Technically, you aren’t. Most people leave comments on their pages if they never receive their stuff as a warning to other rehashers. As a newbie, you will probably be expected to send out first – It IS a risk, but your experience will be WAY easier if you make your first few trades with people who have outstanding karma. If you DO trade with someone who has no or poor karma – I wouldn’t send more than $2 in shipping worth to them to begin, just in case you get screwed. I don’t mean to scare you away, I’m just trying to give you some beginner’s tips to help make this the best experience it can be!

I agree with Rebecca… make your first few trades with those that have a lot of good karma. You’ll have to send your items to them first, and after they receive them, they’ll ship yours out, but this is a good way to get good karma, yourself.
After you’ve accumulated a few 100% positive karmas, you can then expect those with little or no karma to send your stuff first :)
I’ve been a member here for quite some time, and have only had one negative experience. She had no karma, I had a ton of good, but didn’t wait for her to send it out first. She was a fly by night trader and was gone soon after.
However, I’ve made a TON of trades (see my karma) that have been fantastic! Trust me, it’s SOOO worth it!