Why No Trades?

[crzy4phins]

So here's one idea. I used to be a member of the monthly team lot trades. I loved doing those because the people you were supposed to trade with that month were assigned so all you had to do was post the trade and the other person confirm. The only reason I stopped doing it was because I was getting way too many duplicates because it was all mostly base cards. I would usually try to send a jersey or auto along with inserts or rookies but a lot of the time would get in return just like 10 base cards that I already had. What if we set up something like that but had stipulations on what needed to be sent like 1 auto or jersey, so many inserts, so many rookies and so many base? And if the person sending doesn't have enough for that particular team then they would have to get with the person they are sending to to see if they could substitute for a team or player.
@matt_curren @krunchtyme @vikesfan40 @NBSII @jplcom @SuperZeke50 @crzy4phins @jwlawrence06 @doniceage

[doniceage]

@crzy4phins

Have you checked out this thread:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/show...trading-thread

@lil5up3rman @bakemeister52

DOn

[crzy4phins]

Yeah. That's the one I used to be in but I was getting a bunch of dupes and not really getting the same value as what I would send. That's why I think there should be more stipulations as to what should be sent.

@crzy4phins

Have you checked out this thread:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/show...trading-thread

@lil5up3rman @bakemeister52

DOn

[jwlawrence06]

If you guys have any suggestions on things that could make this site better feel free to chime in. One rule I suggest is this it is easily implemented. If so there is no reason why Scott or the staff will not make it happen. I concur with the reasons above that folks just want to recoup their dollars, shipping cost has played a factor in trading, and so many other options with social media.
@matt_curren @krunchtyme @vikesfan40 @NBSII @jplcom @SuperZeke50 @crzy4phins @jwlawrence06

DON

My biggest suggestion would be to make it easier to match up with a potential trade partner. Beckett does a pretty good job at this, and I think we can mirror some of that functionality in SCF. Here's an example scenario that I encounter:

I am looking to complete the 2017 Donruss Football inserts set. Therefore I have flagged every card that I need as a 'WANT'. I have also updated my entire inventory with potential cards that I am willing to trade. What I would LIKE to do, is run some sort of query of who on SCF has 'x' number of cards from my want list (possibly ordered by most matches?). Once paired with trade partners based on # of cards they have as TRADERs from your WANT list, you can browse to see if there are any cards from their WANT list that you have in your TRADER, and pitch a potential trade. Otherwise you can send over a list of cards you are interested in and let them browse your inventory for cards they may be interested in.

BIG caveat to this is we would need maximum participation in the inventory manager. Technology has provided us such a great opportunity to create trades and I think we can capitalize on this. I think SCF users just need to consolidate their traders/want lists into SCF and start following a unified process so we can get the trade volume back up.

[jplcom]

My biggest suggestion would be to make it easier to match up with a potential trade partner. Beckett does a pretty good job at this, and I think we can mirror some of that functionality in SCF. Here's an example scenario that I encounter:

I agree with that. I traded a long time on Beckett until they started charging for the privilege to trade there. As much as I dislike their user interface, their database of cards is the best and it's easy to browse and search a potential traders organize. Their matchmaker was one of the few brilliant ideas they've come up with in the last 10 years though being unable to filter out members who aren't currently subscribed to an org (and thus not trading) or being able to filter out people based on last login is annoying.

I wonder if SCF could discuss some sort of partnership with the people who run tradingcarddb.com to reference a database of cards that rivals Beckett, then enhance the Inventory Manager to allow traders to find each other. Heck that'd be something I would be willing to pay for since I would know it would go towards active development of this site.

[McCallum12]

I think the drop in activity is mix of reasons. I def believe there are less people collecting the sport as there used to be. It seems that in the Football world, if you aren't a hot or HOF QB or RB to a lesser extent, your card prices just aren't enough to justify breaking a lot of wax. As much as alot of us don't like it, this hobby has large following from gamblers and prospectors and it seems like Baskeball and Baseball are better bets at the moment.

Next I think times are just changing. From what I've been able to find, its only here and Blowout that have active trading message boards. The rest is done on Ebay/Comc/Insta/FB. I'm completely guessing, but I would imagine the younger crowd in the hobby does most of their trading on Insta/FB over message boards. Could be completely wrong there though.

Last, when it comes to team trading, I think the group breaks are hurting that aspect. Instead of buying a box or 2 for yourself, alot of people are getting in Group Breaks (myself included) and paying for the teams I want/collect. So there are less people busting a box and trying to trade all the other 31 teams they don't collect. As other people have said, the price of shipping is also a big factor when it comes to commons trading.

One change I would like to see on the forums is making people who post a For Sale thread put the price they are looking for and wether that price is hard or if they are willing to negotiate. It would save a lot of time and hassle form messaging people when both parties are way off on what they think the card is worth.

[baystate123]

Can't speak for the site and everyone's personal reasons are different. For me, between the cost of cards and shipping it's got to be something of reasonable interest.

[crzy4phins]

I agree with a lot of these posts. I think the "match maker" for trades would be great. The only thing I can't do is use the inventory manager exclusively. I have been collecting and trading since 1999 so I have a lot of cards and I trade on 2 or 3 different sites so I don't have time to put everything into all of their managers. I have a website for the inserts and rookies that I update and Flickr for the jersey's and autos. If there was something where I could import everything from the lists I already have would be amazing. I just don't have the time to put all that in multiple sites.
Also, maybe there could be a section just for trading inserts and rookies and it might narrow down what people are looking for besides the usual "wanting to trade for whatever catches my eye."

[NBSII]

I btw....I'm looking for cowboys, refractors and rookies of Tony Romo, jason Witten, drew brees, and a few others....

Thanks for the fun.

I also think that part of the issue is that those, that are team/player collectors, seem to collect a lot of the same teams (Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers) etc. I mean I would trade some awesome stuff to whoever collects the Buccaneers, Ravens, Forty Niners, etc. --- and if I do find them, they have no Cowboys because they have already been "picked over".

[swiggy56]

I'm happy this post has been made. I have noticed for a while now as well that the same posts are always updated. I will see some new posts and I'll check them out, but most of the time I don't see anything I am interested in. I agree that it would be nice if some would post prices for their cards, rather than 'make an offer'. Sometimes I (and I'm guessing some of you) don't have the time to go on eBay and check the pricing on a specific card(s). But what do you do when you make an offer based on eBay current/sold listings and that person rejects the offer and wants more? If you want it for your PC, you will pay that price. Or, you reluctantly pass on it. There have been a couple times on this site that I offered to buy a card, and was denied because they wanted to trade only.

Some of you have sold me some cards and know that I only buy, I don't trade. Some reasons are; I don't have the $$ to buy a box. It's hard for me to fork the money over and get nothing for my PC. But it does give the opportunity for trade bait. However, you can be sitting on everything because you can't find anyone to sell/trade to. I can't afford to sit on cards that no one is interested in. I don't do breaks. I've done one and have wanted to do more, but when I see break prices in various groups/breakers depending on the product, I just can't do it. I can't pay almost half of a box of cards for 1 team and get nothing. I get that helps with the break proceeding.... But when you pay $50-$80 for your team and you get nothing, it doesn't sit well. My opinion it's like a waste of money (in my situation it is) when I could have used that money for PC purchases.

I feel that Panini has saturated the market so much that team/set collecting has almost effectively been killed. They have produced so much product with so many parallels that you almost can't complete a set that is not either base or parallel that is not serial numbered. It has become a business rather than a hobby. It's all about the hits now. Almost everyone goes to eBay for pricing and if you are looking for a certain player out of a certain product, it's either your weekly allowance or an arm/leg. What bothers me the most is when the draft starts. I don't understand how people can justify a rookie commanding hundreds or thousands of dollars because of what they did in college and has never played an NFL game, versus an established star or HOF'er who has proven themselves. For example, Rashaad Penny 1/1's were going anywhere from $400 to over $1000 when they started popping up on eBay, and Russell Wilson 1/1's were going between $60 to $200 (unless its a high end product then both their prices can be even more). 1/1's are awesome, they are unique. But not so unique when there are 3 or 4 for the same card, and, the fact that are just so many 1/1's now.

I wouldn't be surprised if one day the market crashes. Just too many products and inflated prices. Collecting is a hobby and trading is a part of it. This all should be fun! If you are in it only for the money, you are in it for the wrong reasons.

All of you have some good ideas for the site. Hope some can be implemented.

Sorry if all this rabble rabble doesn't make sense lol, just my thoughts.