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The Trading Post

Deep in the blazing tropics of Mystery Island lies the Trading Post—frequently referred to as the TP—hosted by Jhuidah! This is where Neopians can go to trade their items for other items and Neopoints. Here, you can swap items for other items, items for Neopoints, or a combination of the two.

The Trading Post allows you to spend larger amounts of NP than you can in user shops, making it the place to buy and sell expensive items—up to 10,000,000 NP per lot as the standard, and 20,000,000 NP for Premium subscribers.

If you're interested to see how trading compares to auctioning, or in selling items that are valued at more than 20,000,000 NP, check out our guide to the Auction House and the Selling Expensive Items section.

You may also read the official Neopets Trading Post FAQ.

Trading Post Limits

When the Trading Post was overhauled on December 8, 2025, many quality of life improvements were made to reflect the changing economy, such as new perks and increased limits on listing and offering. Many of these limits were further raised for active Premium subscribers.

	Standard	Premium Subscribers
Selling
Maximum number of lots able to be posted at one time	25	40
Maximum number of items able to be listed in a single lot	20	30
Instant Buy limit	10,000,000 NP	20,000,000 NP
Maximum wishlist length	500 characters	500 characters should be 750 characters*
Duration of posted lots	14 days (2 weeks)	28 days (4 weeks)
Buying
Maximum number of items that can be offered	15	25
Maximum number of Neopoints that can be offered	10,000,000 NP	20,000,000 NP

Navigation

The layout adjusts depending on whether or not you are using a desktop browser or a mobile device. Your desktop browser view may also revert to the mobile layout if your browser is split-screened, zoomed in, or otherwise adjusted.

The largest difference of course is the location of the various buttons. The desktop layout has the majority of your needed selections present along the top header, whereas the mobile layout forces you to open a hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines to the left of "Browse Lots") along the left side to access most of the functions.

Desktop Layout

Mobile Layout

Selling Items

You can create trades from the Trading Post itself, or by selecting an item in your inventory and clicking "List on the Trading Post" in the dropdown menu. If you are listing from your inventory, jump down to Selecting Items to keep reading.

If you're creating a trade from the Trading Post interface, navigate to the "Your Trades" button in your respective layout. Here you can view any active trade lots you have posted, as well as create new ones. A box at the top of the page will show you how many lots you have listed, and your total limit.

Neopians may only post a certain number of lots at a time:

• The standard limit is 25 lots posted
• Premium subscribers can post up to 40 lots

Prior to December 8, 2025, the maximum number of lots was 15 for all users.

Selecting Items

After clicking "Create a Trade", the first thing you'll see is a list of the items in your inventory (or the first 50 items, if you happen to have more than that). Check the items that you want to put up for trade. If you have navigated to this page from your inventory, the item you are trying to list will be pre-selected.

Neopians may only add a certain number of items to each lot:

• The standard limit is 20 items listed in a single lot
• Premium subscribers can list up to 30 items in a single lot

Prior to December 8, 2025, the maximum number of items in a single lot was 10 for all users.

Your account's item limit is listed at the top, and each item you select will add to the count—in this example, we have selected 1 out of 30 possible items.

You cannot put items from the NC Mall up for trade at the Trading Post, nor offer Neocash or Neocash items for other people's trades. If you want to send a NC Mall item to another user, you'll need to use a special gift box. Check out our guide to NC trading for more information.

Setting a Lot Wishlist

You can use the free-text wishlist box to add more information on what you would like for the items you're selling, such as if you are looking for a specific item in exchange for your lot. You can also include other information that potential buyers should know, such as whether or not you'd like to take offers over Neomail.

Keep your wishlist short, sweet, and to the point. Longer wishlists may go unread or cause confusion.

Likewise, if you plan on using the Instant Buy feature (see below), it's best to simply leave your wishlist blank.

If you wish to sell your item for more than the Trading Post limit (20,000,000 NP) you will need to be prepared to conduct the final transaction via the Auction House—either by re-listing the item there, or creating one or more junk auctions. Check out our Auction House guide for more details.

Wishlists cannot be updated after a lot is created. If you make a mistake or want to change your wishlist, you will have to cancel the lot and create a new one.

Rules and Restrictions

There are some things that your wishlist is not allowed to contain:

• Bragging or otherwise showing off items with no intent to sell
• Guild advertisements
• Shop advertisements
• Chain Letters (messages that are supposed to bring you luck)
• Anything that breaks the Neopets rules

Certain symbols will automatically be taken out of your wishlist. At the time of writing, this includes "less than" or "greater than" symbols (< or >).

Instant Buy

Last but not least, you will be asked whether or not you would like to utilize the "Instant Buy" function for your lot. This function was added when the Trading Post was updated in December 2025, and allows buyers to immediately purchase lots at a pre-established price point, similar to how user shops function.

This feature can cut down on back and forth Neomailing, waiting for other users to come online to accept or reject your offer, etc. Turning on Instant Buy does not prevent users from offering on your lot.

If you wish to include an Instant Buy price on your lot, you will need to toggle the feature "on"—it is off by default. Once toggled "on", you will be able to enter your desired sale price. It is recommended to click out of the text field after typing in your amount, as this will cause commas to appear and allow you to double check your asking price.

Instant Buy prices have an upper limit:

• The standard price limit for Instant Buy is 10,000,000 NP
• Premium subscribers can set an Instant Buy up to 20,000,000 NP

The limit only affects how you create your listings—it does not affect your ability to purchase lots. Any user can Instant Buy a lot up to 20,000,000 NP, regardless of their Premium status. Using Instant Buy will not limit the users who can view or purchase your lots.

Start Trading!

Once you have selected your items, entered your wishlist, and established your Instant Buy price, double (or triple!) check your work and click "Start Trading!" to post your lot. If you need a direct link to your lot, to share on the Neoboards, or to send to a prospective buyer, click the grey "link" symbol to at the bottom of your lot on the "Your Trades" page.

Responding to Offers

Now you need to wait for Neopians to offer on your trade, or purchase it outright using the Instant Buy feature. If your lot is purchased or offered on you'll receive a notification. You will also be notified about any pending offers that are withdrawn.

By clicking on the notification, or navigating directly to your trades, you will be able to view and respond to any offers. If a user has offered items in addition to Neopoints, it is recommended to check the value of those items before proceeding, unless they are items you specifically requested. If you're not sure of an item's worth, try investigating in our Item Database (via the Price History and/or Trading Post History functions), asking around on the Neoboards, or searching for the item on the Trading Post and in the Auction House to see how other users are valuing it.

If you don't like an offer, you have the option to reject it. There's nothing rude or unkind about doing this—in fact, it's good manners to reject offers you don't want as soon as possible, so that potential buyers can increase their offer or buy elsewhere.

Buyers (like sellers) can sometimes be impatient people. Occasionally a player will withdraw their offer if they don't get a response within a few minutes, usually because they are in a hurry to buy something. Don't worry too much if this happens to you; if your trade has brought in one offer, it will probably bring in more. Just be patient!

Cancelling Trades

Trades can be ended either manually or automatically. If your trade is automatically canceled (i.e. it expires) you will receive a notification.

By default, lots will show the amount of time that has passed since they were posted either in seconds (for less than 1 minute), in minutes (for less than 1 hour), hours (for less than 1 day), or in days. To view the time remaining on a lot, simply click this number to change the display.

Manual Cancellation

You may decide to manually end a trade for a few reasons. Perhaps you have decided you no longer want to trade your item, you want to change the wishlist or Instant Buy price, or you have accepted an offer and are conducting the sale via the Auction House.

Trades can be cancelled immediately after being posted. Prior to December 8, 2025, trades had to stay up for a minimum of 15 minutes before they could be cancelled.

To manually cancel a trade, click the red trash can icon at the bottom of the lot. You will have to pay a fee of 15,000 NP to proceed. From December 8 to December 23, 2025, this fee was 25,000 NP. Prior to December 8, 2025, it was free to cancel trades after 15 minutes.

Automatic Cancellation

All trades have an automatic expiration date:

• The standard trade lot expiration is two weeks (14 days)
• Premium subscribers' trades expire after four weeks (28 days)

Prior to December 8, 2025, lots expired after 14 days for all users.

Buying Items

Now you know how to sell items, it's time to learn the other side of the Trading Post: buying.

Searching for Items

As mentioned earlier, the homepage of the Trading Post will show you the 20 most recently posted lots. This can be an excellent page to refresh and look for deals, such as items with mistyped Instant Buys (e.g. a seller put an Instant Buy of 1,000,000 NP instead of 10,000,000 NP).

If you know exactly what item you're searching for, though, you will want to use the search bar on the "Browse Lots" page. You can search by username, lot number, or item name (either a partial or identical search).

Once your search is completed, you can sort the results from newest to oldest (default) or from oldest to newest.

You may notice that some lots don't appear to contain the item you searched for—in this example, I've searched for "Super Strength Potion" but this lot appears to be unrelated. Lot listings will only show the first four items. You will need to select "View Details" to see the rest of the items in the lot, as well as to view the entire wishlist if it is longer than ~70 characters.

Making an Offer

Underneath every trade lot, you'll see a green "Make an Offer" button. Click on it, and you should be taken to a page that looks very similar to the "Create a Trade" interface. Here, you can select if you wish to offer Neopoints, an item or items, or a combination of the two.

Remember, you are not required to offer any items, unlike the old Trading Post. Your offer can be Neopoints only!

There are limits to what you may offer on someone's lot:

• The standard limit for offers is 15 items and 10,000,000 NP
• Premium subscribers can offer up to 25 items and 20,000,000 NP

Prior to December 8, 2025, the maximum was 10 items for all users, and either 2,000,000 NP (November 2014 to December 2025) or 800,000 NP (September 2000 to November 2014) depending on the point in time.

Over-the-Limit Offers

If the item you're looking to purchase is valued at more than the Trading Post limit of 20,000,000 NP, you'll need to offer up items of comparable value or conduct your transaction through the Auction House. The seller will often indicate in their wishlist what they are seeking—pure (all Neopoints), comparable items, or a combination of the two. If you're not sure, it might be best to Neomail the seller to negotiate the terms of the transaction.

Cancelling an Offer

If you wish to cancel an offer you've made, simply navigate to the "Offers You Have Made" page and click the red "Cancel this offer" button. There is no cost or penalty for withdrawing offers.

Instant Buy

If an item is listed with an Instant Buy, and you like the price, you can purchase it immediately without needing to wait for the seller's response. Sometimes, the Instant Buy price is higher than the wishlist price, and you may choose to gamble with offering on the lot instead. The benefit of Instant Buy is that you can guarantee the item is sold to you and no one else.

Items without Instant Buy options will not have the "Instant Buy" button nor will they show an Instant Buy price under the wishlist:

Offer Outcomes

Once you've made your offer, all you have to do is wait. You will receive a notification informing of you the outcome if the seller accepts or rejects your offer, manually cancels the lot, or if another user uses Instant Buy to purchase the lot.

If your offer is rejected, the lot is manually cancelled, or another user purchases the lot directly, your item(s) and/or Neopoints will be automatically returned to you.

If the seller accepts your offer, the item(s) you bid on will be placed in your inventory immediately.

Lot Expiration

Both seller and any potential buyers with active offers will receive a notification when a lot expires. Sellers will also receive notifications approximately 36-48 hours before a trade expires, and again at 24 hours, warning them that their trade is expiring soon. Clicking on the notification will preview a live countdown timer.

Scams

Unfortunately the Trading Post—like many other things in life—is targeted by scammers who want to trick unsuspecting users like you out of Neopoints and items. While these aren't as common as they used to be, it's still a good idea to keep an eye out. Here are some evil tricks you should watch out for if you're planning to trade. If you see anyone trying to pull one of these scams, the best thing to do is to report them to the Neopets Team.

Look-Alike or Sound-Alike Scams

These scams can occur in several ways, affecting you as a buyer or a seller. For example, someone may offer a Seasonal Attack Pea Plushie on your item—if you aren't paying close attention, you may think it's a real Seasonal Attack Pea (SAP) and accept the offer. This can be avoided by reviewing your offers carefully, and not being impulsive.

On the flip side, a seller may list a Seasonal Attack Pea Plushie with an Instant Buy of 20,000,000 NP. As this is far below the real value of a SAP (at the time of writing, SAP are worth ~80m NP), you may quickly and impulsively click to "Instant Buy" their lot thinking you are getting an amazing deal, only to be left 20,000,000 NP poorer and with a fairly worthless plushie.

In a much more complex version of the above scams, the scammer will cancel the trade after you place your offer. You will then receive a Neomail in which they apologize, explaining that they cancelled the trade by accident, and state that they have relisted the item—if you offer on it, they will accept right away!

However, the new trade lot is not the same as the old one! It will instead be the look-alike or sound-alike item: aka you will think it is the item you originally offered on, but is a version worth a lot less.

As with most scams, patience and intention are key. Always check the items you are offering on, Instant Buying, or accepting.

Auction Scams

Auction scams usually involve items that are worth more than the Trading Post limit of 20,000,000 NP. Since that is the maximum value you can offer in pure Neopoints, items that are worth more than this either must be exchanged for other items or the final sale must be conducted via the Auction House.

Furthermore, the maximum price for a single bid auction is 100 million NP, meaning items worth more than 100 million NP must be sold via "junk auctions", in which the seller auctions multiple low-value items at various increments to total the final sale price.

If multiple auctions are occurring, generally the seller leaves their item on the Trading Post. Once the buyer has bid on all of the auctions (since auction bids cannot be withdrawn), the seller accepts their Trading Post offer and transfers them the item.

In a scam scenario, the seller would simply not accept the Trading Post offer, instead walking away with their item and the buyer's Neopoints. Since the buyer cannot withdraw auction bids, they are unable to "back out" of the sale once they realize the seller's intentions.

It's important to note that these types of scams are incredibly rare in part because TNT is historically very responsive to dealing with them. Meaning, they will quickly reverse the process and return your Neopoints and/or items, and punish the offending party, generally by freezing their account. Junk auctions are generally viewed as being incredibly safe as a result, but it is up to an individual user as to whether or not they are comfortable using them.

Common Terminology

There are a number of terms and acronyms you may encounter in Trading Post wishlists. Below is an overview of some of the most common:

• ETS - "Easy To Sell". This refers to items that are generally in high demand (such as codestones, nerkmids, Cool Neggs, etc.) and usually require very little effort to sell.
• HTS - "Hard To Sell". This refers to items that are generally less popular and require more time and effort to sell.
• NFT / NFS - "Not For Trade" or "Not For Sale". Although it is against the rules to list items that you do not intend to sell, you may still notice this term. You may receive a warning if you put items up in the Trading Post and explicitly say they are not for trade or sale.
• Reserved / Res - This lot is reserved for a specific user. If you are not the agreed-upon buyer, your offer will be rejected and the seller may block you from interacting with them and their lots in the future.
• Auto - This is the price or item exchange the seller is hoping to receive, and should be a guaranteed acceptance, provided someone else doesn't offer it first, or make a better offer. (But this has generally been superseded by the Instant Buy feature.)
• Lowest on TP - This means the seller is willing to match (or beat) the lowest price you can currently find from any other seller on the Trading Post or in the Auction House.
• Neomail (NM) - If a seller puts this in their wishlist, you should message them instead of offering directly on the lot. They may want to discuss price point, item exchanges, or conduct the sale via auction.
• No Junk Items - The seller is warning against people trying their luck by offering items that are extremely low value, such as common items received when doing dailies.
• Pure - This word is sometimes followed by an amount of Neopoints. This means the seller is not interested in exchanging their item for other items, and would like to sell it for Neopoints only.
• Rot - This refers to when a seller ignores offers (i.e. does not accept or reject them). Sometimes this is done when a seller considers an offer to be insultingly low, but it can also be done if they're waiting to see if better offers to come through before settling for your offer, or because they've simply been offline.

Trading Post History

The Trading Post first opened for business on September 25, 2000. Over the following years, it would see some minor changes but remain largely consistent. On December 8, 2025, the Trading Post received a major overhaul and was updated to its current format. Prior to that date, there were significant limitations to how users could interact with it. Here are a few of the changes:

Neopoint Limit: From September 25, 2000 until November 13, 2014, the NP limit for offers 800,000 NP for all users. On November 13, 2014 it was bumped up to 2,000,000, which remained until the December 8, 2025 update.

Baby Paint Brushes (BPs/BPBs): Baby Paint Brushes were frequently used as an alternate currency to increase offer value, as they could be purchased directly from the Hidden Tower for 600,000 NP. Following the Trading Post update, they quickly dropped in value due to the sheer quantity in circulation that no longer had a dual purpose.

Cool Neggs: Similar to Baby Paint Brushes, Cool Neggs were sometimes used as an alternative currency for more expensive items.

Item Limits: A maximum of ten items could be listed in a single trade, or offered on one.

No Cancel Fees: No cancellation fee was required to end a lot early. This would often result in players "spamming" the newest lots by cancelling and relisting their lots frequently.

Other Limitations:

• Wishlists were limited to 200 characters, making it much harder to list wishes in detail - leading to many of the acronyms still used today.
• The maximum number of lots a single user could have up at once was limited to 15
• All offers were required to include at least one item—you could not offer NP only!
• Instant Buy did not exist
• Lots had to be active for at least 15 minutes before they were eligible for cancellation

Battleground Boon

Although there is a Battleground for the Obelisk boon for the Trading Post, it has been effectively useless since November 13, 2014. The boon allows users to offer up to 2,000,000 NPs on a lot; this was a valuable perk at its inception in May 2013, as the NP limit was only 800,000 NP at the time.

Unfortunately, the boon was never updated to reflect the offer limit change to 2 million NP, and was again not updated to reflect the current limits of 10,000,000 NP (standard) and 20,000,000 NP (Premium subscribers), respectively.

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This page was written by noileh & Suzuka and last updated on August 15, 2026.