The Art of the Trade

[Yoda]

When I was smitten with baseball card fever, trading was the only method available to obtain highly, sought-after gems other than buying new packs, which was problematic due to meagre allowances. There were no card stores, Ebay, AH's, card shows, internet or, God forbid, TPGers. We knew how to grade our own cards.
I still remember one boyhood trade: I held a real nice '52 Bowman Stan Musial, deemed by my neighborhood gang special as he was not included in the '51 Bowman set nor those beautiful new '52 Topps. Well, I was a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan and was offered a handful of '52 Bowman Dodgers for my Musial, Including a gorgeous Campy. Well, our trade talks were similar to the S.A.L.T talks many decades later. We were deadlocked until he threw in a Billy Cox and Preacher Roe and the deal was done. It was painful and exciting at the same time.
Maybe what goes 'round does come around, especially given the cost of desirable cards. nowadays.

[nebboy]

Back in April 2017 a guy posted a thread called the Ultimate trade up were he wanted to start with a T205 Johnson grade VG and try to TRADE UP to a 52 Mantle. I was the guy that made the 1st trade with him. I gave him a good deal because I wanted the 1 Major HOF, more than the number of lesser T206s etc. Overtime the his effort petered out, but it was of the best treads of that year.

Link of that trade attemp
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=238153

PS—- my 1000 post

[UKCardGuy]

Originally Posted by nebboy

Back in April 2017 a guy posted a thread called the Ultimate trade up were he wanted to start with a T205 Johnson grade VG and try to TRADE UP to a 52 Mantle. I was the guy that made the 1st trade with him. I gave him a good deal because I wanted the 1 Major HOF, more than the number of lesser T206s etc. Overtime the his effort petered out, but it was of the best treads of that year.

Link of that trade attemp
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=238153

Thanks for pointing out that thread. It was a fun read. For me, trading is a great way to swap dupes. I'm less emotionally invested in duplicate cards so I can be a little more flexible.

[Luke]

I've done tons of trades over the years. I've done some great trades with people I didn't know beforehand, but the best ones are with long-time friends. Those are great because you've been helping each other out with stuff for years so I never feel like I need to be sure I'm getting an exactly even deal. Close is good enough because it will all even out in the long run. These trades also tend to come together quickly and easily.

Some advice I would give:

1. Make sure you feel comfortable with what you're giving up. For me I've always been able to differentiate pretty easily between something I would miss dearly, and something I wouldn't lose sleep over because of what I'm getting in return. If you're not sure, maybe hold off on doing the trade. If you know you have trouble letting stuff go, maybe trading isn't for you.

2. If you're making a trade with someone you don't know, make sure you feel 100% comfortable before sending your cards. Ask for references and check them. If the other person has a long term reputation and you don't, you should probably send first. And if you have the more established reputation, you can ask your trading partner to send first. If they balk at the idea, maybe you dodged a bullet. You can also send the trade in stages. If you're each trading 5 cards that are valued at $500 each, there's no reason you couldn't mail one card at a time so that you both aren't worried about losing all 5 cards at once.

3. For me the best experiences with trading and deals have always come with friends. So with that in mind, try to make some hobby friends. Put yourself out there a little bit, provide some value to people. If you're knowledgeable about a certain area of collecting, share with people, answer questions etc. Then keep an eye out for who returns the favor.

Some favorites that came in trades with other net54 members:

[Bridwell]

I've made about 5 or 6 trades with Net54 members. Always was a great experience!