Hi and welcome! I was also nervous joining the site, but haven't had a negative experience so far. All the users I've met are pretty nice and genuine people. This is a relatively small community, so the ratings and reviews are taken pretty seriously. If anyone actually tried to scam you, you can submit a report and/or write a negative review.
That being said, if you want to be more careful for your initial trades, I would recommend finding people who already have at least a few reviews, starting with less valuable card trades, and you can also request each other to provide a tracking code for the mail, to make sure something actually got sent to you. If you are nervous about providing an address, you can look into getting a PO box.
While I can't provide much info on the payment aspect (I've only done trades not buying/selling), I know a lot of people use venmo/paypal. I'm not sure if the culture here is payment upfront or payment upon receiving the cards.
Other than that, you can just send people an offer or message, and negotiate a trade until it's accepted. I'd be happy to be one of your first trades as well 
Good luck and happy trading!
Ok, so here is a rule of thumb.. go with the rules of the site.. since your new make sure you always use or get tracking unless both agree to ship with stamps.. also.. the person with the least amount of reviews will ship first. Once that person get the cards they will inspect them and then send their half of the cards. Once you build a reputation on there and get over 25 reviews you can talk with people you have done trades with before and usually end up sending the cards at the same time since there is a trust built up there. With payments.. Make sure you always use protected payment methods to you can file a claim if someone tries to scam you on here. Never do paypal friend and family unless.. again you built a trust with someone and have done multiple buisness or trades with them. Hope this helps. If you have any other questions post them and I will try to get back to you as fast as possible. Happy trading/buying/selling!!!!
-Robert
Hi! I'm new to this site, and a little nervous of being scammed since it's all around shipping and digital payment.
How can I safely go about a trade?