Bad traders can really spoil an otherwise enjoyable collecting experience. If they are not stopped, they will move from one victim to the next, leaving behind a trail of broken promises and betrayed trust.

What are some of the hallmarks of a bad trader? And how can you know that you are dealing with one, and not just someone who is not meeting promises because of circumstances entirely beyond their control?

Perhaps one of the most crucial signs of a bad trader is repeated broken promises. A person says he will send goods at a specified time, then fails to do so. He offers some excuse and promises to send at another time. But when that time comes around, there are no goods, only more excuses. A person who is genuinely beset by say, family problems or ill health, will seldom let you down again and again. Indeed, good traders can often have all sorts of problems, yet still fulfil their promises.

Communication - or lack thereof - is another way to pick out a bad trader. Bad traders tend to say different things with almost every e-mail. When you are lying all the time, it can be quite hard work to keep covering it up. Alternatively, they will not communicate at all, but ignore your e-mails completely. Sometimes, when cornered, they will be rude and aggressive. They will try to blame you for their misdeeds. In short, in order to evade accountability, they will sometimes try to bully and intimidate you.

Most bad traders are "serial offenders". If someone has ripped you off, there is a very good chance they have done the same to others. And frequently, they will use the same modus operandi. After all, if the approach worked for ripping one person off, it will work for ripping another off, won't it? But only when one person exposes the bad trader can others fully realise and understand what sort of a con artist they've been dealing with.

We at the Yowie Super Group do not tolerate bad traders. Our members all have a right to make trades and to have those trades honoured. Any member of the Yowie Super Group found to be deliberately engaging in bad trading practices will be banned immediately.

If you have arranged a trade with someone, and sent them goods, but they have either sent you nothing or sent you less than what you expected, and if they have failed to redress this even after several inquiries, we would encourage you to share your experience with us. Please fill in the Bad Traders Form and tell us the details. We ourselves will contact the trader concerned and give that person one last chance. If the person still does not honour the trade, he or she will be listed as a bad trader on this page. The people who have reported bad dealings all also be mentioned, and their experience with the particular bad trader cited.

You can reach the Bad Traders Form by clicking here. Please include as many relevant details as possible, as it is important for the moderators to have all the facts before pursuing an inquiry into an alleged bad trader.

While we wish to expose bad traders and protect the members of the Yowie Super Group against them, we also in no way wish to falsely accuse anyone. Information about a bad trader will only be posted after the allegations against the person have been thoroughly investigated and the trader given one more opportunity to honour any deals they have made. However, should any information be posted about an alleged bad trader which is subsequently proven beyond reasonable doubt to be false, we will retract that information and issue a public apology to the individual or individuals concerned. We are only interested in publishing true and factual information here.

May all your trades be good ones. But if they are not, then we want to know about it!

Regrettably, we now have a bad trader to list. Although this person is not, nor has ever been, a member of a Yowie Super Group (as far as we know), he has had bad dealings with some members of the group. His details are below.

Name: Shane Harbour
Location: Bendigo, Victoria
E-Mail: None known.
YSG Members Who Have Had Bad Trades with Mr Harbour: Steve Ross
Additional Comments: We understand that other group members have also had bad dealings with Mr Harbour. He would appear to fit all the criteria for a bad trader as described above.