "About Me" page or TasTrader Store you can visit. Some sellers also have icons next to their user ID. Learn about these and more
Knowing more about what you are buying helps you make a confident and informed decision:
Researchthe item and its fair market price both off and online. Read the item description and the seller's terms and conditions carefully, including payment options, postage costs and return policies. Closely examine photographs to assess an item's condition. Ask seller questions about their selling policies and the quality and condition of an item - especially if a description or photo is not clear, and wait for satisfactory reply before bidding or buying. Remember, there are great buys on TasTrader but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do your homework.
Sellers on TasTrader can offer a range of payment methods with varying levels of protection. Always apply the same common sense to online transactions that you do offline.
Select a seller that offers a payment method you are comfortable with using. Credit cards with chargeback facilities add security. Chargeback facilities allow customers to receive a refund in the event of a fraudulent transaction or if they do not receive the service they paid for. It is important that you check with your credit card provider as to whether a chargeback facility is available for your card and if so, the level of protection provided. Member-to-member payment services such as PayPal protect your bank account details from being seen by others, and offer additional protection programs for TasTrader purchases. For additional security, TasTrader recommends the use of a reputable service, like PayPal Australia, particularly for amounts over $100.00. For a small fee, services hold a buyer's money in trust until the buyer has had the opportunity to receive, inspect and approve the item. Question a seller who will only accept money orders or instant cash transfers such as Western Union, as these may be harder to trace or be reimbursed should anything go wrong. Bidders and buyers should be especially cautious if one or both of these are the only payment methods accepted by the seller. Exercise caution if the payment address differs from the item location.
It is very rare that something goes wrong with a transaction, but if it does, there are several options available to you:
You should first contact your trading partner and try to resolve the problem. Most buyers and sellers are honest and reliable, and often the cause is a simple misunderstanding or lack of communication. Request your seller's contact info and give them a phone call. If a resolution can't be found, a third party mediation might help. Remember that your credit card provider or postage insurance can help to recover funds lost in a transaction. Make sure you understand the policies of the payment provider you are using and the time frame in which you can file a claim. You can also be assured that TasTrader assists law enforcement officials in their investigations of any suspected criminal activity when appropriate.
Exercise caution when receiving communications from outside the TasTrader community. Select a secure password that is a combination of letters and numbers to protect your account information - never choose an obvious word such as 'password', your email address, your name, your family's names or birth dates If you receive a request to update your personal information and you do not feel comfortable about the source of the email, do not click on links in the email - simply open a new browser, type http://www.tastrade.com.au/, sign-in, and use the Site Map to navigate the site. Watch out for "spoof" emails. A spoof email may appear as though it has come from a trusted company (including TasTrader) - if in doubt, do not click on links from emails. Learn how to protect yourself from spoof emails. Exercise caution if an email requests personal information such as credit card details or passwords. In the same way that you never tell anyone, even the bank teller, your PIN number, you should always protect your private information, including passwords. Regularly check your account and preferences to make sure there is no unauthorised activity. Happy and safe trading within TasTrader!
