Lately we've been getting a lot of members wanting to put people on the bad trade list for canceling deals. The problem with these particular trades is that they have not been confirmed by the trading of addresses, so according to the rules the trade partners can't be put on the bad trade list. These negotiations are often times being drug out by the offending party for weeks, with a trade agreed to and an address exchanged on the one end, then canceled at really the last possible minute to avoid any official trouble (often times weeks after the last communication and 2 or 3 ignored PMs). Many members have complained to me that this has cost them other trades and is just generally frustrating as a waste of weeks of time. Really this is not OK and is a poor way to treat other members of the forums. Everyone should negotiate in good faith. That is, with the goal in mind of actually completing a deal, and it seems some people are not.
I know that sometimes things happen, you buy a pack and get the mini you were looking for, get busy and can't answer PM's, make a deal on a whim with a local guy one weekend, etc. But, a lot of these guys seem to be repeat offenders, which is troubling to me.

I guess my question for everyone is;
Is this a problem that you think warrants some form of addition to the Bad Trade List? Would a three strikes rule work? (As I said a lot of these guys seem to be repeat offenders). Is this not such a big deal for most? (I know that some were wanting to stop tracking members who backed out on a deal even after addresses were exchanged). Anyway, I'm looking for some ideas and would love to hear what you guys have to say. We may not come up with anything, but perhaps the mere discussion of the issue will bring it enough attention that it will subside.

In your comments or examples, please leave any names/screenames out. This is not the place to call people out for their trading practices. Just a nice, courteous, informative discussion please.
Thanks,
ChuckJ

I've had this happen a few times to me. When trading big pieces, I feel obligated to the first person I'm dealing with if another person makes an offer. When that first person takes forever to respond or decide, it makes me lose out on the other offers.

A three strikes rule (with each strike expiring after a month) sounds like the best option to me. It's going to be hard to police though, as in what officially gets a strike and what doesn't. Will the strike be issued for breaking off any trade prior to exchanging addresses short of just saying "I'll pass"? Sometimes negotiations just fall through and the 2 parties are unable to reach a deal.

This problem, however, has not plagued me so much recently as people not responding to trade offers has. ESPECIALLY the people with active trade threads who don't respond. I've personally established a rule that I will hold a fig for 3 days after I make an offer, otherwise, nuts to you.