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Adopt Me trading guide
Trading is where Adopt Me collections are really built. Eggs and shops hand everyone the same pets; trading is how you turn duplicates into the pet you actually wanted. This guide covers the whole system in order: how a trade runs, the license and the Hub, stands and proxies, the rule that gives scammed pets back, and the checklist to run before you accept anything.
How a trade works, step by step
Tap a player and send a trade request. If they accept, the trade window opens. Each side can add up to 18 items. That limit has grown over the years: it was 4 items until November 2020, then 9, and it became 18 on May 5, 2023. Pets, eggs, potions, toys, vehicles, food, pet wear, strollers and gifts can all go in the window.
A countdown runs in the corner of the window and resets every time either player adds or removes something. That pause is deliberate: it gives you time to read what changed before anyone can accept. When both players press accept, the trade does not complete yet. You get a second confirmation screen showing the final deal, and both players have to confirm again. Only then do the items swap. Read that second screen slowly, every time. It is where last second switches show up.
Other players can spectate a trade in progress, and finished trades land in your trade history, which you can view with your Trade License. A completed trade is final unless it was a scam and gets reversed under the rule below.
The Trade License
You can trade common, uncommon and rare items freely. To trade anything ultra-rare or legendary, and to trade houses, you need a Trade License from the test at the Safety Hub. It takes a few minutes, it is free, and our trade license guide walks through how the test works and how to pass it first try.
The Trading Hub
The Trading Hub arrived on July 31, 2026. It is a cross-server listing board, reached with the Trading Phone rather than a building on the island. To unlock it you need three things: two hours of playtime (which unlocks the free Trading Phone through the Guide), a Trade License, and your first Neon pet. Then you open the phone, summon the hot air balloon, and ride to the Hub.
Inside, Robo Todd manages your listings: you post what you are offering and what you want for it, for a fee of 100 Bucks per listing, with two listings active at a time (an extra slot costs 49 Robux). Robo Rob is the search desk, where you browse listings from every server. A listing is advertising, not a completed trade: the actual swap still happens in the normal trade window. Pets sitting in an active listing or offer are locked while they are listed, so they cannot be equipped or traded elsewhere until you cancel.
Do not confuse the Hub with Trading Servers. Trading Servers are ordinary servers full of traders, good for foot traffic. The Hub is the listing system that finds you a partner while you do something else.
Trade stands
The Classic Trade Stand is an ultra-rare toy, released on March 28, 2024, sold in the shop for 95 Robux or obtainable by trading. Place it anywhere, choose one item to display on it, and other players can start a trade with you through the stand from anywhere in the server while you wander off and play. You get a trade popup when someone bites. For a serious trader it is the best 95 Robux in the game: your offer stays visible without you standing next to it.
Food and drink stands (lemonade, hotdogs and friends) are a different thing entirely. They sell snacks for Bucks, and they are covered in the Bucks and currencies guide.
Proxies, and why to be careful
There is no official proxy feature in Adopt Me. When traders talk about a proxy, they mean a person: someone who holds your items, lists them, or negotiates trades on your behalf, usually a friend with more time or a bigger audience. It costs nothing officially, because it is not a game system at all, and that is exactly the problem. Items handed to a proxy leave the protection of the trade window, and if the proxy keeps them, the game sees a gift, not a scam.
If you want your items working while you are busy, the stand and the Trading Hub listings do the same job without handing anything over. Never give pets to a middleman or proxy for a trade that could simply happen in one window.
The rule that gives scammed pets back
Since June 2025, Adopt Me punishes scammers directly. Report a scam trade through your Trade License and, when the report is confirmed, the scammer receives a 19 day ban and the trade is reversed: your items come back to you, marked untradable. It is a safety net, not a strategy, and it only works if you report. Our scam safety guide covers the common scams it exists for.
Upgrades and downgrades
An upgrade trades several smaller pets for one bigger one. A downgrade does the reverse. Upgraders usually pay a small premium, because one high demand pet is easier to trade on than a pile of small ones. Downgraders accept the pile because small pets sell faster and a dream pet is easier to reach in steps. Neither side is wrong; they are buying different things. Know which one you are before you negotiate.
Fair trade etiquette
Say what you are looking for (LF) and not looking for (NLF) up front. Do not spam trade requests at the same player. Let the countdown finish instead of rushing the other side. Never change your side after the other player has accepted the first stage. And a polite no costs nothing: the trading servers are big, and the next offer is a minute away.
The pre-trade checklist
One: run both sides through the WFL calculator. Two: check the demand notes on each pet's page here, because a fair total built from pets nobody wants is not really fair. Three: keep the whole deal in one window. Eighteen slots is a lot, and a deal that "needs" a second trade is the oldest scam shape there is. Four: read the final confirmation screen like it is the first time you have seen the trade. Five: if it feels rushed, walk away. Fair trades are patient.
Trading system facts checked against the Adopt Me Wiki, November 2026. Words like WFL, adds and HTT are defined in the trading glossary.