Or is it on purpose that you have to worry about not being the first one to give an item in a trade? I think it would actually add to the game rather than detract.

Note: If you answered "We don't want a reliable trade" to the above question, ignore the rest of this post. It only explains how I would see this working and why I would want it to.

trade sword bob for '500 silver'
trade sword bob for 'amulet clarity'

And while I do see a few problems, I think they can be cleared up fairly easily.

trade sword bob for axe

"That person has many axes, which are you trying to trade for?"

trade sword bob for 'nightbringer axe'

Bob Sees: Haggler is offering to trade his sword of power for your axe named 'Nightbringer'. Use "Trade nightbringner haggler for 'sword power' to confirm and conduct this trade."

Bob Goes: trade nightbringer haggler for 'sword power'

"Bob agrees to your trade and you exchange your sword of power with Bob for his axe named 'Nightbringer'"

Bring back the auctions.

Last time I was on, I got tired of hearing people yelling things like "Sword of power, ring of stamina, axe named 'Nightbringer', jeweled broadsword, etc." the other day in Galadon. I think that a sound trading command would bring back the auctions, circulate gear better, and give alot more excitement to the city ties thieves.

In addition, low level chars occasionally come into some high end gear. A hero should be able to trade with them and know that they're not going to get shafted, in my opinion. Maybe a storm shouldnt trust a duergar, but a true neutral level 30 human probably shouldn't be able to rip off that hero shapeshifter and walk away unpunishable.

Theerkla pretty much summed it up. If you don't trust the person you are trading with, there's nothing stopping you from arranging some kind of escrow service, and having a third person you both trust handle the exchange.

Of course, if neither of you can find a third person you trust, then maybe getting shafted in a trade isn't your biggest concern after all.

Find a tribunal (in their jurisdiction), have them complete both sides of the trade.

.