trades
Thought provoking topic that is near and dear to my heart. I just attended
a local show yesterday and I bought from, and traded with, different
dealers. Some observations:
1) On net54, I don't typically reach out to someone for a trade until their
card has had a chance to sell. I'll politely inquire if the person would
consider trading, and ask if they'd look at a list.
2) I am mildly surprised when people refuse to look at a trade list out of
hand. Trading has always been one of the most popular and available
ways to obtain material. The typical objection- "I only want to sell"-
makes sense. It doesn't make much sense, however, to refuse even to
look at a trade list that may contain better cards to sell(!). Help me, help
you. There's no down side to looking at a list, the worst the other person
can say is, "I'm not interested in anything on the list".
3) Just as dealers "only want to sell", there are times when a collector
only wants to trade. Perhaps the collector already has an example of
the card in question, or the card is outside their normal collecting focus
but the collector was just attracted to it. I've often found it's useful to
have "pigeon bait" when I'm trading- Mantle, Clemente, Aaron, nice
looking T206- the stuff many dealers automatically acknowledge. I think
Adam mentioned above, that many collectors desire a specific card over
common popular cards, and will trade accordingly. It also helps to offer
some cash in a trade scenario, to make it more palatable to the other
person.
4) There are some wonderful, fair, willing traders on net54. It's my pleasure
to know them and to enjoy this hobby with them.
Trent King
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