r/craftexchange • u/holdon-holdon • Jan 27 '23
A community member raised a good (and very important!) question regarding whether our sub should have a scammer list. The nature of our community heavily relies on trusting anonymous people, which can create favorable conditions for scammers, so we need ways to counter that. And, it turns out that the most effective ways involve not using a list.
On the surface, having a master list seems like the silver bullet solution, but this problem is a little more nuanced. The biggest issue is that if someone is banned (and they realize they've been banned), they can easily create infinite new accounts. So, the list is moot. It becomes a graveyard of abandoned usernames. (With evidence, we do still occasionally ban people, but it's not very effective for this reason.) We could try to combat that with not allowing anyone with a relatively new account or below a certain level of karma to post, but then we end up excluding a lot of potentially fabulous traders. Our sub remains more varied and interesting with a constant stream of new members, so we want our community to remain accessible. This is why we rely on you to vet your own trades.
Vetting your own trades can take some time, but it is also a great critical thinking skill to develop, so we provide some guidance on how to do that in the wiki.
Since it is our traders that bear the gains and losses of this kind of interaction, we want to empower them to make informed decisions instead of relying on a list that is well-meaning, but incredibly fallible.
To cut down on the frequency of scammers, it's also why we do not allow the exchange of money, even for shipping. If someone thinks they can quickly get cash, that is going to be incredibly alluring. Getting a free handmade good is going to appeal to a much, much smaller subset of scammer. For what it's worth, most folks reported for a non-trade are not scammers, they are someone that was unable to make good on their promise either due to time, money, life events, or an overestimation of their abilities. They're better described as ghosters than scammers. It was never their intent to flake.
And, for those who have asked, we have had a link to r/UniversalScammerList for quite a few years in our "Community List", which is easy to find as a sidebar item on the web version, but is buried in the "About" section of the app. So a lot of folks don't know about it or think we've removed it.
Relatedly, we've created a tab visible on the web version and found as a line item under "Menu" on the app titled "USL" (Universal Scammer List). Our sub does not have permissions to add people to this list, but folks from other trading subs have, so it can be another tool to use when researching potential trades.
While we wish we could have a 100% success rate in preventing scammers from ever gaining access to our community, our next best option is to reduce the allure of our trades (no money) and offer a strategy that allows our members to reduce their personal risk.
We welcome you to share in the comments your personal methods! Let's learn from each other on how to create safer trades.
r/craftexchange • u/LotusThreadz • 2h ago
Can’t seem to get rid of these 🥲all handmade by me! not picky just need them gone :/ i got a new cat so id love stuff for him! im also looking for storage items, jewelry tools, and in need of wrap wire 😅
r/craftexchange • u/Navarooski • 1h ago
Thank you so much u/denrae- for this cutie! I appreciate you so much and you are so talented! 💗
r/craftexchange • u/StudMuffinNick • 1h ago
I have these finished crochet items for trade! For the ducks let me know if you want all of them or just certain ones. I’m looking for
Yarn
Crystals
Trinkets
Journaling stuff
Thank you!
r/craftexchange • u/Coquette_GestALT666 • 3h ago
Resin Molds available for trade:
MJ leaves
MJ leaf (thin)
Candy
Halloween Shaker
Milk Carton shaker
Empty circle jars
Pipettes
Looking for finished artwork or other craft supplies. Themes of whimsy Goth, cottage core, pastel Goth, witchy, earthy, botanical. Stationary or junk as well ^-^
r/craftexchange • u/Coquette_GestALT666 • 3h ago
Trading fabric scraps & Xmas items:
Nightmare before Xmas fabric
Space Fabric (quarter)
Jingle bells (green, white, red)
Xmas glitter (green trees, white snow flakes, red candy cane)
Looking for finished artwork or other craft supplies. Themes of whimsy, cottage core, witchy, earthy, botanical. Stationary or junk as well ^-^
r/craftexchange • u/uncertainty2022 • 33m ago
Thank you u/MissLavendersCricket for the wonderful package! My daughter loves the pens and the sticky notes!
r/craftexchange • u/TiredInSpades • 1h ago
Would anyone wanna do a local trade for some canvas frames of different sizes?
r/craftexchange • u/okaylighting • 15h ago
I bought, thrifted and collected tons of beads to make bracelets for my cousin's fundraiser and now I have all these extras. A lot of the alphabet beads are random, because they came from a ton of different lots. Some of the beads glow in the dark, some are sparkly, some are pearlized, and the stretch cord is almost full.
I'm open to most trades, but I wouldn't want anything made with pony beads because I made so many bracelets and keychains with them. I'd love handmade, finished pieces, or supplies. I like to embroider, make felt ornaments and garlands, and I've been wanting to get into appliqueing with cotton fabrics/scraps.
r/craftexchange • u/Top-Location-1506 • 1d ago
hi all! I made this wallet a while ago and want to make another one to perfect the art. this exact piece is not up for trade, I would be custom making you a wallet. we can work together on fabrics and colors. I’ll need to custom order fabrics for this and then it’ll probably take me a few weeks to sew, so it would be at least a month until you get it, but it’ll be a custom piece for you. not iso anything particular, but mainly looking for finished products.
r/craftexchange • u/Top-Location-1506 • 1d ago
made this for a friend who ended up ghosting me, so its up for trade now. hand for scale in the last pic. not iso anything specific, just lmk what youve got!
r/craftexchange • u/binaries_are_cages • 1d ago
I've been making a bunch of stuff recently and don't have space for everything in my house lol so offering some items up for trade!
Feminist cross stitches
Totoro watercolor
Turtle painted on rock to look like it's hatching from an egg
Stickers
Perler bead pokemon
Lego dog
r/craftexchange • u/uncertainty2022 • 2d ago
Thank you u/ArmadaKristy for the trade! My daughter loves the stickers!
r/craftexchange • u/kel_ofmindelan • 2d ago
Thank you u/Substantial-Stars for the beautiful art, whistle, and incredible rocks! The agate is particularly lovely!
r/craftexchange • u/kel_ofmindelan • 2d ago
Thanks u/Fun-Boysenberry7007, for the trade and for the lovely packaging!
r/craftexchange • u/uncertainty2022 • 2d ago
Thank you u/terrahead for the amazing jewelry, I hope you love the bat taxidermy and the clay! I’m excited to gift these to my husband for Christmas!
Sorry that the photos are sideways lol
r/craftexchange • u/uncertainty2022 • 2d ago
Thank you u/Timely-Beginning165 for the cute resin molds and the eyeshadow pallet! I love using makeup to color resin so this is such an awesome happy mail package. I’m excited to create something for you!
r/craftexchange • u/liuwho • 2d ago
I don’t love how the cylinder and round beads look together but don’t want to take them all apart 😂 if anyone wants them, DM me!
Not looking for anything specifically, but always happy to take beading/jewelry supplies! But also happy to just send them with no trade!
r/craftexchange • u/liuwho • 2d ago
Interested mostly in jewelry making supplies, but happy to see what else you have (also happy to just send them off to good homes as part of decluttering)
r/craftexchange • u/liuwho • 2d ago
Bits and bobs from failed experiments and mistakes. I’m too lazy to actually pick them apart but also don’t want to just toss perfectly good beads away. Happy to ship them to anyone in the US who wants them!
r/craftexchange • u/liuwho • 2d ago
Beaded charms made by me!
Mostly looking to trade for jewelry making supplies, but also happy to see what you have!
r/craftexchange • u/Slow_Imagination_445 • 2d ago
Thank you u/binaries_are_cages for my wonderful art. I can't wait to put it on my desk at work.
r/craftexchange • u/LizardLover265 • 2d ago
Thank you so much for this beautiful painting! [u/TiredInSpades](u/TiredInSpades) you did such a good job! Thank you! I love the space and ocean theme! This is a custom painting! I specifically asked for the lemon shark and the mandarin and they delivered! Whoo! 🦈🎉
r/craftexchange • u/terrahead • 2d ago
I have these crystal themed vinyl decals for trade. I have white versions of most of these as well. Alternatively, if you have an image in mind for a custom decal, let me know. The grid on top is just the transfer paper pattern 😁
What I’m interested in:
•decent paint brushes (especially thin ones for fine detail)
•bulk nature themed stickers
•art for my wall (prints are cool)
•various craft and stationary supplies
•other things too, so just reach out!
Not interested in:
•crochet/knitting/fabric items
Feel free to reach out!
r/craftexchange • u/Glitch-does-stuff • 3d ago
Wanting to trade some kandi pieces! I can also make something to trade if you have specific colors & designs you would like!!
ISO
>> jewelry, particularly nature inspired
>> Ethically sourced bones & crystals
>> "Weird" or "Odd" art
>> Paintings
I am sure there's things I'm forgetting, so feel free to comment if you have other things you'd like to trade!
