Trading with "friends"

I'm new to this site and having a trade in negotiation with a member. I just noticed this morning that this same member was advertising for trades with his "friend," who I guess is off-site.

1) Am I right to avoid trades with people who are not registered on this site - i.e. some third-party "friend" of someone who wants me to be a referral for him?

2) If so, am I within my rights to cancel the trade if it appears that his "friend" and not him will be providing my referral?

Thanks!

you have the right to trade or not trade with anyone you want.

if there is a member who is trading, but his friend is doing the sites, thats perfectly fine as long as his friend understands all the rule and regulations.

make sure the person has a good TR though, if its someone who has a kinda low TR (under 20?) then id avoid trading with them, if they are going through their friend.

do some background checking on them before you do anything for them. se what other people say about them, check out their kind of posts, have a look in the scammers section to see if anyone has mentioned their name in there.

you have to make sure you BOTH understand the requirements of the trade, before getting into it. keep all your PM's between the both of you.

theres nothing wrong with his friend doing sites through him, you cancel the trade at anytime you want, AS LONG AS YOU OR HE HAVE NOT SIGNED UP FOR EACH OTHER OR PAID EACH OTHER (depending on the specifics of the trade).

dont do anything until you are absolutely sure that they are legit and can be trusted.