I'm a newbie trader, who is in real life friends with a seasoned trader or two on BA who can vouch for me. I'm looking to start a trading relationship with someone outside of the NJ/NY area, not necessarily looking for rare stuff but looking to make trades for beers that I can't get in NJ. I do have some rare beers that I'd be willing to part with also such as BCBS Cherry Rye, Founders Frangelic Mountain, etc. Not much in my cellar is older than 2 years. Any tips, pointers, ideas would be appreciated (especially about packaging). Looking to prove dependability as well.
Welcome. Start here: http://alewatcher.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-trader-tips.html Then fire away with any questions!
start small with local stuff, seekabrew is your new best friend. Look into some breweries your interested in, figure out what you can get that a local can not and post. Offer to ship first, be generous, start off with experienced traders. As far as packing goes, if you think its OK, it not, keep wrapping until your positive.
Thanks for the tips so far. Very familiar with Seekabrew and know a lot of people in my local beer community (part of a NJ Craft beer website we have). Definitely not looking for whales, looking to get some regular stuff that I can't buy off the shelf such as Cigar City, Sweetwater, Boulevard, etc. NJ has great distribution, so I'm not complaining, but looking to branch out as I've tried almost all the regulars on the shelf. I have no issue with shipping first as I understand I need to earn trust. I do have a few whales that I'm willing to trade, but not the main purpose of my endeavor.
I'd be down to do some shelf trading in a few weeks. Im in the middle of a few trades now and want to complete them before I go for another. I've got all of the CCB shelf stuff (most are canned so ship easily) and Im only an hour and half from CCB in Tampa so I make occasional trips.
Sounds good ET678, message me know when you are ready. Also, let me know if there is anything we get that you are interest in. Like I said before, NJ has good distribution, so I can probably get something you are interested in. I also work in NYC, so I have somewhat limited access to NY's distribution. CCB claims to distribute in NY, but haven't seen any here in over a year.
As a heads up, trading can be more time consuming than you may imagine, depending on the number trades you complete each month. Personally, I found it a very worthwhile investment to purchase bottle shippers, as they greatly reduce packing time. Have fun and enjoy.....
OP is a good guy... I can vouch for Dennis as he's a personal friend of mine if anyone needs a reference. Send this man some good beer!
Just wanted to let it known, I'm not ready to trade the Cherry Rye yet, want to just do locals for locals right now until I have a few trades under my belt.
they smelled blood in the water... Seriously though OP, starting out with some local trades is the best way. My first few were with locals for shelf Surly, CCB and other things you wont see in the Tri-State area. Also, do yourself a favor and avoid trading with another newbie if you can - scenarios like this account for plenty of the 'bad trader' threads around here.
Thanks for the tip. I've got a first trade lined up, so I'm looking forward to some CCB in the near future. Really loving the messages that say things along the lines of "I'll do a local for locals trade. I'll get you a [Fat Tire, etc.]. I'm really looking for KBS or Doom." I might me new at trading, but I wasn't born yesterday and I do know my beer.
Welcome and enjoy your endeavor(s)! Packaging Tip: 14x14x14 box from walmart.....68 cents. Pad inside bottom of box then put a 750ml.(wine box,w/thick carboard dividers)inside that one. Bubble wrap all bottles being sent out,then place in box.Pad the sides and top as well. Shipping bottles upright will almost eliminate sloshing sounds.Tape up and ship out. Almost 50 trades this way and not a single bad incident yet! Good Luck and Enjoy my friend. Cheers!!
