ARTICLE: Mike's guide to trading on SCF

[soxfan445]

Mike's guide to trading on SCF
by soxfan445 (Mike W.)

Hey everyone. It's been a while since I made a Mike's guide to, but I noticed recently that there was really no guide for new traders. I didn't include this in my original Mike's guide to series because I didn't feel like I was an experienced trader, but now that I have over 30 feedback, I'm qualified in my own mind to write this. This guide is intended to help new traders learn the ropes without having to feel silly asking questions. After all, trading is a huge part of SCF, right?

One more thing. I am providing links to already written guides so that I don't have to explain things that are already well explained elsewhere. I will give you credit for your work, but if for any reason you don't want the guide in here, just shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to take it out, no questions asked.
Here we go.

You may have found SCF through a referral, an ad, or a search engine. You may have come here an experienced trader already, or, in my case, have no trading experience. If you are the latter, than this guide is for you. I will attempt to explain all the nuances of trading on SCF.

Your first step should be to Make a tradepage or a tradelist. You want to make an up to date listing of your cards so people can ask for a specific card you have that they need. Almost everyone on SCF has a trade page or a trade link, and that's the thing you should do first. You can make it like mine, where I scanned in every card in my collection, or just make a list with no pictures. However, many traders appreciate it if you provide the current Book Value of each of your cards from either a current Beckett magazine or Beckett.com. Beckett is the most used trading resource, and Tuff Stuff pricing is not really accepted here.

Good guides to how to make a tradepage for yourself can be found here:
A simple, but complete one:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/forum/sho...threadid=74671 (Credit: Deadshot)
or a more advanced one:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/forum/sho...threadid=86436 (Credit: Trampus)
Your second step will to be to Make a post in the appropriate trading forum. If you are looking for baseball cards, make a post in the baseball forum. If you are looking for hockey, make a post in the hockey forum. Do NOT make a post in the "(Sport) Card forum".

You want to make the trading post in the "(Sport) Trading and Selling forum". A post in the "card forum" will not get as many viewers, and trading is not allowed in the card forum.

Only in the trading and selling forum for your specific sport.In your post in the trading forum, let everyone know what you have, either by making a list or referring people to your site. When someone finds something they want, they will tell you they need it, and then you can try to put a deal together with that person. If that person has no cards that you want or need, just respectfully tell them "I didn't see anything I needed, thanks anyway." That's it. Most traders here won't come back and pester you for the card if you say they don't have anything. They may ask you if you want to sell the card, and you can either give them a price or say "No, thanks."

A good article on proper trading etiquette is here:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/forum/sho...threadid=85520 (Credit: Deadshot)

Many traders communicate through PM (Private messages). This reduces clutter on the boards and is almost necessary if you are going to set up a deal. To check your PMs, click "Open your PM box" on the right side of the screen on the main forum page. Make suer to clear your PM box often, because people will not be able to contact you if you have over 150 SENT OR RECIEVED PMs in your PM box. Make sure to keep ALL PMs for trades that are still pending.

Once you have a deal put together, you need to exchange addresses. I was a little skeptical of giving my address to strangers, but I have had no problems yet. Send the card in a bubble mailer (size #00 is best). Send the card in a top loader with a penny sleeve, and a team bag if you have them. Either take the card to the post office (highly recommended), or with one to three cards, you can put 2 stamps on it. You will need to go to the post office if you need services like delivery confirmation (I use it on all packages sold over $5 or BV over $15), or insurance.

More details on shipping can be found here:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/forum/sho...threadid=74004

After you send out your cards (or before), make a post in the "Trades in Progress forum"
This forum will chart the progress of your trade, and, most importantly, allow mods to help you if there is a problem. Both people in the trade need to confirm the trade being done, and then, confirm that they have recieved the card(s) when they get them.
Here is an example of correct posting in the trades in progress forum:
https://www.sportscardforum.com/forum/sho...threadid=80342

After both parties say they recieved the cards, a mod will move the thread into the Completed Trades forum. Congratulations, you completed a trade!

There is one other thing you must do. After you recieve a card, you need to leave feedback. You can do this by clicking on the "Profile" button under a post of the person you are dealing with. The feedback section is at the top of the page, you can't miss it. Make sure you click "Positive" if you had a good experience, and leave some comments on how the trade went.

If in the rare occurance you have a problem with a trade, PM one of the moderators and they will help you solve the problem. That is why it is important to keep all of your trading posts, PMs, and records straight.

I hope this guide helped you to learn how to correctly trade on SCF. If you have ANY questions whatsoever about trading, PM me, or any of the moderators, we would all be hapy to answer them for you.

Thanks for the read, and have a good day.
Regards!
Mike

[soxfan445]

ttt, I guess.

Regards!
Mike

[Deadshot]

Once again, nice job :)

[TurdFerguson]

Very good job Mike.

[soxfan445]

Thanks to whoever stickied this, but I think other articles (like Kyle's trading and manners), should be stickied too. This is admittingly not my best work.

Or, we could just have an article forum :D

Regards!
Mike

[minew_m]

I have to congratulate you on another awesome article! Your doing a great job with these. Thanks for the read.