...usually, if someone wants to trade with me for 
the first time--- and they're the ones initiated 
the trade--- I like them to send theirs first if 
I'm unfamiliar with them. Once I'm comfortable 
with them, I'll start sending my end of the trade 
at the same time they do.

Who-pays-for-postage also varies. I've been in 
some cases where each person pays their own 
postage and insurance, and they're assumed to 
cancel out equally, and there have been others 
where I foot the cost for their shipment, since I 
was the one who requested their item.

It's something to be careful about, though. I 
haven't been burned yet on approaching a fellow 
cel-collector for trade or purchase, but I have 
been burned in a fansub swap and trading 
shitajiki-for-cards... the fansub swap was about 
two years ago with someone I'd had successful 
experiences in the past with, and the shitajiki-
for-cards happened this past Thanksgiving, with 
someone I'd had a good Ebay experience with ages 
ago. *shrug* So even past good experience isn't 
always an indicator of how this one will be.

So now I'm very picky about who I'll trade 
with. :o) It's one thing to lose $25 in 
shitajiki... it's another thing to lose a cel. 
But most people are trustworthy, and if you know 
them from somewhere else on a more personal level 
(ie, a mailing list, forum, message board, etc) 
you have a more likely chance of the trade going 
off without a hitch.

-Cres