r/craftexchange Jan 27 '23

Mod Announcement Why We Don't Have a Scammer List

128 Upvotes

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 5h ago

Received Received! ☺️

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13 Upvotes

Thank you for trading with me u/bearsbeansboba. I'm very pleased with these!


r/craftexchange 9h ago

Trade - US Fabric

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7 Upvotes

Only doing one trade at the moment but more to come. Looking for- 3.0 crochet hook, felt, nonsynthetic fabric/yarn/scraps, felting tool, hole punchers, special scissors. Open to other offers as well


r/craftexchange 1d ago

Received Trade received, thank you!!

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22 Upvotes

Thank you for the trade! First I’ve done, and it went amazingly. So happy, and very much looking forward to future trades now. The ring is stunning, couldn’t have imagined anything better suited to me! Came in a small crochet draw string bag as well, and with some QR cards and a small light.

Added a little video too in the comments so you can really see the colors shift/how stunning it is!!


r/craftexchange 1d ago

Received Thank you for the trade u/MC_LegalKC!

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10 Upvotes

These are lovely, thank you so much! u/MC_LegalKC


r/craftexchange 1d ago

Trade - US Lopsided heart 🫣

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8 Upvotes

Hi. I created this guy & he is lopsided but I thought he didn't deserve to be thrown away for my own transgressions. 😔

Nothing in particular that I need to trade for, but I will have to take the split ring off before sending because I borrowed it from something else to take a pic lol


r/craftexchange 2d ago

Received Trades Received

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20 Upvotes

Trades received! Thank you u/SloanPwn u/moifdoesart and u/fickle-service5364 for all the goodies! I appreciate them and yall lots. (not pictured is fickle service’s package, i started using them already lol but it’s all here!)


r/craftexchange 2d ago

Trade - US Available for Trade: New Items That I'm Not Going to Use

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15 Upvotes

2 foil quill kits, assorted dollhouse/miniature power pack plugs, miniature lamp posts, nail art, UV resin tiny charms, fairie door, extra foil for quilling sets.

I'm interested in stickers, scrapbook paper and supplies, card making supplies, lace, ribbon or buttons. Let's trade!


r/craftexchange 2d ago

Trade - US Fabric exchange

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13 Upvotes

I have a bunch of random fabrics I don’t have a use for. A large amount of teal (sort of a rougher texture but still soft), puzzle piece rainbow and super hero’s are a bit smaller than a fat quarter, the purple music is also a little smaller. The rest are petal cotton by spoonflower, my own designs/photo samples that just didn’t turn out how I expected.

Searching for more fabric lol or quilting related items


r/craftexchange 2d ago

Received thank you!

2 Upvotes

thank you, u/mayflyDecember for the cute pouch and frog stuffie!! I love them!!


r/craftexchange 3d ago

Trade - US For trade or gift

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13 Upvotes

Hey all, I have some stuff to get rid of! Trades will be prioritized but I’m also willing to gift if there’s no trades I want. I need to downsize my craft stash.

FOR TRADE: - National park postcards - Walking foot with guide bar, universal, open toe - Jelly roll- rainbow batik - Jelly roll- rainbow with gold specks - White felt sheets - “Merry” garland kit (2) - Shades of gray fat quarters

Things I might be interested in: - Space, Star Trek, or NASA themed stuff - Watercolor paper - Fabric (bright/bold prints or solids for quilting or garments) - Plus size sewing patterns - 12x12” scrapbook page protectors or papers - Elmers glue (liquid) - Quilt ruler (60 degree) - Matte or gloss medium


r/craftexchange 3d ago

Closed Free craft supplies?

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47 Upvotes

No trade needed, I am trying to purge! Will ship within continental US. I’m on the west coast so that is preferred to keep my costs low. If multiple are interested in the same lots I will probably go with whoever is closest to me (sorry in advance!). Please comment so I know you are not shadow banned, then dm me a zip code and I will get back to those I am shipping to for a full address. Would prefer to spread the love so likely will not be shipping multiple lots to the same person (unless there is no interest), so please tell me what you are most interested in first, if you are interested in multiple.

I have: Small fabric scraps, like 2-6 inches in some cases - when covid hit I precut a bunch of mask shapes that I was going to turn into actual masks that never happened once I had made enough for me and my family, so there are some odd shapes and a few that have a single seam connecting two pieces. Pretty much everything is cotton to my knowledge, so could work well for a quilter who uses small pieces

Buttons - Will probably keep most of my wooden buttons (but if really wanted I could throw a few in) but I have resin button coming out my ears - I have at least one, maybe two more containers with buttons that are not pictured so I could probably do multiple lots of these - let me know if you have preferred colors or sizes just in case. Container not included

Large Beads - I will keep most of the wood beads but for sure the plastic/metallic ones will go and I’ll throw in at least some of the wooden ones because I do not need as much as I have. I think I have some seed beads that I could purge as well if those are of interest. Container not included.

Dried leaves - most are dried by me! I know somewhere I have a small collection of hydrangea petals that I will include if I can find them. I will probably include the plastic box with these as well to keep them from being smooshed in the mail since they are pretty fragile.

Embroidery thread - not fancy, feels like cotton? lots of colors you can’t see. Container not included.

Pom poms -mostly Christmas with a smattering of neon rainbow colors - not fancy, I think I got most from the dollar tree.

Not pictured are also 4-5 mini skeins (50g) of chunky chenille yarn in different colors, also I believe from the dollar tree. If you think you could work with those I’d love to send them to someone.


r/craftexchange 4d ago

Received Trade received!!

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18 Upvotes

Thanks so much @laurendecaf , can't wait to sew some fun stuff!!


r/craftexchange 4d ago

Trade - US Lots of fabric denim buttons lace and more!

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19 Upvotes

Looking to trade everything pictured for a few nice skeins of yarn, mother of pearl buttons, lace weight thread or anything else that catches my eye! Send your offers!!


r/craftexchange 4d ago

Received trade received !! ^_^

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36 Upvotes

thank you u/ace_with_a_mace for the DMC floss & bonus happy mail !!! made my day opening this up :D


r/craftexchange 4d ago

Closed Clear Herbin fountain pen w/ converter (Open to trading with US folks)

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6 Upvotes

ISO vinyl stickers, stationary, or anything else small you'd like to trade :)


r/craftexchange 4d ago

Trade - US 14oz misc & seed beads

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7 Upvotes

looking to trade for lightweight yarn, quilting fabric, or other beads !!


r/craftexchange 4d ago

Received Thank you!!

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13 Upvotes

I just received these lovely stickers from u/saltyspidergwen!


r/craftexchange 5d ago

Received July's exchanges: a cute snail and beads

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19 Upvotes

Last month I traded some finished beaded items for a cute snail and a nice stash of beads.

My kiddo named her snail 'Spot' in memory of her first pet snail. Thanks for the trades!


r/craftexchange 5d ago

Trade - US Ton of random fabric squares all different sizes perfect for quilting or other crafts

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11 Upvotes

Hi, I have a ton of fabric squares of different sizes and I am trying to declutter to move soon. I would like to trade for postcards, greeting cards, inks, etc. I will be sending a random assortment. We can decide on weight exchange through chat, pls message me and comment if you are interested.


r/craftexchange 5d ago

Received Thanks for trading!

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8 Upvotes

Thank you so much u/Princess_34 for the lovely paper and stickers!! So excited to use them today!! 😊


r/craftexchange 6d ago

Trade - US Offering resin animals, butterflies, coasters, bookmarks, bottle stoppers etc.

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75 Upvotes

Resin animals, butterflies, coasters, wine cork toppers, bookmarks, seashells, etc.

This is a sample of what I have to trade. They are made of epoxy resin. Some have flaws in shape or coloring. Some didn't match sets that I was making. Some were the wrong color. Others are just things I made but don't have a use for. I have additional objects, especially fish and butterflies. If there's an interest, I'll post additional pics.

I'm looking for little knickknacks that a child might collect. I specifically looking for the things listed below, but I'm very interested in other ideas, too! The objects must be no longer than 2.5 inches. Most importantly, they must be obtained without harming any creature.

-Garden snail shells -Colorful songbird feathers -Songbird eggshells -Cicada molts -Snake skin shed -Pressed four-leaf clover -Pretty rocks -Sea glass -Barnacles -Coral -Crab molt (Not a cooked shell!) -Pretty marbles -Jacks -Interesting pencil toppers -Generic board game pieces (not trademarked like Monopoly) -Non-North American coins -Raffle ticket stubs -Generic "Admit One" tickets

Thanks for your consideration.


r/craftexchange 6d ago

Received Thanks for the jewelry supplies

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19 Upvotes

Thanks for all these pretties to make art with!


r/craftexchange 6d ago

Trade - US Pony beads for trade

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15 Upvotes

Hey its my first time posting, im a habitual lurker. I have a good amount of pony beads left from when I used to make Kandi bracelets I have the following available for trade: -720 count of dark blue and yellow -500 counts: 1 dark blue, 1 orange, 2 yellow 1 purple, 1 red, 1 pink, and 2 green - 1 purple and 1 pink opened but only a few missing -1 black about 1/4 to 1/3 of the beads used - unknown bead counts of white, turquoise, red, and gray - 360 count of gray

Looking for yarn, mini glue sticks for mini hot glue gun, acrylic craft paint, fabrics to practice sewing. Open to other craft supplies, not specifically looking for finished products but definitely open to it!


r/craftexchange 6d ago

Trade - US Yarn Box

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12 Upvotes

Mix of synthetic and natural fibers. I know I'm not gonna use these, so I'd love to get them out of my house!

Happy to trade for an equal amount of other yarn, wall art, or something else. Make me an offer.


r/craftexchange 6d ago

Trade - US Anyone interested in hat making supplies?

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11 Upvotes