set building and insert for insert trading

[fillyphan]

Hi everyone,
first off, about me: I am pretty inconsistent collector, but like to build sets as opposed to collecting teams/players/GU/autos. I am only a semi-recent collector, so my needs and trades mainly fall within 2007-14. I like the UD series because they are affordable, but also because there are a lot of insert sets that I like to chase. My biggest thrill in collecting is when I can mark off a completed set/subset.

When I trade, I like to trade inserts for inserts, YGs for YGs, but will also trade lower/mid end GU/auto for these. The problem I am finding on here is that there are almost 0 collectors like me. This post isn't to complain, because I hope most people here are trying to trade at equal value and are looking for what they personally collect, but what I am finding is that the only way for me to trade for the cards I need is to trade higher value cards (patches/low #'d/rare) or to buy.

Am I hopeless in these trading standards I'd like to go by? Is there any advice on how I can complete my sets, while also being able to get rid of insert doubles if possible?

[piper1]

Part of your challenge might be that spreadsheet. It looks like you have some decent traders but it is not very easy to navigate.

[miscs75]

Like piper1 said, the spreadsheet is tricky to navigate. Go to google drive and create a new file from google sheets. Then take all of your traders, copy them and paste them as values only. My tradelist can be used an example.

[jhook83]

Hi, I'm new to posting and have like zero experience shipping cards, but I am a very similar collector. Same time era (08-current) and a set builder in the same vein. Unfortunately I don't have a list of traders made either but rest assured, I have TONS of extra inserts and young guns that I'd love to utilize to finish my sets off! Your post made me want to at least let you know that we do exist!

[miscs75]

Hi, I'm new to posting and have like zero experience shipping cards, but I am a very similar collector. Same time era (08-current) and a set builder in the same vein. Unfortunately I don't have a list of traders made either but rest assured, I have TONS of extra inserts and young guns that I'd love to utilize to finish my sets off! Your post made me want to at least let you know that we do exist!

Use the inventory and add all your traders to the inventory. It'll organize it for you and put all of your traders into a database.

[Drewk86a]

I'll provide the dissenting opinion. I like you trader list (with a few suggested changes).

As someone with over 8,000 parallels and inserts I struggle with how to get my card lists into a format that others can easily view and search. if it's hard for people to navigate your list, they won't come back.

I found it very easy to copy/paste your trader list into MS Excel. Then by applying (easily done) filters to the headers I was able to pull out cards by name, set, type. Your spreadsheet pretty much matches the one I use.

The only changes I might suggest is:
Separate column for player first name and last name
Keep "subset" for the name/description of the card (Blue foil, Highlight Heroes, Gold, Authentic Fabrics Dual) but add a column for card type (base, parallel, Insert, SP)

Welcome to the site. Hope you get lots of trading opportunities!

[Goose97]

I myself like you do set trading in addition to my player PC's. For most trades I don't have much of a problem trading cards such as YG's for base and inserts as long as I feel I'm getting a decent amount of my wants in return. Usually dangling a nice GU out to bring in a pile of inserts can have a benefit in itself. I just adapt to who I deal with and on here I've had tremendous success dwindling my want list, and filling up my player PC's.

As for your spreadsheet it is tricky like others have mentioned. Piper1 and me use the exact same webs site, and we each have our own way of displaying our traders, but everything is laid out in a way to help easily navigate them. I organize my traders by set which is quite standard, and by using cntrl+f also helps if searching for certain players or teams as well. This could be one option for you instead of a Google Drive spreadsheet.

Another option is to use the existing SCF Inventory manager. In addition to my site that I use, I also use this. It works great if I want to do a quick player search of another member's traders. Provided they use the IM. Plus if there is someone wanting to see what I have, I can send them a link to what I have for traders be it player, team(in some cases), or even set.

Here's an example if you are looking for 2010-12 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary Variation:http://opg.sportscardforum.com/scf/i.../200/year/2010

Voila! Easy list provided!

There are is a want list search option as well, but sadly there just isn't enough people using it, but for those traders that do, I have made some unbelievably quick trades with them.

[Bronson13]

I am also like yourself, prefer to build sets and trade to complete. I have not done much in the last 6 years but are getting back into it recently. The last set I built was the Upper Deck series 1 2005-06 series. I have lots of doubles if your interested in that year. I am new here and do not have a trade list either. Msg me if your interested.
Cheers
Wade

[fillyphan]

Thanks for everyone's comments. I actually thought having a file where people could filter for what they are looking for would be ideal, but starting to see a lot of others traders sites where they are in lists. I guess its the accountant in me in wanting to build an excel file where you can filter and sort for sets/players. I've made some changes, but my dislike with a google doc is that I still like using excel on my desktop, and the online version doesn't automatically sync between google docs and excel. Still a work in progress, but appreciate the advice. Also, glad to hear from a few other set collectors!

[Gallinator]

That's pretty much my problem with Google docs as well - sometimes I feel so old at 44! Someday I'll have to take the plunge...

I like to complete sets and subsets, also - pretty scattershot on everything in addition to certain player PCs. The biggest hit to trading has been postage increases. I can still ship small quantities to Canada cheaply in cardboard mailers, but a lot of people simply don't bother anymore when it costs $6+ for a bubble mailer. You're right, there are some out there who expect too much for what they are offering, but I've found a lot of decent partners on this site, too. Just keep plugging away!