Current State of Trading

Loved to trade back in the day (2006-2009)
I would like to get back up to speed with it.

 

There's been talk of BIFs being a fun way to still trade non-whales, so I wanted to throw in a good word for the one I've been running and will run again in early 2020. The Rookies is a smaller effort BIF that has a good mix of experienced traders and brand new traders. We've only had a couple flakes, but those that were originally stiffed, ended up getting even more than they originally would have, as it's a solid group. Feel free to message me if anyone has any questions.

 

For locals trading where you live plays a big part too. If you live in Central VT, putting up a trade for Alchemist and Lawson’s will be fairly easy to do. The same with Chicago theres plenty of great beer that people know about and want, there’s no secret. You live in the middle of NC not so much, or Utah, putting up $4$ trades is really a crap shoot.

 

Haven't traded in awhile due to the fact that distribution in NY has become amazing the last few years with so many great breweries available from outside the area that im less inclined to try beers from other markets..we also have a fantastic local scene as well. Another reason i slowed down is that trading became a bit more than just a little habit for me..i was trading so often i was running out of room to store all the bottles i had and that most of the bees i was acquiring were just to use as trade bait for something bigger and more harder to acquire and i realized that i already had so many great beers waiting to be tasted, why keep trading for more?..i made the decision to stop, enjoy what i had already traded for. I had so much that i gave a bunch of stuff away and kept what i really wanted..my liver thanks me for doing this

 

I've been trading for a year now, and have completed five trades, with another shipping tomorrow. I've been lucky to have traded with folks experienced in trading, and had one in-person trade/share/meetup.

The biggest hassle for me has been shipping. Last week I had an aborted UPS shipment - dropped it off, you could hear sloshing, so told them cologne, they asked how many ounces and I said 10. They called me after I left, and said the total liquid limit was 8oz. The clerk wanted me to open it there, take out the cologne, and ship - but I told her that I need to replace the present. So I'm repacking to be quieter and will go to a different shipping center. Our post office is even nosier than UPS.

 

That’s the key: good participants. Fortunately, @nc41 and I have participated in the NBS BIF’s, and the participants I’ve dealt with have been exceptionally generous, and all I’ve received were “new to me” beers that were all fresh when freshness mattered for the style (IPA/DIPA).

I’m still working through some BA stuff that’s 1-1/2 years old. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll crack one of those today for NBS.

 

Sloshing box annoys the hell out of me, a double box is more expensive but the first priority is that it gets there safe, besides in the winter the double box gives more insulation as well as helps kill noise. Depending on what a 14 cube into a 16 cube works pretty damn well.

 

This . That round table of Missouri traders, Midwest, penn voodoo traders, same shit over and over and they all are the ones holding their beers to a hard secondary. The worst part is some of these FT when they do want to let go over their harder to land beers, it's like "how much can I squeeze out of the others side".

 

Yup, I'm planning to double box presuming I have the bigger box for it. Also planning to stand up all the beer with the label up when I drop it off, so sloshing will be minimized as compared to laying down.

 

I’ve never shipped bottle up, it makes sense though to noise, but I bet it kills space. It’s xmas time it’s busy and fast and loud , I would watch the cold, but I don’t think noise is a huge problem right now.

 

I'm not trading any more, but when I was I'd have Fedex pick up at my house. The delivery guy didn't care what was in the box and I figured when the truck got to the sorting facility it would be noisy enough to drown out sloshing. I figured the worst place to drop off was a quiet counter.

 

I only ship at USPS self service machines. Probably limits the big shipments, but you don’t have to interact with a person who could catch on to sloshing. That said, I also usually throw in some small plastic (tiny legos) that make a bunch of noise when the box moves around. If you can get the box past the counter, you’re most likely in the clear. Every other part of the shipping process is so loud that your 1 box isn’t likely to get pulled out and flagged.

 

Very old trader's perspective here. To answer the OP, yes, local for local isn't the easiest sell, but if you have desirable stuff around, it shouldn't take too long to find a willing partner. But the explosion of good local options everywhere means plenty of traders (me included) who used to do these kinds of trades have bowed out. The pool is probably just smaller now.

Overall, trading is harder now. Much harder. There have been several posts touching on this, but unless you have something in the Top 250, or a small whale or larger, people just aren't interested. This may also have to do with better local beer, or the prestige of having a 'Name' beer to share, or goodness knows what. But once upon a time a really good beer brought significant interest. That criteria has changed.

For those who have only traded here, it's no easier, more difficult, safer, or really much different to trade on other platforms. There are assholes there; there are assholes here, seemingly in about the same ratio. I have a long list of BA folks who pulled shady B.S. while we were trying to set up a trade & I've had the same experiences elsewhere.

Trading should be fun!

 

legit had a PA trader hit me up trying to trade me his Zangief for some BL, when the trade was pretty much agreed upon he straight up told me he was trying to get as much out of me as possible lmao

 

You need an orange helmet to trade these days. Heh heh. Well said about secondary value, strongly agree.

 

I think local markets are booming across the country, and are able to satisfy the local demand across the popular styles. Barrel-aged pastry stouts, hazy ipas in silver cans, and fruited american sours are widely available in most local markets.

I think this has cut down the demand for the local for local trades.

 

Hey Ant did we just become friends? You're alright in my book.

 

Some (not all) of you sound like a bunch of grannies. Trading, of all kinds, is alive and well. Just not on this site so much anymore. That does bum me out a little, as I learned to trade on this site. Are there massive douchebags in trading? Yup. Are there amazing people in trading? Yup. Same as always.

I don't mean to generalize (well, maybe a little) but threads like these often sound like sour grapes to me from guys who catch feelings because they can't trade for Beer:Barrel:Time for their shitty local brewery's stout.

 

I think so man. Appreciate it. Nothing like good beer and orange helmets to bring people together!