Newish to SteamTrades, any pointers from pros?

• Ask traders to post in your topic first, and you will add them. Don't accept random requests. This at least can lower the chances of a scammer.
• Stick to people you recognise if possible, to improve your chances of a safe trade. I frequently trade with SteamGifts regulars or people I know from Backlog Attack, as I know and trust them.

trade with tf2 keys and ask for giftable copies

also, always check giftable copies for region restrictions (RUS tag etc)

then you'll be safe :D

If the trade is to good to be true.. IT IS stay away!! Also make sure you check www.steamrep.com if anything looks suspicious. It doesn't always have scammer info but its always good to check.
If something doesn't feel right just walk away better to be safe than sorry.
Also my best suggestion is invest in TF2 keys and trade with Russian traders (they have better prices than US).
Also if you find a trader you like ask him/her if you can keep them on your friends list and right click their name and choose "add nickname" and I put something like Russian Trader or Good prices you get the point.
Good luck with trading and Welcome to steam trades.

In the FAQ section, there is a list of scammers, block them all. It gonna take you a couple of hours, but worth it :)

Get enhanced Steam, it will add links on their profile to their steamrep and steamtrades, and shows if a game has been bundled on the store page.

I'm not a "pro", but I can recommend common sense: Only pick people with a high rep, and offer to trade first. That way they know you're not trying to scam them, and you can be more confident that they won't scam you since they have a high rep.

After a while, your own rep will increase, so you can start trading with people that a have a lower rep, but now you can request that THEY go first and refuse the trade if they don't.

If the trade happens entirely inside a steam trade dialog, then this of course doesn't matter since you can see the items before accepting. But for trades outside the steam trading system (like steam keys of gift links), the above advise should protect you most of the time.

PS: Oh, and don't let people convince you to give more than you take just because they tell you "but you got those from a deal or bundle". They did the same thing anyway ;-) The canonical answer is "well, go get the bundle then." If a deal or bundle has ended, your games are worth MORE than the bundle price, because no one can get them at the cheap price anymore.

Pick someone with reps older than 3months (IMO)

There were some fraudsters who got many good rep in less than 1 month then got their game revoked months after

High rep is not everything, also check their reputation age, their profile, steamrep data, etc., until you feel safe to trade with

Know your prices and what games are commonly on sale and in bundles.
Buy games you want from traders for the price your willing to pay, don't let people push prices or games on you, that "good deal" might be a game that drops from a current bundle (Ærena or interstellar marines) or worse dead island epidemic.
Make sure you are getting what you are paying for, hover over the game in the trade window, it never hurts to be too careful.
Have fun, buy games you want to play and play them, dont get so addicted to trading you don't have time to enjoy the games :p

Any paranoid trader can trash your well kept clean rep page, and no one will care a bit(whatever the number of good trades you made before)

The most obvious but sometimes ignored rule: never trade your gift copy for a key

Check Steamtrades profile with Steamprofile and Rep. Those basic steps will save you lots of trouble.