Why don't we trade more?
 

After working out a trade with a board member (quite easily I might add), I began to wonder why we don't trade more. Granted, my niche is SGC 40 T206s common backs which are plentiful for sure, and there's a vast amount of sales data that can help out. Yet there has been fairly little trading that I'm aware of. I understand it's tough with items that have lower populations or are superior grades or issues that are exceedingly rare, but with the lower grade T206 community, what gives?

So, I can think of a few reasons:

• I don't have any inventory to trade
• No one has anything I need
• I have to make sure I get the better end of the deal
• The other guy wants to get the better end of the deal
• Shipping cards for trade is cost prohibitive

Anything else? I'm definitely curious...

I agree. I have worked a few trades with fellow board members and it is always fun. Like we are baseball GM's working out a deal. I hope to do more in the future myself. Good stuff, and a cool way to meet fellow collectors, for sure.

quality
 

To embarrased by quality I can afford. The collections on here are amazing!

I would love to trade but usually when I make a card available it's because I've got my eyes (and wallet) focused on something in an auction. Unless the trade helped me get that particular card, I'm looking to sell.

I moved this from the BST area because it's sort of a general question. I like to trade but it's hard to find things equivalent to trade for....plus maybe I always want the better end of the deal, which doesn't do well for the other party involved :).

Of the maybe 6 or so trades I've done over the years...I've felt ripped off/taken advantage of on most of them. It is difficult to trade...come to mutually agreeable terms as many people place intangibles into valuing their cards...like how long they've owned it...pop reports...how much they like the card...that they really don't "want" to get rid of such and such card...it goes on and on.

It's challenging for both sides to leave the table happy!

Additionally it seems when I have tried to trade in the past...I list types of things I'd trade for...and I always get offers of common T206's instead...lame!!!!

I'm trying to trade a rare card right now in the BST! I normally don't do trades just because scans are a pain to get out to people. I have a wireless scanner that likes to sync up to other computers in the house, so sometimes I give up(fairly quick) before ever sending a scan. So blame it on my slutty scanner. Heck, the card I'm trying to trade today only went up because I already had a scan. If I didn't, it wouldn't be going anywhere until a very patient day arrived.

I love trading, would love to do more of it. It's fun to come up with some creative trade proposals amongst two collectors, and go thru with the deal...in a perfect world, each collector gets what they want, and has something new to play with. Keeps things exciting. I agree that the number one obsticle in the way is probably having both parties agree to the value of the deal. most collectors value what they have too high, and what the other person has too low.

Good topic, would love to see more people open to trading.

Edited to add: i find it MOST successful when you see an item someone has for sale, whether it be on the BST or eBay, or at a show, to just simply ask them if they are open to a trade. usually they'll ask, "Whatcha got?"...I think it's LESS successful when someone posts in the BST that they have a certain item(s) and are looking for a trade. Hope that makes sense.

Never hurts to ask and it doesn't take from my Paypal account! :) I've made several trades recently in the BST and I made a nice one at the Strongsville show this weekend that netted me a t206 Bridwell double name and a V61 Cobb. Never know!

I don't have any inventory to trade is probably the main reason why i didn t do trade...

I've worked out 1 trade since being on net54, a cards + cash deal. Adding the cash on either end closes reason for anyone to leave feeling they got ripped off. The problem I have is my collecting focus right now is very thin (PSA 4 or PSA 4.5 rare backs any player or medium backed HOFers), and they're simply not out there on the block to be had. Also, those who have such cards are looking for rare backs in return, can't blame them...while I am trying to trade higher end players in equal grade but common backs + cash. But, I do find myself selling an awful lot on BST lately as I'm able to grab rare backs elsewhere and have to pay for them somehow...

I'm kinda surprised that there never seems to be any 3 or 4 way trades. There are so many people that know each other in the hobby yet don't always have something the other guy needs in a trade. I think it would be interesting whether it be cards or autographs or whatever.

You've got to give something to get something.

Perhaps people don't trade as much because it's easier to get exactly what you want. In the old days of grocery store Topps wax pack, you'd get a random assortment of cards including dupes an teams you don't collect.

Though, even in the internet days, trading was much more common 15 years ago. I trade back then.

Also, I once traded with a domestic terrorist and got some ricin on my cards. He said it was an accident and the ricin was supposed to go in another package. Other than his anti-government rants and his threat once to strangle my cat if I had one (I didn't), he seemed like a nice enough guy so I believed him. But you won't believe how hard it is to get ricin out of silks. Cotton is easy-- a few spin cycles and some hydrogen peroxide-- but silk is a total bitch. Later on someone told me to microwave the dampened the silk for fifteen minutes before washing, but that that was too late for my favorite boxers. F*ck this internet trading bs, I thought, and went back to Teletrade full time.

My cards have too much sentimental value, when I have had them a long time, so my valuations of them are probably too high. I have done a few trades, which did work well, but not too many. I would trust our BST for trades more than almost anywhere else. So we do have a good venue for it.

In my one successful BST trade, I'm pretty sure that the other member got the better end of the deal in terms of value. I was still happy with the trade nonetheless because it meant getting a card I needed without coming up with the cash!

I trade all the time. It can be as fun as it was as a kid. Plus, on stuff that's rare and tucked away in collections, sometimes the only way to extract it is by trading something that collector needs/want more.

-Ryan

Maybe there is more trading going on than you realize. I probably do a trade a month, whether I need to or not :) - the interaction with other board members is good and adds to the whole 'Net 54 package'.

I would be a bit careful about joking around with anything related to any terrorism nowadays. There are people who read this board that would not take those comments lightly.

I love to trade and have had the luck of doing quite a few. Its funny some I have done worked out well and others not so good but never regretting doing one. Nearly every card on ebay I have listed I am open to trading. What usually stops trades for me are-

The person has an interest in a card I have but has no trade inventory, this seems to happen the most.

Cant agree on value of each, too many times someone wants what they have into it for their card (which is usually way more than VCP and then wants market value/VCP for mine).

Also I think when someone wants something I have I expect a little more in the trade if they dont have anything I really want. The same goes I expect to trade in their favor and most times strongly for a card I really want. I try to help people out when I can but I don't like to trade a card that has not been for sale in a while with none on ebay for a same series card that has 5 listed on ebay. I have had a trader bemoan why I would not want to make that trade as they are the same type card 1 for 1.

I take back my ricin story. The only true part about it is I've never owned a a cat.

The part about me dating Natalie Portman at the time was mostly made up too.

But I swear to God, I really did beat Bronco Nagurski in arm wrestling.

Thanks David. I wouldn't want you to get into hot water for joking around. Also, it's unwise to yell BOMB in an airport. Just covering all bases here...

Yeah, but how old was he at the time?:D

I've heard this story before. It started off as pinky-wrestling. Five years from now it will be bare-knuckle boxing.

Trading
 

I love trading. Most of the cards that I obtain today are via trade. Probably have made 50 trades with members of the SGC T206 set registry alone. The only thing I collect are SGC graded T206, so if you would like to trade, email me at bdbrownbaseball@gmail.com Thanks, Bill

Thanks to Leon for moving this thread. I had intended to post it here.

I'm glad to hear there is a fair amount of trading going on. I have worked out two separate three way trades this year... In both cases they were relatively simple, but still fun! It does make me feel like a GM!

Single biggest reason most times is that each party values their card more than the other. It's hard to be objective about one's own wares.

I find that the biggest impediment to trading is, ironically, too much data. Some collectors insist on reducing every transaction to money terms. Easily done when you are talking about SGC 40 T206 commons that have a good sales history, not so much when you have cards that are very limited in numbers that haven't transacted for a while. I don't like that sort of cash-concerned trading and I will generally not pursue a trade with someone who wants to go through that exercise because it isn't fun for me. The 'funnest' trades are the ones where you have a bunch of cards I need and I have a bunch you need and we just swap 'em.

Trading
 

I'm always looking to trade! It would be cool if we could all post our availables somehow in a big database. If I was looking for a T205 Brown with a Sovereign back (which I am), I could see if it's in the database and then email the member that has it. Of course it's always easier to make suggestions when you have nothing to do with implementing them...

Take Care,
Geno

I like to trade versus buying, unfortunatley I hate being the one on the short end....every time! Not sure why I have to get strong armed to do a simple trade, mainly from this forum since ther is rarely card shops or shows anymore. It really takes the fun out of it. It made me consider if this is the hobby I enjoyed. Don't even get me started on the money aspect as it is always thrown in the mix of a trade. Yes I could step away but if it something I want or need then it usually gets ugly. I am always up for a trade as long it is fair. Hopefully others will read and catch on you cheap bastards.

PayPal is the 3rd party in all trades. Straight trades are more rare now - but when you factor in PayPal funds - its as busy as ever. I sell cards to increase my PP balance and use those funds to buy cards I want.

I really like trades, have had positive transactions with three members in this thread alone. Working on two more this week.

Jason, one of things to remember about trading is that not everyone values a card the same way as everyone else, so to say what is "fair" is often more art than science. There's lots of stuff that goes into it besides just value, like aesthetics, favored players, home teams, etc. For example, I had a really nice HOFer in a tough issue that someone wanted and he offered me a very strong trade well in my favor financially. I rejected it because (1) I had been searching for the card I had for a long time and really wanted to have that card in my permanent collection, and (2) the card offered, while more valuable, was FUGLY, with major alterations. I just knew that I would not have been happy with the way it looked. I ended up trading the card for a lesser financial package of cards than the original offer because the package included the same player's same card in a presentable state plus others I wanted too. In effect I downgraded the card but still can say I have one, and knocked a few off my want list. I probably left some 1000s on the table but it wasn't about the money, it was about the collection. Another example: I had a card I really liked from a rare set. I just happen to like the way the card looks and like the player a lot. I had no desire to trade it. I was offered a trade of a better player from the set but I did not want to trade the card because I liked it more than the other card. Had nothing to do with money. Now, I was willing to trade for two cards from the set because that just made sense to me as a collector of the set. The other guy did not want to because he could not get past the money-value issue.

I also think the fact that so many of us are after the same kinds of cards hampers trading to some extent. If I am collecting a set and I happen to have one someone wants, I am not going to swap it out of my set for another card because it will just open a corresponding hole in my set and won't end up any better off. If I am going to help someone make their set and they are swapping me their dupes, I expect to do better than ending up right where I was in terms of % of completion, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I made a trade over the summer with a collector that went that way. We are working on the same rare-back T set and he needed one I had to finish while I needed a few to finish. I agreed to trade him the one I had [basically taking the risk that another might not show up--which it hasn't] for two I needed, so I could end up one card net closer than I was to finishing the set.

While we're on the subject of trading, a few trading pet peeves of mine:

1. I don't appreciate it when another collector tells me what I "should" do with my cards. OK, Mom.

2. I hate it when someone pulls a value out of their hat, @$$, or out of a book and tries to tell me what my card is worth. The Standard Catalog states that a vg set of Adam Hat Stores cards is worth $525. Anyone who has one for sale please send it over and I will happily remit $600. If my card is worth "only" a certain amount, then go buy one for that amount. If there isn't one for sale, though, it isn't worth that amount, now is it?

3. Don't tell me that because I paid a certain amount for a card I should give it to you for a trade of that value. Congrats, you can run a search on Google; here's your cookie. If I happen to find a card and acquire it below what I feel it is worth, that's my luck. The only person with the right to pick my pocket is my wife.

agree
 

Adam --

I especially agree with your last statement, but on the other side of it. I hate when somebody says "well, I'm in that card for $200, so I need that much." Don't charge me for your poor decision. Just like that won't work at TD Ameritrade, it shouldn't work here either.

Geno

I mostly do trading, but usually commons for set building. My general experiences with trading usually come down to this: "you gotta find a trader that needs what you have, and has what you need." ... If I am trading to build a set, I find most are gonna be generous with the commons, because they know there is not a high likelihood the person will try to flip them for profit. I usually end up 50/50 in terms of coming out on top or bottom of the swap. My remedy is to trade with someone multiple times, that way after about 5 or 6 swaps both parties will likely come out even. I frankly view buying-selling just as risky (for lack of better term) than trading. I acknowledge that doing only trading could put a collector in a stalemate of sorts with his goals, but "trading" is what the hobby was founded on, so I like that. ;)



Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

Understandable, but what I pay for a card and the get undercut because "I paid too much" gets old. I guess I always pay too much but looking at other sales results, so does everyone else. I like to deal with cars too which is along the same lines. If I trade my car to a dealer then it is worth less because I own it but if they have it, it is worth the world. Same thing, both have book values and both have previous sale numbers. But they also have the same cheapsters trying to undermind the other person. The only difference is that the folks on here don't own a dealership or make this there only income so there is zero overhead. I have owned 64 cars and always dealt with cheap people and I can say the same when it comes to trading cars. I have decided to learn quilting, much safer hobby.

I would love to trade more! Unfortunately I apparently have what you don't need!

But sometimes...
 

That is generally the case. There have been instances, however, where someone had a card that I wanted, but I didn't have anything he needed. In this case, I gave a little extra to the other individual to make the deal happen. I've been on the other end of this too, which has helped me pick up extra cards to sell/trade.

I don't mind being on the "lesser" side if I can pick up a need... I just consider it an extra thank you to the other participant.

hoarding
 

I often trade for cards I don't need, just because I'm tired of the ones I have in my dupes box. I collect Sovereign back T205s and T206s. Right now I have a few 1952 Topps I put on BST to trade for Sovereigns. When I didn't get any response, I bumped it to say I'll take any T, M, or E cards. I don't need them, but I really don't need the 52's either so I might as well move them along. Trading is good for the soul! And as one of the previous posters said, if you trade often enough, it seems to work out in the end.

BTW, I'm also a member of OBC. Over there we don't trade as much as we just send each other stuff that somebody needs. You send a few, and maybe a year later you'll get something back. Or maybe not, but who cares. Of course, it's mostly beaters from bargain boxes, so the monetary side isn't nearly as important as high end cards.

Take Care,
Geno

I would love to trade for the Detroit players I need in the Old Judge set, but it seems no one has the cards I need except Joe G.:D

Plus I only have a few Dups.

joe

Just a thought...
 

Perhaps if trading between different eras was a bit easier, activity would be more robust.

For example, my wife (bless her heart for this) and I are currently building two sets from the '50s. I'm fairly certain that offering the card pictured below for trade in the "T" card section, to help fill in a few holes in our '55 Topps set, would lead to a few responses. The same card, in a centralized, common trading area, would probably lead to quite a few more.

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb6c087c.jpg

As the title suggests, this is just a thought.

Have a great night, everyone.

Best Regards,

Eric

This is being considered. Except I don't want another BST area without removing one.....but we will see.....LL