What trade feedback means to you when evaluating a trade partner...

But you are essentially doing that.

 

Extras are just that: extras. Maybe you expect them because it seems commonplace here with the the generous traders on the site, but I don't hold it against someone on the feedback if they didn't include extras. All I care about is they send what they said they're sending/agreed upon, and they communicate shipping times/tracking numbers.

 

No, mention of extras isn't a big selling point for me. If the person has a lot of feedback, general enthusiasm that they're a good trader is.

One thing that's also a big + for me is number of repeat trade partners. If someone has 100 trades and very few repeat trades, that's a little iffy. I generally hope to find people that I can trade with repeatedly and thereby avoid the ISO forum. Granted, some people stop logging trades with their repeat partners but you get the gist.

Another thing that's a plus for me is if the person actually contributes to the forums in some way. There are folks out there with a number of trades and very few posts. They're a bit more anonymous and have less reputation to protect.

Finally, if people post a lot ... their attitude and personality makes a difference. You can read a few posts and get a feel for if they're a solid person and can communicate well. I generally avoid trading with people that seem way too high strung, angry, or can't put together a sentence.

 

Were the agreed upon beers sent in the time agreed upon and packaged well? That's it. Extras are extras.

 

When I first read this thread I thought your trading partner didn't send any extras. It looks like you both did send extras but you may have felt your extra was above theirs.

I don't care if they thank me or include anything about extras in my feedback. I've sent some nice extras in the past but I expect nothing in return, extras, thank you's, or even mentions in the feedback.

 

Missing the point here. OP isn't complaining about not receiving extras. But rather throwing in a killer extra, and not getting recognized in the feedback.

 

mentioning extras? be glad the person actually put in positive feedback at all. i guess i'm not truly a "trader" so my opinion probably carries less weight. the multiple exchanges i've done have all gone well but i don't go into any exchanges expecting to build up my credit score or achieve extra pats on the back & what not. the object of the feedback is to advise of trustworthy vs. questionable traders. it's not really supposed to be a reference to WHO GIVES GREAT EXTRAS. jmho

& what happens if that's what people actually engage into a trade with you hoping to take advantage of & you let them down? would you feel the least uncomfortable if say they started a thread asking for thoughts from others because the extras you sent them were o.k. but it happened to the one thing they're sitting on a full pallet of? of course their purpose wouldn't be to shame you for doing so, they'd just be asking an innocent question.

 

OP, while I always make mention in feedback if someone throws in extras, I don't really take that into consideration when trading. I've traded with people who have had little mention of extras and have thrown in tons of stuff, and I've traded with people who have feedback that states that they sent great extras, yet I received none.

 

In terms of feedback, no...it's so black and white....good, bad, okay.

In terms of you rocked their world with something they couldn't get normally...yes, it's a big deal.

I feel extras are a given, and should be something that you are proud to send! Maybe they'll become a regular trading partner and make it up on the next go-round!

 

Ok, yeah I did kind of miss the point. I have sent great extras with no mention of it in the feedback. I don't expect people to mention them, they were extras and not part of the trade. Thus, hopefully this isn't a huge deciding factor for people. It certainly isn't for me.

 

The first paragraph could be misleading for some. Many of my regular trade partners and I don't go through this system for the many trades we do anymore. Perhaps we should but being able to have met some of them in person I'd be more disappointed if they ever screwed me over losing their friendship than any beer I sent them.

Your second paragraph is spot on!

 

Totally agree the repeat trader thing could be misleading and I tried to hint at that. None of the factors are deal breakers - except people that communicate really poorly (when comments say "great communication" that's a plus for me) - but repeat traders is one thing I do look at. If you don't have a lot of repeats, but have great feedback and contribute a lot? Great! If you don't really post much but have a lot of repeat trade partners, then I figure you must be doing something right.

I just looked at the top of the trade board - @WCW is just killing it with 244 trades and 81 repeat trades! When 81 BA's wanna trade with you again? I've never traded with him ... but we could probably do 6 degrees of WCW. ;-)

 

When I look at trade feedback of a potential trade partner, I don't look for or care about any mention of extras. Some people will over-sell or under-sell that aspect of the box that they receive but the more I trades that I do the more I'm concerned with pacing & especially communication. Those are the big ones for me

 

I kind of wish extras weren't the norm honestly. It's one thing if one side is throwing stuff in just as a way to help even up a $4$ difference from the main trade, or if it's with a regular trading partner whom you know likes a particular kind of beer and you just want to include something else you think they'll like so they can try it.

But from a standpoint of a person throwing out an ISO and a very even trade being agreed upon, I just don't see what the point of both sides then adding additional mystery beers as extras is. I get that it's fun to open a box and have a surprise or two in there, trust me. But I guess I just feel like trading is expensive enough already without having to then include even more beers that the other person may or may not even care about. And I feel like any discrepancy between the number or quality of extras between the two parties can and often does lead to the type of butthurtedness exhibited here.

So to answer the question, no I don't worry about extras being mentioned in people's feedback. Much more worried about communication and packing.

 

I don't look at a person's feedback for what kind of extras they threw in. But When I leave feedback if I got awesome extras then I will mention that they gave great extras. And I will personally thank them for the extras.

I personally love the whole idea of extras. It's fun, and sometimes I am more excited to see what someone has included than I am about the actual trade.

I also go into every trade thinking that this person could become a regular trading partner, granted they are an enjoyable person and not angry or douchey, so I will include some pretty good extras. And then on the next trade the extras will get even better and so forth. Plus I just want to share good beer with good people.

 

Personally, these are the main things I mentioned in all/most of my feedback: 1) How great was communication; 2) Are they friendly/pleasant?; 3) Well-packed and/or fast shipping?; 4) Extras?; 5) Recommended or trade again? . I know it's a lot to cram into the feedback, but I've been able to manage. While positive and repeat trade counts are my "at a glance", I wish people would consider those questions above when leaving feedback because it adds a lot of value to the feedback.

That said, seeing extras mentioned in feedback is the last thing I care about. Many trades have agreed upon "no extras". To look at a feedback to determine whether or not the trader was "generous" with extras is patently flawed.

 

I'm probably not as diligent as I should be. For me, it really depends on the trade. If it's 30 bucks of shelf beer, I honestly just look at the rating and number of trades. If it's a couple of big time bottles, I usually look to see if the person has traded with someone I know (or know of). If not, I may read some of the feedback to be sure depending on how many trades the person has. If I read the feedback, I look for things like "can't wait to trade again," or "____ will hook you up I promise" or especially "quick, safe shipping, no worries here."

I cut off trade talks all the time if I get the vibe that the person isn't someone I'd want to have a beer with. I'm not sure I need "friendly," but I certainly don't need "business transaction only"...if i get that vibe, it translates to the "trade winning" vibe pretty quickly.

 

I normally just look at join date & if i recognize the name/avatar from silly posts to determine if i trade with them or not.

With feedback being new, there are plenty of great traders (hook the guy up) that don't get covered.

 

Extras are always nice to get, but they are extras. As long as you don't get bad or ok feedback like "No extras aded"(saw one person left this to someone) in your feedback. If he messages you thanks for the extras but leaves out of feedback that should be ok. I don't think I'm great at writing feedback but say if it was a good experience or not.

But communication is always number one. There are a lot of bad trader threads and one person who stops communicating is something to avoid.