Online Trading for Dummies - Proper Trade Etiquette

Every few weeks it seems there is a new thread rant regarding some issue with making trades work here on deckbox. There really is no set of definite rules that everyone follows to the letter but having some generic guidelines to help new people will make it easier for both parties to get what they want.

1. Finding users that have what you want -

-Not everyone on Deckbox uses it for its trading feature. There are plenty of users who use it as means to manage their collections or build deck ideas instead of using excel spread sheets. Then there are the people who create an account, upload some cards in tradelist and then realize this is not for them and dont log ever again. Right now there is no feature that allows someone to be "hidden" when they are no longer actively trading for a prolonged period of time or they dont want to trade so in the mean time here are some tips get around these issues.

- (OPTION 1) Your best bet to get trades going other than to post in an active forum and or Community group (like the Reddit MTG trades) is to search the card database on the site and match your want with who ever has it listed in their current tradelist. (Click on the card in your inventory/tradelist to bring up the card description in the database). Your next step should be to see when they were active last. Scroll down to the bottom section of the page that lists users who have that card for trade. Next to each name is an icon of a person thats either grey (offline status) or blue (online status). If you hover the icon with your mouse, it  bring up the last time that person was active on the site. Generally if someone hasnt been active for a more than a week from the current date, you can rule them out as someone to trade with until they become active again.

- (OPTION 2) Look at a user's completed trades. If you scroll past an active user's current trades, down to their completed and cancelled trades, you'll find people who are more recently active depending when the trade was completed or cancelled and while they might not have exactly what your looking for, you might find something else thats equally interesting or needed.

2. Check References & Read Profile Descriptions -

- Once you find an active user with something your interested in, its important to check their trade references and see what kind of trade history they have. Obviously trading with someone who as alot of experience is perferable to trading with someone new but not everyone that has alot of references has what you want.
- No 2 traders are exactly alike. How you trade with one person might not work with the next. If someone has a notice on their profile description regarding certain aspects of trading (ie pricing, condition, wants) you should take the time to read it. It will go along way with trying to get trades worked out if your both on the same page and are speaking the same language when comes to negotiating.

3. Proposing Trades, Deckbox style

- Once you've found a potential partner, you can go ahead and propose a trade. Just like at your local gaming store, its important to commuicate. If you see something in someone's binder in real life, you dont just point at the card, "grunt" like a caveman, and throw a binder of cards at them. Same thing applies here.  The best and most successful way to get a trade started and completed is to list the cards your interested in from the other person, say something in the chatbox and then propose. They dont need your life story, just a simple "Hey hows it going, Im interested in CARDNAME. Let me know if there is anything of mine your interested in. Thanks."

- Proposing a trade without saying anything in the chat box will get you as far as a turtle in peanut butter.  Even if you have stuff on their wishlist, leave your end blank then propose the trade. Users are sent email notifications only when a trade is actually proposed not when they are just created. Unless your setting up a purchase of cards, leaving your end blank will allow the other trader a chance to look at what you have and what they actually need based on necessity, want or what is already been trade for.

- You can tell if someone has not seen a message in the chatbox, if you look at the their current trades and next to the Hourglass or Arrow, they have a conversation bubble. If its there they havent seen the message yet, but if the bubble is not there, they either saw it briefly and didnt have a chance to respond or thinking it over might get back to you later.

- Using the "Email" option on a person's profile can be used as a last option to get a trade going. This option sends a message to the email account associated with their profile, but it has no direct connection to Deckbox, so it will require the trader to manually start up a trade with you. You're more likely to get a response by sending a trade proposal to someone (with an introduction in chat panel) than sending them a email where the other person would have to do all the work. If you want something from them, make the effort to get the ball rolling.

4. Trade Economics

- Think of trading online as buying something from eBay or Amazon. You send the money first then get the item. Same logic applies here but with not as much added security.

- The unwritten rule is generally the person with the lower References or is new to the site sends first. Trading online this way increases your chances of finding the cards your looking for without having to buy endless amounts packs for the chance to get them, or buying from a store, or trying find someone in your area to physically trade with. However this comes at a price. The price is the risk you take by sending your cards to a complete stranger and trusting they send you what you want. This is why its important to trade with someone who has a proven track record of being a reputable trader. Id be lying if I said there werent people who take advantage of this trust and try to scam you, but its the risk you take by agreeing to the rules and making the atempt to trade.

- The best way I found for a new trader to get their cards sooner is to send cards with tracking and give me the tracking number. Once I confirm the tracking number is legit (ie the date matches to the when it was sent, theres actually physically something in the USPS possession because of the tracking) I'll send out the other person's end. I have yet to have this process backfire on me and pretty sure alot of people who traded with me when they first started were relieved to get the trade done sooner.

5. Getting the most Bang for your BUCK

-If your looking to sell your collection or just a few cards, you need to keep in mind that there is an inherant difference between TCG/SCG value and actual cash value. Using a store price to value a cash offer is not a good way to get your cards sold. Stores like SCG and TCG are there to make more money than they spend. They do no sell cards for the price they got them at, which why they have a buylist price Your starting price for the cards should fall somewhere between that buylist price and the lowest offer than can be found. Why? Because if people want to buy a card for the full tcg scg value, why not then just buy from them? Its both safer and more practical then to have to deal with a single person whose jsut looking to off load some cards. Theres no set price that card should sell for but keep mind this a hobby and very collectable, so like all collectables, they are only worth what people will pay for them.

6. Patience is a virtue

- Just like Rome wasnt built in a day, things take time. Every single person on the planet, let alone this site, is living a life just as chaotic, stressful, and busy as your own and there are definitly things that take priority over checking a website. Once you propose something to user, give them a few days (atleast 3-4) to get back to you. Trading online is a slow process so if you need that last shockland to finish your playset for FNM this friday, your doing it wrong. There needs to be ample time given for both sides to consider the offer. Depending where the cards are being sent and by what type of mail, shipping time usually varies. The farther away they are being sent, the longer it will take.

- The trading rules can be found here (http://deckbox.org/help/trade_guidelines) and the site rules here (http://deckbox.org/help/trade_rules).
They are there to protect both parties. If and when the trade is agreed upon, make sure you discuss how things are getting shipped, and whether one person sends first or sending same time (simu-send).

Im sure more thoughts and ideas will be brought about as time goes on, so I will edit this post with the best of them.

So in the mean time, you stay classy Planet Earth. KCCO   XD

Last edited by Helios52 (2013-09-10 12:35:42)