Here's my problem: I've picked up some beer out-of-state that's limited in distribution and availability (Oskar Blues' Death by Coconut) and I'm looking to spread the love and trade so folks who can't otherwise get access can try this beer. That being said, I'm not seeking anything specific. I'm happy to be educated about beers I hadn't considered or don't know about, and I can only say what styles I like and that I enjoy trying new things. As such, my posts keep getting deleted by moderators (and rightfully so) for violating the rules of the forum in that they are too vague or open-ended. So where can folks go to trade when not looking for anything specific?
I'd still put them up as a FT on the trade forum, just to protect your generosity from abuse. If that's not for you than maybe look into a few BIF's and try to spread them that way, and get some tasty treats in return.
I tried this ^^^ and was issued an "auction" warning: (FT: Fresh Jai Alai ISO: local stouts). Throw out some specifics but let people know you're very open
Decide on like 4 beers you want to try and list them as options. Can't think of any? Go to the beers tab on this site and filter to the style you want to try and see which ones you want to try and that are obtainable with what you are offering.
I think the main issue is both threads I saw you had stated "ISO: Best Offer" in the title. Regardless of what you say in the body, that's going to get folks jimmies all rustled. Good luck!
Agreed with @JasonR1975 you can't solicit offers. Basically if you aren't posting a specific ISO you need to have a list of things you are interested in (in order of preference is ideal) and ratios or $4$ Frankly, I think the whole "bm for ratios'" is horseshit and is an auction too. If you aren't being specific enough for the readers to know what you are after and have a good idea of ratios or value then you aren't trading, you are auctioning.
@mlockman as I think about it more, if you are truly just interested in out of distribution beers have you thought about doing a beer it forward?
I saw these threads to and it screams auction (intentionally or unintentionally) Just think of the same type of beers your looking for and put that in your FT...I mean heck FT: Oskar Blues' Death by Coconut ISO: KBS ....I dont know man, Just try..Worst you get is crickets..
If you know what styles you like, you can look up the top RIS, IPAs, etc and pick one or two that you can't get, that you're interested in
All of these responses are fantastic; thank you, everybody! My apologies to those who saw my vague threads, I never meant to upset anyone! Thank you all for explaining, I definitely understand from what you've said how that came across poorly Thanks especially to @JasonR1975 + @pagriley + @tommyz for theseexplanations, these explanations make a lot of sense This is a really interesting tip, I've never heard that before. This a really solid idea, I'll have to try that. Lastly, @pagriley I'm not familiar with beer it forward; this may be a dumb question, but what is that?
@mlockman - Nope perfectly fair question! I haven't done one, but it is (as far as I understand it) the beer trading equivalent of Secret Santa. There is a whole thread for them: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/forums/beer-it-forward.26/ Basically you browse through all the threads (there is an overwhelming number!) and look for one you like the sound of. There is an original poster who is generally the organizer who is looking for other people who want to get together and exchange beers with a blind partner within a set of parameters. You sign up, and pick out the beers based on the rules/guidelines and send someone some random beers and you get a package from someone else! It sounds really fun, I just haven't gotten around to doing one yet.
I'll piggyback on this thread because I have a similar question, and the OP appears to have gotten some resolution already. I'm new to trading and posted an IP FT/ISO (http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-rum-death-by-coco-casey-etc-iso-list.315845/). The level of detail and number of beers on offer was very similar to a previous thread I made for IP trades in Denver. The Denver thread spawned a lot of PMs and resulted in three good trades. My latest thread has gotten crickets, other than one PM comment that my FT was way better than my ISO (after the most recent thread about threadshitting, I'm worried this post will get moderated for saying that, but live and learn). I promise that I'm not trying to hype my thread; I'm looking for honest feedback about why it's not getting any response. Is it just that I'm in central Indiana, whereas the vast majority of Great Lakes IP trades are Chicago? Or is the open-endedness too off-putting? I figured it would have been clear from the mix of FTs, from limited, BPT-release beers like MP Rum-Aged to cheap, Almanac shelfies, that ratios would vary and whatnot. Should I have broken the FT and ISO lists into separate threads to be more productive? Was it improper to reference an offer someone had previously posted a thread about? Any constructive thoughts are appreciated. I felt like there was enough range in both the FT and ISOs for something to get done, so my initial reaction is that I just need to plan a weekend trip to Chicago to broaden the potential audience, but maybe there's more to improve.
