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Would this be considering 'Sharking'

Discussion in 'Discussion Archive' started by Champelliot, May 16, 2012.

  1. Champelliot

    Champelliot New User

    Messages:
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    Steam:
    STEAM_0:1:36236835
    I know this isn't scamming, but I'm questioning whether this is sharking.
    There's a person on a server I was playing on spamming "Buying rocket boots" over and over again, so I decided to just give him the gunboats he wanted.
    I send him a trade, offer Gunboats (Nothing special, unique and dropped) and he offers a Strange Part, Allies Extinguished. I tell him that this is worth far more than the gunboats, he says he doesn't care about trading and that he only wants 'Rocket Boots', so I accept the trade.
    I know Steamrep doesn't mark for sharking, however, considering I gave him full notice that he was massively overpaying and even offered to trade back if he didn't want them, would this still be considered sharking?

    As far as my knowledge goes, sharking is when you tell someone that their extremely valuable item is worthless.
    Anyway just wanted to check on what everyone else thinks of this, considering that he was happy with the trade, even after I told him they were not valuable.

    Thanks
  2. Mattie!

    Mattie! SteamRep Admin

    Messages:
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    SteamRep Admin:
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    I'd say you went well above what was needed to avoid sharking. To avoid drama, I'd just keep a screenshot of the conversation as evidence in case there is a misunderstanding.

    There are no formal guidelines on "sharking" but from my perspective, it requires conning and trickery to take advantage of someone who wouldn't do the deal if they knew the true value. In your case you made it clear that the person was overvaluing your item. You should be commended for being honest with the guy and telling him upfront the value of his item, and offering to refund if he's unhappy later even! All new traders should be so lucky to hear their options safely upfront.