A trade is only invalid if it's out of stock while bumped/autobumped. If they are being bumped you can report them and will be closed sooner or later.

All of the empty trades i surveyed, were from auto-bumping donators. Even the ones I reported a month ago, are still there, and still have no stock on them.

You have to remember that the Outpost admins have lots on their to-do lists and therefore closing every reported empty trade may not be prioritized as high. Also they will close the trade at their own discretion so perhaps you are seeing something differently then them.

Originally posted by norby89:

you can report them and will be closed sooner or later.

Later or never.

I tend to agree with eddy. Why not have an admin dedicated to closing empty trades?.

Originally posted by s8. kruz:

I tend to agree with eddy. Why not have an admin dedicated to closing empty trades?.

Because we have a lot to handle and few people already - allocating someone to watch a single thing is a waste of resources.

The single biggest failing of all the major websites, is the lack of staffing of them, and the unwillingness of the owners to trust a few extra people to help out around the place. The same issue hampered the progress of the TF2WH website for over 18 months or more.
I have always been a website owner, or helper since '99, and have never expected any form of remuneration for my efforts, and none of the others I shared a post with, expected it either. Surely there are bountiful numbers of people willing to do the same for you guys?.

The standard answer "we are busy" falls on deaf ears with me sorry, I am a dad, a husband, a company manager, a gym junkie, and an avid mountain biker, but I still find the time for everything that needs doing, as long as I ask for a bit of help. I hope this is not one of those webistes where the few admins that are here, are so over protective of their "status", that they shut down all mention of "extra help", to make sure they stay in the elite group.

One of the reasons I like TF2 Trading is that (in most cases) you deal with real people; You also face real world problems. Suppliers who are late to respond to your requests, Suppliers without sufficient stock, Rude suppliers etc. Also - like in real life, the people / traders who are competent and offer good customer service are rewarded for their effort.

If all traders were perfect and all trades followed a strict set of rules and formatting - Trading would not be too predictable - almost monotonous - a chore.

What makes Free Market Trading interesting is people; because people are unpredictable :) There should be some rules - e.g. spamming, phishing links, etc; however too many rules and people will start complaining that the "admins are dictatorial......."

We all love to complain - but appreciate a system for what it does; Any action taken will have unintended consequences :) Sometimes, trying to make things better only makes it worse.

Empty trades are frustrating - Report it and move on. In most cases, the trader will not change their behavior, and find other ways to continue their dubious trading tactics. Better to have a system that easily identifies poor traders, rather than making them adapt their trades and seem like competent traders.

Perhaps - It's more important to focus on traders who manipulate traders, manipulate pricing, send phishing links, etc

I don't enjoy complaining, however, you do need to say something, or service just gets worse, people get lazier, and standards drop.
I love trading for the same reasons you do, being a wheeler and dealer in my day to day employment, makes for the most interesting times, and I do enjoy that interaction. Should I tell my customers to concentrate on other things if they complain about the service my company offers, or should I take it on board, and address the issues, and stay a market leader in what I do, or just settle for mediocrity?..
The point I am trying to make, is this is a great website, but don't fall back opn excuses, and become an ok site, be the something better.