Hi Donnie I am one of the “charter" members of OBC 1991.
Most of the time “trades” are not accomplished in the traditional manner. We mainly trade through Random Acts Of Kindness (RAOK) meaning if a member has a card you need he might send it to you. You acknowledge receipt through our yahoo groups email server, and then check the senders list to see if you have something for them.
You also might send out your duplicates via RAOK to other OBC members, who in turn acknowledge receipt, and then check your list to see if they have something to send in return. If they do not have something to return, many members will keep a mental note to keep an eye out for “return fire” to send your way.
OBC is not for everyone. Lots of ‘50s ‘60s and ‘70s baseball cards are sent via RAOK. More and more members are now trading football basketball hockey and non-sports cards too via RAOK. More and more members are moving into pre-war cards as well. Some pre-war cards are sent RAOK and some pre-war are traded via more traditional methods. Cards traded via RAOK are normally in collector grades G-VG.
Discussion of newer cards (1981 and newer) is not allowed, although there is a yahoo groups list for these newer “UV” cards.
Of course I have developed many great friendships over the years and OBC is about so much more than just cards. We have a great turnout each year at the Nation Convention. Many dealers see an OBC hat or OBC shirt and welcome us to their bargain boxes, and we have a shared network of dealers we shop at. I am sure there are dealers who see an OBC hat and hustle us off too lol!
Members include advanced collectors, and also members just starting their ‘60s and ‘70s sets. I would say most of us are set collectors, but of course we do have player and type card collectors too.
OBC is not for everyone, but we are actively searching for new members. Any more questions please ask. Also thanks to Leon for his continued support of OBC!
Larry
