Buy/Sell/Trade Forum

Most collectors enjoy trading cards they don't need for cards they want.  For most of us that is a big part of the hobby and in a way, brings us back to our younger years when we would buy and open packs with friends and trade cards to build our sets. Fun and thrilling, wasn't it!

But though the trading here is very active, I am finding that more and more that more and more members here are only concerned about their wants and are not taking the time to enter what they have for trade to help fulfill other's wants.  In the last week, I have received 3 such offers where the only cards offered were the only cards the other member had listed for trade. That is your choice; I am not questioning that.  But realize that when you offer a trade to someone because he openly showed everything he had for trade and you found several of his cards you needed, when all you do is enter what you think is a sufficient amount of cards you are willing to part with into your For Trade list, your trade partner is not able to do what you are doing - that is selecting cards he really wants in a higher priority than those you are offering.  Basically, because the other member cannot select cards from a longer Trade list and therefore has no real option to Counter your trade, you are offering a trade that reads, "Take it or leave it".

Now think of this - if all members here took this approach, how many trades would happen? Zero! Because if no one enters cards for trade till they see something they want, there would be nothing available that you want. Personally, I think this approach is quite selfish and shows absolutely no concern about the fellow collector's wants in his collection (my opinion which we are all entitled to). I know many will say that they have too many cards for trade to list them all.  Guess what, I took the time to list over 75,000 DIFFERENT baseball cards for trade and another 6,000 in other sports that I don't collect just in case someone out there needs those cards. Considering that I am approaching over 200 trades completed in 2020 alone, the active trading membership here must appreciate the work I put in in listing all of these. And it does not take as long to do as so many have moaned about. Get organized and you will see how quickly it can be done using the added features Admin has added.  These features are the multiple collections (build one for Traders only), the ability to update your For Trade List where every box you click on automatically goes into the For Sale / Trade list, and the link to every card in a trade so you can keep your Trade list updated should you have another one to trade.

From this time on, if a member offers me a trade in the selfish manner explained above, unless you are offering me much more than what you are asking for (yes, some members are generous because they really want the cards), I will use the options you leave me.

Think what you like about this rant; I've wanted to get it out for some time and when another member I truly respect expressed similar views about the recent trading trends on this site, I decided it was time to do so.

It would be terrific if everyone could actively maintain their for sale/trade list, but the trick is to "get organized".

I managed to find someone with the time/patience/space to inventory all the cards I couldn't (thanks Bruno!), but I can appreciate that it may not be easy for everyone.  Also, plenty of users enter their collection in TCDB solely for their own information, and for whatever reason are not interested in transactions.

If you're interested in trading though, be courteous and spend as much time and effort on your FS/T list as you do on your want list.  Thanks for reminding people how fun and rewarding it can be to interact with others who share your love of the hobby!

I'm the opposite. I am building my for sale/trade list but not a want list. There is a reason though. I recently picked up about 50,000 cards so it will be a while before I know what I want/need until I get through them. My thinking is I might pick a set to work on for a period of time and try to trade dupes for needs but it's still up in the air at this time.

In my latest attempt to add my collection, I'm less than one month in, and 11,000 added.  And I don't organize my cards by set, so most would be quicker than me.  I've made some changes from previous strategies that are speeding up the process, and it hasn't quit being fun yet.   Part of that means I wont have a large tradelist until I'm done adding everything first.  For me, this is an activity better suited for cold weather and early sunsets.

Bruno,

Totally agree. Luckily I've only had this type of trade happen once and was able to find some things on their list that I wanted (the cards I received were in terrible condition, but that's another topic all together) and tried to give them some tips to make trading more rewarding for both sides.

BSwagger, I do the same thing. I pretty much only use this site to catalog my cards for trade and my one player collection (Chipper Jones). I've starting adding other cards in my collection but have no real urgency on that front.

I'm like BSwagger in that I spend more time trying to find matches for the cards I wish to trade (and, thus, use/add to my Want list in order to make trades happen). It was a lot of work, but having every card that I have available to trade on this site gives me a lot of freedom towards getting trades done, as there are some users who I otherwise wouldn't think to trade with if it weren't for those Have/Want matches. It's worth the time, even for junk wax, as you really never know what people may want for their collections.

New member here, trying to follow this advice. Slowly adding to my list today.

I see and understand your frustration.   I'm still in the hobby only becuse of my love for the Nebraska Cornhusker football.

1.  We need to be Thankful that Adimin created a site with a matching system.   I know of NO other site having a matching sytem that is free.

I typed in my rant then removed it.

Well said Bruno, Myself I keep buying more and more from auctions and lots on Facebook just so I have lots of traders so I can finish the ones I need. Saying that it s a good thing I'm on disability and can spend all day working on them. I know I haven't sent a trade in at least 6 months cause I'm working on all the ones coming in from other members.

Big thanks to Admin and all the L8's and everyone else who makes this site the best I have been on for our Hobby.

I took the time to add over 81,000 to my list. You do a few every night/weekend/day off, etc. It's worth it if you really plan on trading here. Take the time - it will pay off.