I know the stuff that goes with theft. At one show(movie/art festival), some band stole over $10K in gear from me(mics, wireless accessories useless to them without the receivers). Even went through my box of mics and made their choices, leaving some, taking others, taking a couple of some types and leaving me others. The nature of the theft caused me to almost go out of business as it was required gear to handle a whole set of booked gigs that I had to cancel(over 300 gigs, while I scrambled to raise funds to replace the gear, which was too late to save those gigs). Another show, a different band decided “we’ll take the mic AND stand and this other mic that we were using”. Only a $200 loss, but still, for a small company, it hurts. But, in the entertainment field, there’s lost of idiots looking to take what they can when they can and a lot of intentional screw-jobs. I mean, it’s gotten to the point where I have to have my crew keep an eye on gear that isn’t being used but can’t be put back in the truck.(box truck, not a pick-up).
I’d figure the yoyo community would be a bit above that. Personally, I don’t trust this online trade stuff. Unless you’re going through some escrow or other intermediary to make things more “controlled” to ensure nobody gets screwed, you’re taking a big chance. Seeing prices on some of these items, that’s a BIG chance. At least with a purchase, the seller can get payment before shipping.
I don’t want to discourage the online trading here, but advise more caution. Personally, if I was going to trade, I want to check out the item I want to trade for, and likewise, so can the person wanting to trade with me. End result would be a trade that goes down with both parties happy and almost no chance of getting ripped off.
I just really dislike being ripped off. I hate being the victim of theft. I don’t do that to others. I don’t even think I’d borrow or even check out someone else’s yoyo without them being present and definitely not without their permission. Give it a check, a throw if allowed, maybe a trick if I’m capable and then return it. It’s not mine, show respect to the owner.
I tend to buy new anyways, so trading is probably not in my future.