[BST] March 2023 Buy, Sell, Trade Thread.

Welcome to the monthly r/flashlight **Buy, Sell, Trade** thread! The BST has been a r/flashlight tradition since 2015[!](https://i.imgur.com/vGHkZfB.jpg)!

How can you participate? Some rules:

1. **Prove possession** by including at least one photo of every item you are trading. One photo must consist of a **timestamp**: a piece of paper placed under your sale item(s) with your Reddit username and the posting date (no more than 2 weeks old) handwritten.
2. **Top-level comments** must be WTS or WTB comments. Anything else will be removed.
3. **Begin** your top-level comment with \[WTB\], \[WTS\], or \[WTT\]. \[WTB\] = Want to Buy \[WTS\] = Want to Sell \[WTT\] = Want to Trade
4. A **price** is required.
5. Please **take necessary precautions**; trading over the internet is risky. Moderators hold no control over deals, good or bad.
6. **Reposting unsold items** *from previous BSTs* is fine: feel free to paste your old comment into this thread. Do not delete and repost your items from **this** BST within the same month. It’s thread spam and unfair to the most recent sellers. You had your time at the top of the sort order, now let them have theirs.

**When lowering prices or announcing sold items, please edit the top-level comment.** **Cross out the old price and add the new price; e.g.** **~~$75~~** **$70.** `~~75~~`

You can view (and maybe trade) items from [other BST threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/search?q=title%3A%22Buy%2C+Sell%2C+Trade+Thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all). One other option is [r/flashlight\_swap](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight_swap) but it is still being set up. The very active sub [r/edcexchange](https://www.reddit.com/r/edcexchange) is a thriving sales community and covers flashlights, too.

Thank you and good luck!

# Reminder/PSA: Buy the Seller

If an interaction seems sketchy to you, **run away**! r/flashlight users have been scammed via the BST! Some tips:

* **TIMESTAMPS.** If the person you’re dealing with isn’t quick to provide timestamps on the images, or a photo of the flashlight in a shoe or whatever, don’t deal with them.
* **Reverse image searching** is a great way to catch scammers.
* **Excuses** for not sending photos are a red flag.
* Using a platform other than Reddit private messages for communication is a red flag.
* **Don’t use Reddit chats.** Chats can be deleted. Use messages, which can’t be deleted.
* **Giving you a hard time** about any hesitation you show is a red flag.
* **Check post history**. Brand new accounts or accounts with strange post histories might not be trustworthy.
* It’s good practice to **make a comment on this post** before sending a PM; scammers often won’t comment publicly (and banned users *can’t* comment here.)

If you’re dealing with someone who might be sketchy, take screenshots of your interactions and report them to the mods! We care about this thread’s integrity and will ban those who threaten it.

# Do not let a scammer be more diligent than you!

# More Tips:

* You can use PayPal to buy and print shipping labels at **lower commercial rates**, similar to Stamps.com and others, but no subscription is required. (Even if the label has nothing to do with PayPal.) You just need this link: [https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=\_ship-now](https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now)
* Items listed with **shipping included** tends to sell more quickly.
* If you don’t know the shipping cost or don’t ship often, **USPS Priority Flat Rate** is likely your best bet. Usually \~$8 will buy adequate packing for a light or two, but larger sizes are available for \~$14. Weight is not a factor (which means you can ship 1 light or 10 lights at the same cost) when you use the official Flat Rate packing, and the packing is free. Here’s the best part: through the USPS website, you can obtain Flat Rate packing, with free delivery! Shipping time is usually 2-3 days.

by zeroair