These guidelines have been created to help provide members with protection and transparency during transactions. They DO NOT guarantee a successful transaction, but following them will definitely help increase your odds SIGNIFICANTLY. That said, always use caution and never do a deal if you don’t feel right about it. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to your Community Leader.

IMPORTANT: Any issues during any deal should be brought to your Community Leader immediately. Please provide evidence (screenshots, etc) and our team will evaluate the situation.

Before You Start...

ADD A PHOTO AND YOUR ACTUAL NAME TO YOUR PROFILE: We highly encourage everyone to add a photo and at least your first name (full name is even better) to your Slack profile. This helps build trust and creates accountability amongst members. Using the default Slack profile graphic and only having a username in your profile (with no real name showing) suggests you’re trying to hide something and makes it less likely for people to want to deal with you.

Trading is also a popular option for members. And though a lot of it is about trust, following these guidelines can help make sure both sides come away happy and protected against issues:

HOW TO POST: Your posts in #tradesonly should look like this…

ONLY POST SHOES THAT YOU OWN. If you don’t own the shoes and have them in your possession, please do not list them for trade here.

DON’T ASK FOR CASH OFFERS. Please don’t tell members you’re welcome to cash offers. If you’re also open to selling your shoes, you need to also list them in #sell-for-retail-or-less and obey those rules.

When Inquiring About a Listing...

POST IN THE THREAD FIRST: It’s common for members to DM first when inquiring about a listing, but for transparency, it’s best to reply in the thread first that you’re interested and then DM the seller. That way other members know the order of who inquired, and no one feels like other members received preferential treatment.

WHEN BUYING FOR FAMILY OR FRIENDS: Members should be buying for themselves for the most part. Purchasing items from #sell-for-retail-or-less for family and friends is permitted (within reason), but please give fellow members at least a few hours to purchase for themselves. Sniping items for family and friends immediately after they’re posted will be a red flag and your account will be reviewed by SoleSavy staff.

WANT A WITNESS? If you would like your Community Leader to witness the transaction for peace of mind, just DM them directly and they’ll open up a group DM that includes all parties involved. While not required, we highly recommend doing this to provide the most visibility and transparency for your transaction.

AGREE UPON A VALUE. Establishing a value for the items in the trade is important for any security deposits (covered below). Some members prefer to trade based on market value, while others prefer retail value. Either is acceptable, but please agree on which one you are using before you make any deals.

PROVIDE DETAILED PICTURES. Provide detailed pics of the shoes + the box (if included) even if it’s all in perfect DS condition. The pics should also include a piece of paper with your Slack screen name + that day’s date to prove that the pics are yours.

EXCHANGE INFORMATION. Exchange addresses and phone numbers for contact and for shipping labels.

AGREE ON A DATE AND TIME TO SHIP + PROVIDE TRACKING INFO. The timing can be flexible if you both agree on it, but please be respectful and meet whatever date and time are agreed upon. On that day, you both DM each other a tracking number/link by a certain time (say 5pm local time for each of you)

USE APPROPRIATE PACKAGING. Double box and use packing material to help fill the box so the shoes don’t bounce around inside. Never just use a mailing bag or just ship the shoebox itself…don’t be that person.

INSURE YOUR PACKAGE. This can add to the cost, but we highly suggest that you insure the package so that you can recover the full value of the shoes if they get lost, stolen, or severely damaged in transit. If that happens, you’ll be required to refund the money to the buyer, so this is for your peace of mind (note: please don’t ask the buyer to pay for insurance…it’s for you, not them).

PROVIDE A PICTURE OF THE SHIPPING LABEL. This picture should show both addresses, weight of the package, and tracking number clearly.

ABOUT SECURITY DEPOSITS: When doing trades, some members like the idea of both sides of a trade having to put down a security deposit to help make sure each side stands to lose something if they fail to meet their end of the agreement. At this time, SoleSavy doesn’t offer a built-in service for security deposits. However, there is an acceptable alternative: you can both send an agreed upon amount (usually retail or market value of the shoe) to each other via PayPal Invoice as a sign of good faith.

CANCELLING A TRADE. Keeping your word and following through on deals is extremely important to maintaining a good reputation within the SoleSavy community. That said, we understand that some deals end up falling through for good reasons. But if you cancel a deal for any reason, your membership will be immediately reviewed by SoleSavy. After review, if your conduct is deemed detrimental to the community, you may be given a possible ban from future transactions or even a full termination of your account. Take these deals seriously.