I want to discuss this in detail. I've used jsp off and on for many years and rarely used it for anything else.

I want to discuss the "cut the spam" culture that has formed over time.

If we read above , we can interpret this as discussing the trade is a requirement inside of the thread. What I see often is two things.

1. Pm offers are considered valid by the community (when it's illegal). "C/o 40 fg by pm". This is a problem. When was the last time someone was reprimanded for this behavior?
2. When someone discusses the value of an item or anything else relating to the item such as price (why it's too high or too low), I often see people say " please cut the spam and stay on topic." However, this doesn't make sense. If a buyer and seller go back and forth about a price, the type of item ect, then that should never be considered spam. Theres a almost firm belief that anything outside of bids is spam. This is incorrect regardless of if it's become an acceptable belief.

Thoughts? I think discussing the trade in the trade thread needs to become a normal practice. It also helps people not get ripped off.

I'll add more later.

Hi there,

A majority of trade communications happen in trade topics, you see tons of users replying to PM offers by saying “please post in thread” sure there are a few users who claim fake “pm offers” onto their post to either work around the early bump rule OR to manipulate their own trade threads for a higher price.

However, we can’t rid of all BM trade behaviors, just reduce them. If a user goes back and fourth with another in a trade topic about the trade it isn’t seen as spam.

Trade discussion in thread promotes transparency.

Pm trading has never been "illegal", but I know what you mean.
I think it's up to the OP what's considered spam and what not.

For example someone who paid 15 fg for their thread title, only for it to be trashed by one of the einsteins in the trading forum who tell people what their items are worth without asking, most likely consider it spam.

A few weeks ago, I was verbally warned that I was spamming for talking about a trade with an individual. He continued to say he was reporting me for spam and I was discussing prices ect. So there's truth somewhere that talking outside of bids is spam. Of course, there's not enough resources to prevent bm trade. This topic is less about bm trades and more about discussing in a thread vs only having bids. If we were to not discuss at all then the option to freely speak would need to be removed and you only enter into boxes to bid in either fg or some other currency .

People do at times say post in thread but the majority don't care where they get an offer. And I've even seen individuals fight about trade rules and what is and isn't acceptable with pms... When it's clear pm bids are not illegal.




I agree.

per trade rules



Just because I pay for a topic title doesn't give me any more right to shut down trade or price conversation. If 30 people bandwagon that my price is bad after discussion then maybe it's time to reevaluate the price.

The poster doesn't get to decide what spam is. The site and staff do.

First, discussing in a thread is 100% better than discussing through pms. More people providing their opinions is more likely to lead to fairer prices.

Also, pm trade can prevent the item from receiving its market value, so it is by no means a good way to go.

Note that keeping negotiations in a trade thread is recommended since it protects both you and the person you're trading with as well in cases of dispute and possible scam, traders are to list/offer their items with as much detail as possible especially for D2 which one minor stat can make a huge difference in price.
So it's always a good idea to keep everything as transparent as possible, except for the in-game meetup arrangements such as game names and passwords and tag exchanges which of course you'd want to keep private.

PM trades are against the rules and should not be done at all. Not receiving an items value is irrelevant.

From the Trading Rules:

What about the guy who has 100 fg and spends 10% of it trying to sell his full character then gets “not spammed” by price discussion in their thread and has to make a new topic.

Think it’s a slippery slope promoting price discussion in FT topics as there’s a specific “price check” section for that.