Hello, Kinz Friendz! Since some of you have expressed fear of the trading room and an interest in a tips’ tutorial, I’ve put together this guide to help you get started. The most important thing to understand about the WW trading room is that, if you are already battling a raging Webkinz addiction, the clubhouse bazaar is likely to worsen that addiction since you will be able to collect so many items that you never thought you’d find!

I discovered the trading room back in 2009, and I have been trading there regularly through the years. This guide to the trade room is based strictly on my own experience. I have never relied heavily upon other internet sources, particularly when it comes to values. If others here utilize the trading room, I welcome their opinions and input, which may differ from my experience. For those of you not interested in trading at all, feel free to skip this entire entry.

The Basics

What is the Webkinz Trading Room?

In the clubhouse, which is found on the map or menu in Webkinz World, there is an option to enter two doors. The door on the right offers multiple rooms, one of which is a trading room. That trading room allows only for preprogrammed dialogue, no free speech. The right side is safer for young children because no personal information can be shared. The door on the left opens to one room, which is the open speech trading room. In this room, players can speak freely in monitored rooms, which makes it much easier to discuss which items are needed and which items you have to trade.

For some players, the trading room is a place to “do business.” Some pets come in simply to trade, and when they see other players socializing instead of trading, it upsets them. I’ve never understood this. The trading room is among the few places in WW where you can socialize with other players. So for some, it is simply an online hangout spot. There are players who frequent the trading room who never actually trade. The open speech trading room is monitored. The rules are posted when you enter the trading room. The rules are heavily enforced and violation of the rules can get you temporarily or permanently banned. There is also a word filter, so a lot of words, even some innocent words, are restricted, so sometimes you have to find creative ways of speaking while not violating the rules.

What to know when trading:

People of all types and skill levels come into the trading room. Some players have no clue when it comes to the value of their items, while others know the value of every item in the game. For this reason, some experienced players will look for opportunities to exploit less experienced traders. The best defense you have against this is to know the value of the items you have to trade and to know the value of the items you’re trading for. This is a lot easier said than done. How do we even assign value to an item in WW?

If you look at some of the online value guides, value is based in kinz cash. For example, this link from Webkinz Insider http://www.webkinzinsider.com/wiki/(WIGEV)_Exclusive_Items shows the exchange value of a current exclusive item, like the airplane window, being 2000-4000 KC, whereas the exchange value of the stone elephant statue, which retired in 2006, is valued between 200,000-250,000 KC.

I find guides like these generally helpful, but not in practice. What I mean by that is, by stating that one item’s exchange value is 2000 and another’s is 200,000, we get that the stone elephant statue is of way more value (100 times the value) than a current exclusive item. However, the term “priceless” has come about because many players recognize that no amount of kinz cash is worth a stone elephant statue. And technically, at that exchange rate, 100 current exclusive items is valued the same as a stone elephant statue. One hundred current exclusives would provide absolutely no temptation for me to part with a stone elephant statue. So understand that these exchange values are only general guides to help you understand the relationship between the value of items, but do not use them to determine the exact value of an item. Multiple variables affect the value of an item, and you must account for all variables, including the item’s use value to you. Also, understand that values evolve, which I will address later, and online sources do not always provide an accurate or up-to-date value, so even the general values could be out-dated. Are you with me so far?

How to determine an item’s value:

On many occasions, I’ve heard players say, “I only trade rare items for other rares, not for PSI or clothes. That keeps it fair.” I completely disagree with this statement, and for me, this is the comment of a new player who doesn’t know how to determine values, and by making that statement in the trading room, they have just put a big bullseye on their back as someone who can be easily exploited. In fact, there is huge variance in the value of curio shop rare items. The neo gothic side table, for example, sells for 150 KC, whereas the theatre screen sells for 40,000 KC. Both are rare items. Likewise, one PSI does not equally trade for all other PSI just because they are both PSI. Other variables are at play, such as the rarity of the item and the demand for the item (i.e. its popularity). In other words, basic supply and demand.

Let’s talk about rare items as an example since everyone has access to them. Because the theatre screen is 40,000 KC and the neo gothic side table is 150 KC, it is far more often that players will buy the side table than the screen, which puts a lot more tables in circulation. Even though both items are rarer than Wshop items, one is far rarer than the other. The theatre screen is also a fairly popular item, which means its value, in general, is significantly greater than other rares. However, this value is still relative. Introduce a retired rare item, such as the Bed of Pharaoh, an Egyptian item that retired in 2012. Even though the KC value of that bed was only 12,500 KC at the time, it has not been available for purchase in 5 years. Many kids that were playing Webkinz and may have bought it before it retired, have long retired from Webkinz themselves. The supply on this has diminished, and there is an increasing demand for items from this retired theme (particularly the dining chairs). Generally speaking, the value of items increases the longer an item is retired. This is why most items that retired in 2005, 2006 are considered “priceless.” So even though the theatre screen would sell for more KC than the Egyptian bed, many would consider the bed of higher value than the screen.

Back when I started trading in the clubhouse, priceless items were all the rage, and PSI was only of moderate value. That was at a time when Ganz was releasing 5 or 6 pets every month, and people were buying pets in every Hallmark and Justice store out there. New PSI was only difficult to get for the first month or two of its release, and then they were fairly easy to trade for. Due to the decline of new pet sales across the board, obtaining new PSI has become extremely difficult in the trading room. Therefore, a PSI does not have the same value as any other PSI. With the exception of a few long retired pets (cheeky cat, cheeky dog, love puppy, pegasus) most older PSI do not trade well. This is also true of the free pets that come with a new account. Even though most of them are estore pets, the market is saturated with those PSI, so they have very little trade value.

What items are most valuable?

To a large extent, this is an individual question. If you are a player who absolutely loves to dress your pet and has no interest in room décor, PSI and other objects may be of no value to you, but a rare clothing item might have you pulling your kids over to your computer going, “OMG! Is this the cutest Dalmatian you’ve ever seen or what?!” Conversely, some people don’t care about clothes at all. They just want to decorate their rooms, so finding what individuals want is necessary when trading. That said, we’re still talking generalities here. I’m a collector of almost everything except food, which means I always have a large inventory of both clothes and items to trade, and I’m always looking to trade for both clothes and items as well. From my experience, there is enough interest in both clothes and items to state that clothes and items are of similar value, depending on the types. That is to say, in general, clothes are not more valuable than items and items are not more valuable than clothes.

For example, let’s talk about mystery bag clothes and items. Mystery is always popular when it first comes out, and it retains its value well. Mystery clothes and monthly mystery ?? bag items tend to be less expensive than quarterly mystery bag items. Because the monthly mystery ?? bag items are limited to 5 – 6 items per bag each month, it’s fairly easy to complete each collection, although one item often seems to be a little rarer than the others. The mystery clothes collections are always very popular, and because they are less expensive, tend to be relatively easy collections for players to complete. Regular mystery bag items are more expensive, and generally it is more difficult to complete those collections. That said, I see all of these items trading for similar values because all are in high demand. The same is true with estore promo. Some promo items cost more than others, and are generally more valuable. However, if a lot of that item ends up in circulation, it may trade for a promo item that costs less but is rarer.

So when it comes to value, here are some general things to keep in mind, but always remember that values can change, and that one person’s perception of an item’s value is not absolute truth. There is a difference between use value and trade value. An item may have a low trade value to the general population, but if you need it for a room design, it may have very high use value for you. Conversely, an item may have no use value to you, but have a high trade value. There have been many occasions when I have traded items of greater trade value for items of lesser trade value because I had extra of that item, and I didn’t have the other, so the item I didn’t have was of more value to me than the extra one in my inventory.

1. Priceless, Estore Promo, Mystery, and new PSI – These are your highest valued items. For the most part, “priceless” is considered items that retired in 2005, 2006, but that is not absolute. Plumpy glasses, for example, are considered priceless, and they retired in 2007. The Sun’s Embrace Bed (mystical panda PSI) and the magical retriever’s star bed are both considered “priceless” due to their rarity even though they are not retired.

With promo, mystery, and PSI, generally they are most valuable when first released. On the day a new mystery bag is released in the Estore, the trading room is a frenzy with pets shouting out for the new mystery clothes or items. Avid collectors who have lots of mystery and promo to trade will offer generously for new mystery items because they are anxious to complete their collections as soon as possible. This is the prime time to trade for a hard to get item.

Within a week or so of release, the items will diminish in popularity and their value will drop a little, but generally speaking, mystery and estore promo items and clothes hold their value well. Slower collectors (like me) will continue to offer items of high value for items we’ve missed.

2. Low end items – Items that are very easy to obtain, such as wshop items and outlet clothes, click-to-win prizes, wheel prizes (excluding rare prizes), Newz prizes, log-in/out prizes, party pack prizes, and current exclusives are generally of very low value. The market is saturated with them, and few players need to trade for them, unless they missed them.

3. Mid-level items – Older or common PSI, super exclusive beds, Curio shop rare items, Challenge Prizes, Deluxe monthly items, retired (but not priceless) outlet clothes and retired (not priceless) holiday items and clothes. Obviously, there is some flexibility here. The value of PSI can vary greatly. For example, a signature Red Wolf endangered sanctuary swing is not the same value as a cow’s milk truck, or even a signature Persian cat’s mindreading table. PSI swings, slides, pools, ponds, waterfalls, and interactive rides or cottages tend to trade much more easily than older chairs or sofas. Cars are frequently valued by collectors, so some vehicles, like the dodo bird’s homemade helicopter (which is retired), is much more valuable than the tiger’s orange striped car. So I put these into a broad category of mid-range items. They generally are not in extremely high demand, but still moderately high demand. Older common PSI can still be traded for other older common PSI and for rare items.

Getting Started

How do I find what I need in the trading room?

Great question! A lot of that depends on how rare the item is. If you need a fairly common item, like a rare neo gothic television, simply go into the trading room (on the left side of the clubhouse) and ask if anyone has a neo gothic television. Chances are, it won’t take too long to locate someone who has one. When someone tells you they have what you need, open a trade window with them. Ask them what they need. Tip: The more items you have in your inventory of a similar value, the more likely you are to offer something they want in return, so diversify your inventory dock. Also, if it’s an item you really want, consider offering something of slightly higher value for it. For example, the other person may want a psi for it. Decide whether or not the psi is very valuable. If it’s a PSI that does not trade well and you have no need for it, I see no harm in trading it even if it’s impossible to determine a precise exchange value. Maybe you don’t have a PSI to offer, but you have other rare items. A Persian window is more than twice the cost of a neo gothic television, but if you have lots of kinz cash, that may not matter. If you’re okay with taking a small loss in KC value because you have an extra Persian window but need the neogothic tv, go for it!

Trading room etiquette: If you decide to trade in the trading room, for Frog’s sake, keep these etiquette tips in mind!

1. When you’re trading in the open chat (left side) of the club house, it’s generally good manners to ask people if you can invite them to trade before inviting them. Some people are there just to socialize and don’t want to trade. Others may be there to trade, but may be in conversation or negotiation with someone else in the room. Others may be AFK. Others are only looking for very specific items, and if you don’t happen to have it, they may not want to trade with you. So ask before you invite!

2. If you are new to trading, you will likely not know the value of a lot of items you see, and that’s fine. You don’t have to. But don’t ask for items unless you have something fair to offer for the item. It drives me nuts when I get into a trade with someone and they want “priceless” or “promo”, so I put up priceless and promo items, and they start offering Arte plushies and gem lamps. If all you have are low end items to offer, a lot of people will not want to trade with you because they already have those items. However, there are some nice traders (like me) who will still trade with you! I keep lots of low end items in my dock to trade with newer players, because even though I may not need the items they have, if I have 20 topaz gem lamps in my dock, I don’t mind trading one for another color, like garnet, even if I have 10 of them. I’m happy to trade with you and hopefully help you acquire something you don’t have as long as you’re being fair. Do not beg for freebies! Same with rare items. If you have rares to offer, ask for items of a similar value, like other rares or common PSI. Don’t ask for mystery and offer wonderland wallpaper. You’re going to annoy your trading partner really fast!

3. Don’t assume your trading partner is ready to trade just because you have a couple smiley faces on board. Your trading partner may like an item you have, but not enough to trade his/her item for it. Before hitting the trade button, always ask your partner if this is a good trade for them, or let them hit trade first (which generally signals that it’s a good trade for them). And for Frog’s sake, DO NOT EVER hit trade if someone has frowny faces on your item. That’s a good way to immediately lose your trading partner. When people put items up that I do not want and I mark the frowny face and then they hit trade anyway, I automatically close out the window. That’s just rude.

4. Don’t just close out trade windows without saying goodbye! (unless a person hits trade when you marked a frowny face) Even if you’re disappointed that you didn’t get the item you wanted, thank the person for their time and tell them goodbye. This is general courtesy. Just because someone enters a trade with you, they are not obligated to trade anything with you, but they have been nice enough to at least consider it. So respect their time, thank them, and graciously close out the window. Traders who get mad and close out without saying goodbye get reputations as jerks very quickly, and then nobody wants to trade with them, often forcing them to switch pets and adopt a nicer way of interacting.

Other than general courtesy, attempting to have at least a general understanding of values, and trying to trade fairly, there really aren’t many rules other than the ones posted by Webkinz when you log in. Some pets like to socialize more than trade, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s fine. Others will sit quietly and watch the chat in the room and wait to be invited. Others come in inviting everyone (and sometimes get mad when their trade invites get declined). Some come in and voice what they are looking for. If you’re looking for something specific like “new mystery bag clothes” or even more specific “butterfly fascinator”, let the room know what you need. If someone has it, they will probably let you know. If you just want to trade stuff in general, nothing too specific, just ask, “Does anyone want to trade?” Or “does anyone want to trade rares and PSI?” Or “who wants to trade for clothes?”

Trading Tips for New Traders:

1. The Curio Shop is your best friend. If you do not have a huge inventory of valuable items to offer in trade, start with curio shop rares. They are of moderate value and quite versatile. Bookmark this link: http://www.webkinzinsider.com/curioshop.html It is not perfectly updated, but when it is, you can find out ahead of time when a rare will be in the curio shop each day. I check this most mornings, and if I’m home and can be on at that time, I try to stop in and buy it. Use helper accounts to buy rares. Each helper account, if you adopt a pet on it, which you have to do (unless you make it deluxe) in order to send items back and forth, will start you off with at least 16,000 KC once you sell the furniture in the room and strip the map. This will give you enough kinz cash for one good rare item or several moderately good rares, or a bunch of cheaper rares. Keep in mind that Arte’s favorites, like the retired baseball, garage, cat, and dog themes, are not considered rares, and they do not trade well at all. I would put them in the low value category, barely above the value of wshop. Neogothic, wonderland, and princess items are great to start with because they are fairly popular and relatively cheap (for rares). Trade a princess exalted armoire (KC value – 1425) for an Aztec dresser of the lost city (KC value – 7291), even at the sell back value of 3645 KC, you’ve more than doubled your investment, which is an easy way to make KC. You can also use rares to trade for PSI.

2. Diversity is the name of the game. The more you diversify your inventory, the more trades you can complete. Now, this assumes that you want to trade a lot. That may not be your goal. I will address that in the next tip. I keep many different items of many different values in my inventory. This enables me to trade with almost anyone. If I see someone saying, “Anyone have rares to trade?” I be like, YUP. “Anyone have PSI to trade?” “I do!” “Anyone have mystery or promo?” “Yes! May I invite you to trade?” “Anyone have brand new PSI from this month?” ….. crickets (no, but I will three years from now… maybe).

3. Focused trading – If you want to do occasional focused trades and not lots of general trades, that’s fine too! My suggestion: go into the trading room with as many items of a similar value as possible and look for others who are trading things of the same value. For example, you REALLY want a snowcat snow globe, but it’s priceless, so you’ve simply resolved to never have one. Why?! There are collectors who frequent the trading room who have tons of priceless items stuffed in their storage rooms. They would gladly trade one to you if you have what they want, and what they normally want is brand new estore mystery or promo or brand new PSI. My suggestion: the day a new mystery bag comes out, buy a few. Clothes are much cheaper than items, but items tend to be a little rarer. People will pour into the trading room asking for new mystery items and clothes. The day the last mystery clothing bag was released, there were chat bubbles everywhere: “Who has butterfly dress?”…. “Anyone have lily dress?”…. “I need the undersea dress!”…. “HUGE offers for the rainbow licorice dress!!!” Dresses are often the hottest items, but collectors are looking for all of the items.

So if you had purchased a few 2017 summer mystery clothing bags on the day of its release, and you managed to score some of those items, and you don’t really care about the mystery clothes, you just want that snow cat snow globe, go into the trading room and say, “Offering NEW mystery clothes for priceless.” I guarantee you’ll get a ton of invites to trade. Try to trade for the snow globe, but don’t let too much time go by. After a week or so, when most of the high end collectors (who have lots of valuable items to trade) have completed their collection, you may miss your window of opportunity. If nobody has a snow cat snow globe, ask for other priceless items of similar value, like year one or two Christmas trees, year one trophy, red lava, stone elephant statue, or priceless clothes like jingle elf, witch, black cat costume, white ears, or plumpy. Full hula, mad scientist, safari, scuba, etc. will trade in the same range. If you can’t get the exact priceless item you’re looking for, you may be able to get something similar. Do this a few times and diversify your priceless items, and eventually you’ll find someone with a snow cat snow globe who really needs a year one trophy or Christmas tree, which you now have to offer!

4. Keep in mind that values fluctuate. That brand new mystery clothing item may trade super well on day one, but if it happens to be a really common one, it may be more difficult to trade than the ones that emerge as “rarer.” Also, in general, priceless items are very valuable, but be prepared that their value can tank overnight. For example, the full cares dining set was actually ranked as “level 10”, which are items that are so rare they are beyond priceless. Back when I first started trading, items like the full cares dining set, the wintermint bed PSI, the sweet tooth sofa PSI, the original orange Halloween walls and floors (back when they couldn’t be removed from a room), and certain trophies like writer’s trophy and director chair were so rare that people would commonly trade 4 – 6 or more priceless items for them. I once traded 9 (yes NINE) year one priceless items for the set of original Halloween walls and floors. Then they made wallpaper and flooring unstickable, and they re-released the walls (so I have a wardrobe full of them now), which greatly reduced the value on them. The floors are still highly valuable, but not worth 9 year 1 priceless items. Ouch!

Likewise, some highly valuable items have been copied. When I first started trading, Wacky jeans were one of the most popular and valuable items in the game, and they held their value for years. Then someone copied them. I was in the trading room one night and people were trading them for common psi. I got a bunch of pairs before I realized they were valueless. Over time, they slowly recovered some of their value, but nowhere near what they once were. Besides the slip in value from the copying, the popularity of mystery clothes has made old priceless clothing less popular. Many other long retired and priceless items, even level 10 items, have been copied. So if anyone tries to tell you that an item is worth several priceless or promo items, I would be highly skeptical. It might have been at one time, but there are not many items THAT highly valued anymore.

5. ALWAYS fact check! If someone tells you something is mystery or estore or priceless and you don’t know what it is, do not believe them! I am not saying that they are lying. It may be exactly what they say it is. However, there are some unscrupulous pets in the trading room who will lie, especially when a new item comes out in a game like balloon darts or in party packs. They will tell you it’s mystery or promo to get you to trade something of high value. Never trust them (unless they’re a friend and you know they’re not scamming you)! Look it up yourself. Quickly bring up another browser and search for the name of the item. Don’t be afraid to tell the pet that you need a minute to do this! If what they are offering is truly promo and they are asking for promo, they will most likely wait for you to look it up. If they are trying to scam you, they will probably close out of trade. If you look it up and they are still there and you say, “Uh, no, that it is not promo. That’s a new party pack prize.” They will invariably say, “Oh sorry! Someone told me it was promo. Now I’m sad! 🙁 ” There have been a few times where I have passed up really good items that I wished I had traded for because of my skepticism and decision to look it up before trading for it, but there have been MANY times that I have saved myself from making a bad trade by looking it up first. Generally speaking, if I don’t know an item’s value, I will walk away. It’s not worth the risk. If you find out later that it’s an item you really want, try to find it again.

6. Do not focus on the misses and ignore the hits! This is super important because many players will give up after making one bad trade. Trading is not science. There are tens of thousands of items in Webkinz World. I’ve been trading regularly for 8 years and have researched almost every item I’ve come across, and I still occasionally see items that I have never seen before. You will not remember every item, and you will not always know their values, which means sometimes you may make a bad trade. Also, as already mentioned, values will often change, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. I can’t even tell you how much priceless I traded to get the full cares dining set years ago… and then they released the entire thing through wheel prizes earlier this year. It went from level 10 to almost worthless overnight. That happens. On the up side, outlet clothes that I paid very little for and stuffed in wardrobes years ago have now gained value. So yay! In the end, I look at the overall gain versus loss. For anyone who has looked at my wishlist, you will notice that it is very long, but put that up next to the entire list of items in the game. It’s a pretty small percentage that I don’t have compared to what I do have. And many of the items I have, I have multiples of, so I can trade for other items I still need.

Now there are many collectors who have far more impressive collections than I have, but many of them pay a lot of money each month for new pets, promo, and mystery. I operate on a very tight Webkinz budget, which means almost everything I have, including all priceless and long retired items and clothes, promo, mystery, and PSI has been a result of trading for them. I currently have thousands of items in my inventory dock, all of which are extra. I only trade extras. I’m not bragging about this. I’m just making the point… yes I’ve made some bad trades over the years, and yes, some of the good trades I made ended up being worthless because the item devalued over the years, but overall, I have a ton of valuable items that I would not have if it were not for trading. Now if I were losing more than I was gaining, or if I was merely breaking even, it might not be worth it. But my gains far outweigh my losses, and I have done this without ever scamming a single player. I always try to trade fairly. While the value of items is sometimes disputable, I always offer what I think is a reasonable or fair trade. And when other players ask what an item is or where it’s from, I tell them honestly and encourage them to look it up before trading. I never mind waiting for a pet to look an item up if they don’t know what it is.

Summary: If I lost my account today and everything that’s on it (I would cry… I won’t lie) and had to start over, here’s what I would do. Collect as many curio shop rares and challenge prizes as possible to stock as inventory to trade. Once I have a decent variety of items, I would go into the trading room and look for people who are interested in trading rares, psi, and challenge prizes. I would never ask for mystery and then offer a rare item. To me, that’s rude. I would try to further diversify my inventory stock by up-trading rares for rares of more KC value (this is not considered ripping someone off because many players don’t care if one item costs a bit more than another; they are simply trying to complete their rare collections or design rooms). Once you have higher value rares, it’s easier to collect lower value rares, and the more you have, the more you can offer.

Trade some of those rares for PSI. Avoid super common PSI, like the free pets that come with a new account, or the old pets that are still in circulation. It takes a little while to know which PSI’s are worth it, but there are a lot of PSI that are not new, but not super old and common, that players will often offer for rare items. Neogothic and Persian tend to be pretty popular, but princess and wonderland are good too, and so are the other rare themes. Always attempt to “trade up,” in terms of trade value. For example, the bullfrog’s PSI is the Lord of the Pond Throne and the frog’s PSI is the Lily Pad Water Bed. These are both old, extremely common pets and PSI. Neither is more valuable than the other, and neither trade all that well. However, generally speaking, the bed will trade more easily than the chair. I just know this from experience. PSI beds, even if they are old and common, will generally trade more easily than other common PSI. If you find someone who needs your Lord of the Pond Throne (maybe they’re decorating a swamp room) and they offer the Lily Pad Water Bed, I would see that as an up-trade because it will be easier to move that bed up than that chair.

Now someone else comes along wanting to trade PSI. You put the bed up. Maybe they offer the retired husky’s Northern Nights Bed. Both are old common PSI beds, but I would consider that an up-trade because it’s a retired pet’s PSI and it seems (in my experience) to be in slightly higher demand. Now someone comes along and wants that bed, and they put up 10 different psi, and most of them are not as good as that one, but then they put up something like a Prehistoric Pond or a Daisy Driver Car. These are not new pet PSI and are not in high demand, but up-trade pretty easily because they’re pretty or because the daisy turtle is retired, the car is cute, and people love to collect cars! People frequently come into the trading room asking for cars.

Having traded my Northern Nights Bed for a daisy driver car, I now put up the daisy driver car with another player who is specifically looking for cars they’re missing from their collection, and they get excited because they need that one, so they offer a Bamboo Shute Swing… and jackpot! Most swings and slides and interactive rides trade better than other PSI. I can now up-trade the swing for a newer PSI (not brand new, but newer) or a signature psi. Newer and some signature psi will sometimes get offers of mystery and promo. So I wait for those offers. And I have multiple psi that I’m working at the same time, constantly up-trading. I never have brand new PSI, because I don’t buy brand new pets when they come out, and new psi is next to impossible to get unless you have huge offers. But I’m okay with that. I take rares and turn them into better rares, which turn into psi, which turn into better psi, and even better psi, and eventually turn into promo or mystery or priceless. What starts out as a neo gothic television that I bought in the curios shop, eventually, over time and with patience, becomes an older mystery item that I’m still missing. At this point, some of you will go, “ok, not for me! This is way too much work.” For me, trading is not merely a means to an end. It IS the end in itself. I love the challenge!

I work clothing the same way. Buy extras of seasonal Outlet clothes when they are released and stick them in storage containers in your rooms. In a few years, some will get re-released and be worthless, but some will retain their value. Keep one for yourself, take the others and trade up. Sometimes I will trade two or three exclusive items for one common psi, then two or three common psi for one less common psi. The more inventory you have to work with, the more options you have. And the most important thing, don’t worry about the losses or misses! As long as you keep gaining overall, you will eventually be able to absorb the losses. When I was new to trading, I had purchased a Christmas carrier and received the Christmas wardrobe when I entered the code. I loved it, but someone offered me a PSI that I liked even more, so I traded it not realizing how rare it was. I was heartbroken when I realized how difficult it was to find, but eventually I had enough good stuff to offer, and I traded for one. It is still sitting in Nick’s (my Christmas hamster) room, and he guards it with his little life. Expect a few bumps and bruises. It’s part of the trading game, but well worth it if you stick with it!

If you have any questions about trading or values, feel free to ask anytime! I don’t offer any precise values, only generalizations. I can tell you whether or not I think something, based upon my own biases and experience, is a good trade or not, but that’s all I offer… my opinion. Also, I’m in the trading room semi-frequently. Feel free to say hi if you see me in there. Or if you want help or advice, just ask!

One last suggestion… if you want to jump in to trading but are a bit scared of getting started, just go into the trading room during peak times and observe the discussion. You can learn a lot about what items are hot and what people are looking for by just watching the room. Often when I’m trading, I’m two-boxing…. Trading room up on one computer and I’m doing something else on another computer sitting next to it. Sometimes, I spend a lot more time just sitting in the room, glancing at the chat, than talking or trading. You can learn a lot about values and about other players that way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve just sat and observed people getting scammed. They’re in trade, so I can’t warn them, but I’m thinking, ‘Oh, don’t do it. That’s a bad trade. That pet is scamming you…. She’s not going to send the item. Don’t trust her!…. Meh, you’re going to regret that.’ And then the pet who said they were going to send goes poof! And within a few minutes the other pet is going, “cry cry cry… I just got scammed. They said they were going to send and didn’t.”

So last tip of the day. DO NOT TRUST PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THEY WILL SEND YOU AN ITEM OR ESTORE POINTS! They are almost always lying. Unless I know the person and they are a trusted friend, I never trust people to send. The only time I agree to send with people I don’t know is if they offer to send first (which I advise them is not smart, but some “rich” pets will risk it). Once I receive the item, then I will send. Currently, the sending of estore points is a very risky business in the trading room. Because promo, mystery, and buying pets through the Estore is all the rage, everyone wants Estore points. When people come into the trading room saying, “Who has Estore points?” I don’t even respond even though I usually have them, or could buy them if I wanted to, because they always want you to send points first. That’s a great way to get scammed! On a few occasions, I’ve had pets invite me to trade and ask me if I have estore points. I say yes, but inform them up front that I will not send first, so I rarely trade them. Most are not interested in the trade if you will not send points first, but on a few occasions, I’ve had pets trade nice promo items to me for food, and then I’ve transferred the points to them. I advise them against it. It’s risky to do that, but once other pets realize you’re honest when you say you’ll send the points, then everyone wants to trade you for points. So that’s my advice on trading Estore points. Don’t do it! But if you’re going to, make sure they give you the items first, and then be sure to stay in the room with them while you transfer the points to them so you can be sure they received them. And trading estore points can definitely get you priceless if you’re willing to risk it (I’m not).

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post below. Other suggestions from fellow traders are also welcome! I hope this is helpful. Happy trading! 😀

Hippocrates blowing a kiss