This has always been a pet peeve for me. I guess Im old school, was raised to be appreciative, and respectful of others. When I first started trading online in 1994, one of my favorite trade partners was a TRUE Southern Gentleman, Owen Sterner of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Owen and I traded hundreds of times in the TradingBases private trading group until he had to give it up around 2014, at 84, he passed in 2017. Owen was always appreciative, leaving glowing comments about our trades, on the group website. Not just our trades, but every trade he made. After many years of trading, I was able to find Owen's phone number and called him. Owen was retired, 74 years old, I was 51, and I respected him just from the trades we had made. He was always generous, sending more cards in trades than agreed upon, and many times sending cards with no trade set up. So, when I called him, it was after a receipt of one of his generous, unsolicited packages. We chit chatted for a while and I realized quickly what a fine man he was. I thanked him several times during the conversation, not just for the cards, but for what I had learned from him about making true "trade partners". I had seen his "Thank Yous" so often on the website that I knew he had a large collection, but more importantly, other members were trading with him over and over again. Everyone wanted to trade with Owen and I got the chance to find out why.
Owen was like the "grandfather" of our group, he was well-loved by the TradingBases members and he loved us. When we talked, I asked him why he felt it necessary to send "Thank You" messages for each trade, that I knew he appreciated my trades with him. His answer confirmed what I felt all along. Owen explained that he was raised by Christian parents and tried to live his life by the "Golden Rule". He said he was taught to appreciate and acknowledge others, to treat everyone with respect, and give more than you take. He believed if he applied that to every aspect of his life, he would always be true to and honor GOD, his family, and himself. Owen didn't share anything I didn't know, or beleve about him. What he did do, was to remind me that honesty, integrity, and the "Golden Rule" should be part of every aspect of our lives. By doing so, Owen was loved by everyone! He appreciated and acknowledged all of the TB members, he treated us with respect, and he was always generous with his trades.
I've tried to to be like Owen with my trading so that I can have trade partners, not just occasional trades. I show acknowledgement and appreciation by leaving feedback each time I trade, I try to be respectful in communication and the timely shipping, and when I can, I send extra cards. As Owen said applying the Golden Rule to everything we do will help.
While I'm here, I might as well mention several other issues that I dont understand :
Why no feedback when cards are received, you got time to mark "package received", "transaction completed", take another minute to leave feedback!
Why do you wait until you receive my cards, before you ship mine? You accepted the proposal, so accept the responsibility of shipping the cards promptly!
Why no response on a proposed transaction when you're on the site every day? Takes no time to decline, but if interested send a message saying you need a couple days, ignoring completely is rude and disrespectful!!!
If you have to decline, leave us an idea of why. If we don't know why, then won't know what to propose next time-if there is a next time.
BobbyL