General Forum

I have not traded any before and sold very few over the years. Maybe less than 100 cards in the 50+ years of collecting. Some years I am involved with collecting, but many, I am not. I am now getting back involved with this hobby and was wondering, what should I know about trading on this site. 

1. How do you know what is a fair trade, are we going off ebay past sale prices, and attempting to keep the overall trade close based off sale prices of the individual cards involved with the trade.

2. Any suggestions on mailing cards, such as packaging and services to use? Do you get tracking?

3. I guess you look at a persons feedback as one of the factors in determining how to proceed with a trade. I have zero trades, so how would you normally handle this situation.

4. Do people use Discord or Teams to disucss trades?

Any suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. I have many baseball cards from the 70's and 80's that I would like to trade, which I will post on this site, but would like to know how to properly follow the trade protocals. 

If you search the forums you can find several threads about your first 2 questions. Whether a trade is fair is between the two people trading. There are prices here on the site but they aren't always accurate (I never use them). Some people use Beckett, some people use ebay, comc, etc. It comes down to both parties being happy with the trade. Same for the packaging; it depends on the trade. Some people ship PWE and others use tracking but if you do a lot of trades the bubble mailer and tracking can become expensive but again it all comes down to the people involved in the trade and what they are comfortable with. Just discuss it up front. I think most people discuss trades through the messaging on the site and then once you propose a trade you can discuss in the messaging that existing in the trade offer. I'm sure some others can chime in and further explain some of the trade process. The main thing is making sure you add the cards you have for trade and update a wantlist so we can use the trade matching function to see if we have matches and then send a trade request.

Also, I'm sure there are plenty of us that would do some small trades with you to build up your feedback once you get your for trade and wantlists populated.

Hi!

It's whatever works for you, here's what works for me:

1.- A fair trade is whatever both parties agree on, Ebay prices for cards nowadays are so inflated, the prices listed on this site are average prices, and a lot of it has to do with the condition of the card, so it's hard to get a set price for everyone, when I deal, I use the price as an average, but also give room for counteroffers, and work on reaching a deal that satisfies both.

2.- Here's a link that show best ways to ship cards. There are also plenty of YouTube tutorials on how to package and ship cards. I generally prefer PWE (Plain white envelopes) as it is cheaper, but again, when making a trade, it's whatever works for both parties.

https://breakoutsportscards.com/tips/how-to-ship-trading-cards/
 

3.- When a potential trade partner has no feedback, you really have to take a leap of faith and decide if it's worth the risk. I normally start out with a small trade, and try to stay connected with the trader to make sure the trade went well. 

I remember one of the first trade offers I got when I first started, my trade partner asked me to send my cards first, then once he got them and made sure they were OK, he would send his. I thought that was a good idea because at that time I didn't had any feedback, while my trade partner had hundreds of reviews and 100% positive, so I knew he would keep his end of the deal while I had to earn the trust. 

WIth that said, I'm consider myself an easy going guy, but this approach may not be well received by everyone, depending on personality. So it all comes down to weighting the risk and taking a leap of faith.

4.- I don't. I normally communicate through this site only, but I have made a few exceptions and communicated via Email. But again, if it works for both parties, then great.

Hope this helps!

For my first trade on here, my trading partner held his side of the shipment until he received my cards. Felt like a reasonable accomodation to get a trade logged and some feedback received.

I'm still relatively new, but will try to help out and I'm sure others will be glad to chime in....

1. How do you know what is a fair trade, are we going off ebay past sale prices, and attempting to keep the overall trade close based off sale prices of the individual cards involved with the trade.

A fair trade is when the two traders are satisfied with the cards being traded....monetary value doesn't necessarily have to be equal, but yes, ebay past sales prices is pretty much the standard in determining value.

2. Any suggestions on mailing cards, such as packaging and services to use? Do you get tracking?

Typically with lower value cards pwe (plain white envelope) is sufficient....stick them in a penny sleeve, then a rigid or regular top loader, then a thin piece of carboard (cereal box thickness) and attach proper postage.  With larger quantities, go with 9 card page, cardboard, envelope.  With higher value cards using a bubble mailer would most likely be preferred....tracking will be standard with this form of shipment.  Plenty of videos on YouTube to help explain shipping methods.

3. I guess you look at a persons feedback as one of the factors in determining how to proceed with a trade. I have zero trades, so how would you normally handle this situation.

Gotta start somewhere....we all did!  Start out with a few small trades of low value cards and let the trade partner know you are new and to please leave some feedback.  99.999% of people on this site are absolutely great.

4. Do people use Discord or Teams to disucss trades?

No idea....guess it's a possibility, but all of my trade communication has occurred directly in the messeging provided on this site.

Welcome to the site and enjoy!  There is a ton of information on here along with helpful people who make this hobby fun!

-Velli

I trade with the intention of leaving both parties satisfied.  I have no problem trading inserts, patches, or auto's for the cards I want.  I try not to use price of cards when brokering a deal.  I do have a problem when someone would want me to trade a Drew Brees auto for a Bowman Brandon Coleman.  I also sometimes have to take postage into consideration.  The best thing you can do is to create a tradelist and a wantlist.  I routinely check my notifications to see who out there has my wants and has wants for my traders.

I would encourage the trading to begin with lower value stuff as well until you get familiar with trading and the trade manager on the site

Most of all...have fun!

Good luck

Mark

I generally concur with the responses above.  I would also add Sportlots.com as a good source to determine comparative market value and availability of cards. However, keep in mind that sentimental or percieved value might come into play when someone is considering a trade.

Ultimately, however, it is up to the parties involved to determine if a trade is fair/reasonable/acceptable.

Here is a forum thread with some good references regarding packaging/shipping trades of various sizes: https://www.tcdb.com/Forum.cfm/Page/G/ID/0/?MODE=VIEW&ThreadID=34126#206922

My best suggestion would be to keep it fun... be sure that you are having fun with the trades. If you aren't having fun, it's not worth it. Too many people take things way too seriously or get offended when someone doesn't want to trade

Once you get your Want list and For sale/trade list up and you start getting offers or making offers   

DO NOT get in to deep by accepting/making a lot of offers at one time.  Keep the number of offers (coming and going) where you can keep up with them.   MAKE SURE you reply to all offers and messages in a timely matter.  Even if it is Sorry I'm working on other offers and it will be a while before I can get to your offer.

Commutation is the key to all trades.