How to trade Palworld cards safely

September 2, 2026 · 5 min read

Trading Palworld cards by mail with someone you have never met is safe when both of you follow a few habits, and expensive when one of you skips them. tradecards.gg enforces some of these rules on the trade page. The rest are up to you, and this guide is the list.

Cash goes through PayPal Goods and Services, always

The site has no payment system and no escrow. When a trade includes cash, the buyer pays the seller directly, and the only acceptable way to do that is PayPal Goods and Services.

Goods and Services carries PayPal's buyer protection: if the cards never arrive or arrive as something other than what was agreed, the buyer opens a case and PayPal decides it. The seller pays a small fee for that. It is worth it, on both sides, because it is the only thing standing behind the money.

Friends and Family carries nothing. It is a gift. If someone asks you to send Friends and Family "to save the fee", treat it as the end of the conversation. A trader who has completed twenty trades on the site does not need you to take that risk for them, and a trader who has completed none should not be asking.

The same goes for any other method with no protection: bank transfer, gift cards, crypto, cash in the envelope. Card for card is free on tradecards.gg precisely so that most trades never need a payment at all.

Photograph everything, before and after

Evidence is what turns "he says, she says" into a decision. Take these photos every time, and upload them to the slots on the trade page:

• Cards before packing. Front and back of every card, in the sleeve, laid out next to the addressed mailer. This is your proof of condition and of what went in.
• The sealed package. The mailer taped shut, with the label or address visible.
• The receipt or tracking label. From the counter or the printer.
• Payment proof. The PayPal screenshot showing Goods and Services, the amount and the recipient.
• The unopened package on arrival, then the contents as you unpack. If a card is damaged, photograph it in the packaging before you move it.

Follow the ship-first plan

When a trade is accepted, the trade page states who ships first and whether tracking is required, based on the combined value and each trader's standing:

• Small trades, below the domestic tracking threshold, ship at the same time and tracking is optional. The exposure is a few dollars either way.
• Above the threshold, tracking is required both ways and the trader with fewer completed trades sends first. The person with less on the line takes the first step. If you are on equal standing, you both send at the same time.
• Very high value adds signature on delivery, which is the only real defence a seller has against a false "not received" claim.
• Cash trades: the buyer pays first, and only the card sender ships.

Do not agree to deviate from this in a DM. The plan exists because it is fair to both sides in a way that neither of you can be talked out of.

Tracking is not just for disputes. It tells the receiver when to expect the envelope and it stops a lost package from becoming a mystery. For an international trade it is required regardless of value, because an untracked letter across a border cannot be traced by anyone.

Read the profile before you propose

Every trader has a public profile: completed trades, distinct partners, positive review percentage, tier, and any strikes a moderator has recorded. Spend thirty seconds on it.

• A new trader with no history is not a red flag. Everyone starts there. It just means the ship-first rules will protect you more, and you should keep the first trade modest.
• A strike is a red flag. It means a moderator found them at fault in a previous trade.
• Completed trades capped by distinct partners is deliberate: fifty trades with the same friend do not make a veteran. If the numbers look inflated, they are not.

If the profile says one thing and the DM says another, believe the profile.

Keep the conversation on the site

Use direct messages on tradecards.gg for anything about the trade, at least until it is complete. The trade milestones (accepted, shipped, confirmed) are recorded in the thread automatically, and a moderator can read it if a dispute is opened. A deal negotiated on Discord and then disputed on the site is much harder to adjudicate.

When something goes wrong

Most problems are honest ones: a slow post office, a card that got bent, a mismatched condition. Here is the order of operations.

1. Talk first. Message the other trader on the trade thread. Most issues resolve in one exchange: a partial refund for a card that arrived lightly played, a replacement copy, a bit of patience with the tracking.
2. Check the tracking. A package marked delivered that is not in your hands usually turns up with a neighbour or in a parcel locker within a day or two.
3. Report it on the trade. If the two of you cannot resolve it, use the report button on the trade page. A moderator looks at the tracking, the photos both of you uploaded and the message thread, and records fault. That decision goes on the profile of whoever was at fault, as a strike.
4. For cash, open a PayPal case. The site never moves money and cannot refund you. Goods and Services can. Do this within PayPal's window, and include the same photos.

Do not confirm receipt to "be nice" while something is still wrong. Confirming is you saying the trade is done. Also do not sit on a trade that is fine: if one side confirms and the other goes silent, the trade completes automatically after 14 days, but it is better for everyone if you just confirm.

The short version

• PayPal Goods and Services, or no cash at all.
• Photos of the cards, the package, the tracking and the payment.
• Do what the ship-first plan says.
• Read the profile.
• Talk on the trade thread, and report before you confirm.

That is the whole discipline. Follow it and the worst outcome of a trade on tradecards.gg is a slightly slow envelope.