Let's make December "Ninja Trading Awareness Month", no?
Either way, please be sure to help newer and less experienced players so that they can protect their December 18th release pets from ninja traders!
Here's some tips for new players who may be reading this.
Q: "What is ninja trading?"
A: Ninja trading is the intentional act of targeting players who are not well versed in rarity and value to trick them out of their rarer pets. Basically, the ninja trader will send a trade to another person offering rather low value pets for something much more valuable, but does not tell the other person this.
While in literal terms this is an act of scamming, it is not considered a scam under CS rules as it is impossible to tell somebody's intention (a suspected ninja trade could simply just be a bad offer by someone else who is just clueless about rarity and value, so separating this from scamming was a necessary evil that prevents false scamming reports; sending a bad trade is not inherently against CS rules).
Therefore, CS regards "scamming" as outright telling the other player that their pet is worth less than it actually is. A rule against ninja trading cannot be enforced as the person doing it simply does not state anything regarding value; they will either send an innocent message not related to pet value, or they will not send a message at all.
However, we know this occurs because...well, there are people who admit to doing it. So these people are definitely out there, and are looking to swindle you out of your valuable pets!-----------------------------
Q: "Why so much concern in December, especially December 18th in particular?"
A: On December 18th, a special gift box is released that gives each player random pets. These random pets are re-releases of older pets, which often includes pets from as far back as 2008. This means that you have a shot at receiving some EXTREMELY valuable pets. Meaning, even newbies can receive 2008 VRs or OMGSRs. Ninja traders are opportunists and will take advantage of a new player's lack of knowledge to snatch these pets from them.
So now you know what it is, and you can protect yourself from it!
--> Place your new pet in a LOCKED GROUP to prevent other users from trying to trade with you until you're sure of how much it's worth, or whether you want to even trade it at all!
--> When you first get a pet from your December 18th box, IDENTIFY it first! You can do this by either searching through the Archive, or if you are having trouble finding it, you can ask what pet it is and where to find it in this thread.
--> Now you know what pet it is. Now what? Well, if you are unsure of what your pet is worth, you can ask for help in the "How Much Is This Pet Worth" thread. Try getting multiple opinions from experienced users if you can! Make sure to ALWAYS ask questions before trading away a rare pet. If you don't understand the lingo someone uses --- for example, if you don't know what they mean when they say your pet is worth "a non" or "two toxics", ask them to explain what that means! Most members of the community are patient and willing to help you.
--> You should now have a good idea as to how valuable your pet is. If you like your pet and would like to keep it, put it in a locked group for safekeeping, and enjoy having it in your collection, where you can dress it up or maybe even add it to a dressup scene with other players!
--> Or perhaps you've decided that you don't want the pet for your collection, and would rather put it in your trade group. That's fine too! But keep in mind that if you are a new player, ninja traders will take this as a chance to get a rare pet for cheap! To prevent this, you should always check with the "Is This A Fair Trade" thread before accepting any trades. Don't be afraid to decline trades that turn out to not be fair to you! Of course, don't be rude about it either --- that'll only get you in trouble! Decline politely and continue on your way until you find a good, fair trade that makes both of you happy.
--> Share this with any newbies you may be friends with, so that they can keep their valuable pets safe this year!
That's everything you need to know! Have a wonderful December 18th, and happy holidays!
--> Place your new pet in a LOCKED GROUP to prevent other users from trying to trade with you until you're sure of how much it's worth, or whether you want to even trade it at all!
--> When you first get a pet from your December 18th box, IDENTIFY it first! You can do this by either searching through the Archive, or if you are having trouble finding it, you can ask what pet it is and where to find it in this thread.
--> Now you know what pet it is. Now what? Well, if you are unsure of what your pet is worth, you can ask for help in the "How Much Is This Pet Worth" thread. Try getting multiple opinions from experienced users if you can! Make sure to ALWAYS ask questions before trading away a rare pet. If you don't understand the lingo someone uses --- for example, if you don't know what they mean when they say your pet is worth "a non" or "two toxics", ask them to explain what that means! Most members of the community are patient and willing to help you.
--> You should now have a good idea as to how valuable your pet is. If you like your pet and would like to keep it, put it in a locked group for safekeeping, and enjoy having it in your collection, where you can dress it up or maybe even add it to a dressup scene with other players!
--> Or perhaps you've decided that you don't want the pet for your collection, and would rather put it in your trade group. That's fine too! But keep in mind that if you are a new player, ninja traders will take this as a chance to get a rare pet for cheap! To prevent this, you should always check with the "Is This A Fair Trade" thread before accepting any trades. Don't be afraid to decline trades that turn out to not be fair to you! Of course, don't be rude about it either --- that'll only get you in trouble! Decline politely and continue on your way until you find a good, fair trade that makes both of you happy.
--> Share this with any newbies you may be friends with, so that they can keep their valuable pets safe this year!
That's everything you need to know! Have a wonderful December 18th, and happy holidays!
