1. Trying to obtain a specific beer? Looking for a proxy or trustee? Tired of trading on other platforms? We've got you covered. Join our Beer Trading community to unlock this forum and new features! — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate

At what point do you tell yourself not to trade?

Discussion in 'Trade Talk' started by JohnB87, Dec 30, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. JohnB87

    JohnB87 Zealot (649) Mar 14, 2011 Michigan

    Lately, I've been seeing a lot of high caliber beers such as Grey Monday or CBS being put on the trading boards from people when they only have posted on BA less than 10 times.

    At what point do you not even bother trading and say that it is too much risk?
     
  2. match1112

    match1112 Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2011 Illinois

    the second you question whether or not it's worth it you are telling yourself it's not. you should listen to yourself instead of trying to collect the most tics.
     
    Gosox8787, ehammond1 and Arbitrator like this.
  3. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    When you realize it costs too much money, time, and effort.
     
  4. Vanlingleipa

    Vanlingleipa Maven (1,424) May 19, 2011 California
    Trader

    I assign Yummy Points to each beer. Then I associate a rarity multiplier. Yummy Points x Rarity Multiplier = Trade Value for that beer.

    Of course, not surprisingly, I just pulled that out of my nether orifice. Like everyone else, I sort of guess.
     
  5. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader


    Ask them to ship 1st, easy.
     
    Pelican5 and cavedave like this.
  6. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I always apologize if I seem like a dick when I do this, but under 10 trades and/or under a year on the site, you are asked to ship first. On the flip side I have always, to this day, been willing to ship first to an established trader if it gets the deal done. I have sent first as recently as 6 mo.'s ago when it was necessary.
     
  7. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I've shipped 1st, and I've done maybe 30 trades in total, so I'm not a prolific trader, but I have no problem shipping first if asked to do so. Some trades just get shipped ASAP nothing agreed upon, who's going to rip me off for Lindley Park? I don't have any whales to trade, and I've never tried to trade for a hard to get brew, for rares maybe I wouldn't be so casual unless I've worked with them before or they have references.
     
  8. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Initiate (0) Sep 4, 2010 California

    Yup like the point I hit a few months ago when I spent $30 on shipping in one trip. I said screw it I could invest in that a lot of alcohol and not have to deal with all this.
     
  9. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Shipping is a given whether it's via trade or online store. There are times when I want a HT or some Alpine IPA's and that's the price I'll pay. I would get bored pretty quickly only drinking what's available here, and there are superior beers here to be sure.
     
  10. mocktm

    mocktm Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2011 Virginia

    I'm pretty much cutting myself out of the trade game after I complete the few pending ones I have. There's just too much solid stuff available locally and shipping is killer on my bank account.
     
    harleyrdking and Arbitrator like this.
  11. Arbitrator

    Arbitrator Pooh-Bah (1,955) Nov 26, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Trading made a lot more sense to me 4 years ago, when there were fewer wide-distributed beers available and the community was smaller. In the past 4 years, stores around me started carrying Russian River, Alesmith, Ballast Point, Firestone Walker, Hair of the Dog, Great Divide.... I even found Abyss at Costco. As a result, I've pretty much stepped out of the game. I can barely keep up with the beers around me, so why try to keep up with beers from another area?

    I'm not sure why anyone is jumping through hoops to get the latest and greatest when there are often substantial numbers of great beers on shelves locally.

    Trust your intuition: if you're asking yourself whether a trade is worth it (risk-wise, time-wise, cost-wise), it's probably not.
     
    ericwo, mdvatab, denimdemon and 2 others like this.
  12. Finatic

    Finatic Initiate (0) Jan 16, 2011 Florida

    Shipping adds up quickly as I have discovered. This is as advertised, a very expensive and addictive hobby.
     
  13. kscaldef

    kscaldef Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2010 Oregon

    I'm going on hiatus after I finish my pending trades, simply because I've realized I'm trading for beers faster than I can keep up with drinking them.
     
    Beerontwowheels and davesway10 like this.
  14. whiskey

    whiskey Initiate (0) Feb 25, 2012 California

    Same here. After trading for a decent amount of BA beers that are "sought after" I realized that none have blown my doors off more than things I can get locally like Abyss and Ivan. The only reason I would continue to trade wiould be to make tastings fun for the people that don't do BA.
     
  15. Siggy125

    Siggy125 Maven (1,294) Nov 10, 2006 California
    Trader

    Interesting concept. But "Yummy?" Really?...
     
    Bluecane likes this.
  16. Vanlingleipa

    Vanlingleipa Maven (1,424) May 19, 2011 California
    Trader

    Like anything else emitted by a nether orifice, the end results are rarely pleasing or appreciated. However, your dog-god avatar may beg to differ.
     
    Siggy125 likes this.
  17. jawzman

    jawzman Initiate (0) Mar 20, 2010 Minnesota

    If you fear that you might be encoutering a bad trader, as mentioned earlier, ask them to ship first. There was a case with one of my trades that I actually waited until I received my end prior to shipping his end out. The guy seemed shady and was elusive/slow in response to my BM's, but alas, all was received as promised. With all these "high-caliber" beers you speak of, timing usually isn't an issue unless your partner told you that he needed them ASAP from the beginning for a tasting or something of similar ilk. If they seem in too big a hurry and are pressuring you to ship, that would raise red flags...
     
  18. abecall98

    abecall98 Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2007 California
    Trader

    Pretty much this. Too many good beers close by to justify the added cost of shipping or headache of playing the "beer market" to make trading much less important.

    There is just far too many limited this or RARE this to care much. If anything lately, it's mostly just hookup boxes and blind trade boxes sent to my peeps.
     
  19. black13

    black13 Initiate (0) Apr 11, 2010 Oregon

    When you have 900 beers in your cellar and only drink 2-3 beers a week!
     
  20. mhenson42

    mhenson42 Maven (1,409) Nov 20, 2011 Texas
    Trader

    ugh... just checked my fedex charges for the last 180 days...

    last 30 days = $302.32 (last weeks and this weeks boxes aren't showing up yet either)
    31-60 days ago = $317.74
    61-90 days ago = $460.91
    91-180 days ago = $521.85

    So that's since July 1st :grimacing: I need to slow down the trading in 2013, lol.
     
    EyePeeAyBryan and Arbitrator like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.