Trading Etiquette question

[marinamarina]

I am sorry if this is the wrong place, but I have a question about etiquette when trading villagers. I made an offer on a villager and was accepted on a different site. An hour or so passed and the person still hadn't opened her gate. I asked if anything was up and she said she was still trying to get the villager to move out. I was confused but said okay. Now I'm realizing that the villager probably had never told it wanted to move out. I've been waiting for hours and am a little frustrated. I asked again for an update maybe five hours later and haven't received any. Would it be wrong to back out of a trade because it's taking much longer than I thought? Is it okay to trade a villager that hasn't said they want to move out yet?

 

[RockinAlpha]

This is likely because the person is Cycling to get the villager to move out, which can be somewhat time consuming. Whether or not you back out of the trade is more or less up to you. Odds are they'll find someone else to trade it to or just void it if they're just trying to Cycle.

 

[marinamarina]

That makes sense! Thank you for the response!

 

[prostime]

You're not wrong for backing out of the trade imo. When villagers are posted as adoptable in boards, usually it's assumed that the villager has asked to move or the villager is already in boxes. On most other boards I'm active on, it's poor etiquette to offer a villager who hasn't pinged or who isn't already in boxes unless explicitly stated beforehand that they'll contact you when the villager ready to move.

 

[marinamarina]

Thanks that makes me feel better cause I was worried it'd be rude/ poor etiquette of me to back out! I think I might wait a little longer cause I really want the villager, but back out if it takes much more time.

 

[Xerolin]

This reminded me of awhile back when I was new to TBT and someone was going to buy Mirana from me. She was already in boxes and someone adopted her, but her town was full. She kept cycling but no one would move out. In the end Mirana moved out and was voided

 

[RockinAlpha]

That makes sense! Thank you for the response!

No problem!

 

[JustinYummy]

im trying to get my last 3 dreamies and ive had 3 people tell me they will give me all the same villager...its been 4-5 days and not one of them have messaged me back saying they're ready to trade..........

 

[Aali]

Makes sense.

Someone here had an auction for Julian and I have the higest bid, but haven't heard from them in DAYS so I'm getting Julian from someone else

 

[marinamarina]

Wow, that's strange, trading a villager who hasn't agreed to move out seems strange, but auctioning seems even stranger! I'm glad you've found someone else to get Julian from!

 

[Chicha]

It depends on which website you're on tbh.

As others said, it's very poor etiquette for someone to sell/trade villagers not letting potential buyers/adoptees know they are not in boxes. The exceptions are either a) when people tell you upfront they are cycling (which is totally okay; cyclers generally know what they're doing) or b) if they tell you the villager has already pinged to move out so they can time travel to their moving date once someone can adopt. But if they're advertising the villager being in boxes and then suddenly say they're struggling to get them in boxes, that's very questionable behavior. There's a chance they may be trying to scam you or anyone else they find.

Sometimes it's a case where people have things just come up suddenly and they take long to get back to you. Or it's possible the villager pinged them and said they decided to stay in town and the person is trying to get them to ping again. (Pro-tip: always ignore villagers after they say they're moving out since there's always a chance they may change their mind if you talk to them again.) Good traders would keep in contact with you or at the very least apologize for making you wait and schedule an appropriate time.

I know on Reddit that is very frowned upon and people can get strikes/banned if they try pulling that off. tumblr doesn't have any rules so it's up to you tbh; if people try to scam on tumblr, word gets around pretty fast. When in doubt, don't hesitate contact a mod (esp if you're on Reddit). Since you said you've been waiting 5 hours, be sure to look if there's any rules on whatever site you're on. If they aren't any, you're free to back out but definitely let the other person know.

Remember to always check if they have feedback. I know everyone starts out somewhere but sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. If you do conduct a trade with them, check their town map once you arrive to their town to make sure the villager is there. If there isn't, leave their town asap and report it.

Good luck! I hope you find your villager. :3

 

[marinamarina]

The didn't say she was in boxes but that she had to be moved out, which I took to mean she had pinged but wasn't in boxes yet. Maybe that was my misinterpretation though, I'm pretty new to trading villagers. It was on reddit and she had responded a couple of times to say she's not ready and stuff. I know on reddit the site says its poor etiquette to back out, but I guess I was just confused at first and now i feel that I have to go through with it. Thank you for your answer and the luck!

 

[Aali]

Sadly the other auction doesn't have him in boxes either! If its not a cycle town they should be in boxes or asked to move

 

[H2pointO]

Bump

 

[inkling]

no, it would not be rude for you to go back on a trade. that person should have told u up front that they still had to cycle them out. since it wasn't clear, you should be able to back out.

thats pretty messed up. usually villagers are offered for trade when the player knows the move out date ahead of time.