RogueXanter: I made a trade deal with someone and sent the codes I was supposed to but haven't received what I was supposed to get in return yet so I'm wondering if the other person just hasn't been on to get and send the codes or if they took the codes I gave them and aren't planning to give me what they told me they would trade for them.
You can search for his name on the forum page using the looking glass button in the top right of the screen. Then you can at least see when the last time he posted something was.
Did you check how long he had been a member before you made the trade or his rep(not that rep tells much about a person)?
But if i can give you some advice: Next time you are going to trade with someone, look up as much info about the person as you can, like posting history, how long he or she has been a member or other things like that.