[hoytinak]

Check feedback, time in the forum, number of posts (read them), time on the 'Net, amount of personal information in the profile, etc. Then you take your chance. Knock on wood, I've never been cheated in an online trade, sale, or buy.

The bottom line is trust. You have to 'know' the other guy to some degree. On a forum like this, you would look at post count, post content, attitude, and how open the person is. For example, if you go through my posts you'll find that I am open about where I live, what I do, etc. A good phone conversation pre-deal doesn't hurt either.

That sums it up right there. I've done quite a bit of trading on different forums and I've had good luck so far.