Has your beer trading declined?

Less trading on this site, more trading on Facebook.

 

kind of where I am at with trading....have traded for many that i wanted and will trade for things i already like but it's def not as much as before.

 

I no longer am lusting after certain beers like I once was so trading has ended, but I still enjoy swapping boxes with random friends I have made here on BA. Most of the beers I am receiving are from breweries that are new to me and that is part of the thrill as well as drinking the same beer a friend might be drinking and comparing notes. But I no longer feel the need to trade for a specific beer or brewery. My biggest fear is that the beers I send out to my friends are no longer interesting to them and that my beer mail may dry up.

 

Living in St. Louis, my FOMO is definitely declining as I realize that we are super spoiled here and I have missed out on plenty of beers along the way. Having tried most of what I have desired in my area over the last few years and building a few close friends that I trade with routinely $4$, I just am not overly worried about chasing every possible beer that is released.

 

What about trading on Facebook is better than trading on this site?

 

I am not a huge trader, but I will be slowing down. I have been drinking down and trading away some. Most of what I have left in there, I really want to drink.

I may try to circle back to some old favorites at some point. My FOMO has dwindled quite a bit. I have been fortunate to have tried some great beers both locally and from far away. I guess I am to the point where it's just beer and I have lots of great local options.

 

Nothing really, but there definitely seems to be a heck of a lot more traffic on Facebook compared to here. When I post trades, I do both here and Facebook and easily get 3-4x the responses on Facebook.

 

If you don't mind me asking, are the responses quality, or just responses?

One of the reasons I have never even thought about FB trading is due to the massive trolling that I hear about.

 

I know this was directed at me, but allow me to share me experiences: I joined two FB groups about 2 years ago. I tried working out a few trades on there. Some where I posted a FT and some where I was responding to one. Most of the responses (or asks) were borderline ridiculous. My biggest gripe was that people way over-valued beers that they had brought back from trips. Those that are active on this site seem much more knowledgeable. And a lot more helpful. For me FB was all about winning the trade. I have since quit those FB groups.

 

If the trade requests are quality so are the responses. I seem to close faster on Facebook before I get any sort of response on BA. There can be a lot of trolling but I think it varies group to group.

 

I should probably add that I’ve only joined groups that are for IP trades for Chicago and surrounding suburbs. I’ve never shipped anything and still manage to trade for some pretty solid stuff.

 

Trading beer is an expensive pursuit imo, both in time and money. With the explosive growth of craft beer and commensurate improvement in quality (for the most part), I have no need to trade any more. I'm not a ticker. I could not care less if I don't try the latest Pastry Stout du jour. A humorous thing to me is that there is always another one released the following week. And the last thing I want to do is monitor the Beer Street Journal for beer futures. Always traded $4$. It's just beer after all.

Yes, there are some cool traders out there who are incredibly generous, no doubt. And I tried to be the same. I do miss loading a box up with extras as this was probably the best part of trading. I do think there are stages to being involved with craft beer. Trading beer is one stage many craft beer devotees go through. It can be fun, but again it can also be expensive (to what can be an already expensive hobby depending upon one's purchasing preferences). I might do a one-off here and there (I do miss HT ) but the days of consistent trading are long over for me.

 

I'd preface my statement by saying I have traded here for several years, and would MUCH prefer to trade here over FB.
However my last 3-4 trades (non repeat partners) I have posted on BA, let it sit for a few days and nothing. These exact same trades I copied/posted on FB groups and they all closed within 24hrs. Maybe it is just sample size.

I am trading less like others in general though, plenty more now days for me to drink locally and a short drive away.