Beer Trading 101: Ideas Wanted

1. Establish yourself on BA before signing up to trade.
Do not join today and start the wale hunt. Educate yourself.

2. Like someone else said, trade for what you want to try not to "win" every trade.
You will "win" in the long run with established trading partners if you do not try to rip them off as soon as you join.

3. Read the damn rules.
Be specific about what you want and answer emails / posts.
Do not bump your damn thread 15 times to add beers you "forgot" to get another look see at the top.

4. Do not fall of the face of the Earth the day after you post an ISO.
Communicate communicate communicate X 1000

5. Do not let "life happen". You make a commitment, keep it.
If a $50 box is going to break you if something comes up, YOU SHOULD NOT BE TRADING.

6. If in future someone emails you about your trade posting style,
( since there are people with thin skin that cannot handle the internets via a post ) learn from it.
There are several traders I can name off the top of my head that have been told multiple times but
continue to bring eBay to BA of ask for offers.

 

No offers threads , If you don't know what you want.. wait till you do..
Pack the box so it will survive a " Transportation Accident "
Communication is key to a successful trade .
New traders ship first ..no if and or buts about it.

 

link to The bad traders list?

link to seekabrew.com

 

Can a minimum post/length of time on the site requirement be enacted to post in the Iso:ft (as it was before with the old site)? Although it could be a pain for some, I think that would help.

 

I signed up in 2010, did a couple of trades, and then found myself unable to post in the ISO:FT section after the switch to the beer karma minimum. I was pissed at first, but it made me become more active on the site, connect with some people, post and read more, etc...I ultimately felt better prepared to jump back in to trading after I hit the beer karma minimum.

 

When in doubt...go overboard with extras.

Ensure you have the financial means to trade a box and replace a full replacement box.

When you aren't clear, ask (before you ship). Conversely, blast your recipient with pertinent info.

Start small.

If you are in it to game somebody, find another gig.

Make an effort to hit at least a few wants.

Sorry for the tape on bubblewrap to whom I've taped your bottles.

 

We do this on BapeTalk and SoleCollector, when a trade is setup there was a subforum for 'agreed trades' where both parties would post after the trade was agreed to via PM or e-mail.. the one who initiated the trade creates a thread w/ the title "Trade Agreement w/ (insert username here" and stated they would be trading x item for either cash or an item the other person had, the shipping method, who would ship first, the shipping company and at the end would ask the other party if they agreed.

Then the second party would come say "I agree" and then it was done, so that way if anyone gets scammed/outed we instantly know and that person who scammed them can be blacklisted.

Here we could just help out by sending beer to the person who got scammed or whatever else we could do as a community.

It's worked wonders on those two forums to out scammers and allow us to check for authenticity of clothing and shoes..etc.

Just an idea. Maybe a trader rating system as well, so we don't have to post who we've traded with in our profiles, rather whoever is curious to know can just click something under our username on the forums to see who we've traded with or something like that.

 

I like. the idea of a wait period between signing up for BA and posting an ISO:FT

 

I don't subscribe to the notion of tape is bad on bubble wrap. I feel it is much more secure when there is tape on there as opposed to a rubber band. After all, were trading beer and not bubble wrap and if you feel the need to put tape on there to ensure that the beer arrives safely then I say go for it. After all, the beer is your responsibility until it is dropped off by FedEx/UPS.

Oh, and don't go all crazy on a can thats taped with a knife and then try to call out the trader for bad packing.

 

I remember that thread.

 

Use a rubber band. Or scotch tape. Using packing tape on bubble wrap is extremely annoying and completely unnecessary. (I'm honestly curious about the packing habits of people who think tape is necessary at all, I've never used it and never had a problem, are you not packing things tightly?)

 

This stuff isnt rocket science. Check refs to see if the guy you are trading with is legit. Newbies and sketchy people ship first. Pack up box with sufficient padding at home and print out label. I feel like people over-think this hobby. I didnt find out about a trading 101 guide (whoever wrote that one before Alewatcher) until 15-20 trades in.

 

Well I could see if somone wrapped an entire bottle in tape that could be frustrating. I routinely recieve boxes with a piece or two of packing tape holding the bubble wrap. It takes a swipe of a knife that you probably already have nearby from opening the box.

I understand you may have never had a problem but that doesn't mean I won't ever have a problem with a rubber band. I have used them a few times and just don't trust them.

There's a reason that protective material is taped on any thing that is boxed and shipped from a business.

 

What? Have you ever gotten a box from Amazon?

Anyway this is beside the point but I don't think that has any place in whatever the Bros make. I think that the most they should say is "Make your boxes safe, but try to make materials easy to reuse."

 

Leave your spped package in a condition whereupon it can be resued, i.e. dont write in magic marker on the box, instead write on a sticker which can be written over or ripped off,

 

Thanks to the blessing of instant information everyone needs to have their hand held. Personally I prefer not to deal with that 90%. I only trade with the top 1%.

 

I have, a TV and it had that protective padding wrap taped on it.

But I do agree with the "Safe boxes, reuse materials" sentiment.

 

My TV had a padded sleeve. Your TV must be cheap.

 

Just link to Alewatcher's blog.

 

1. ALWAYS get a phone number. Call it and make sure it is real if you are in doubt.
2. ALWAYS check references. This can be a simple comparison of one person's references to who they reference to see if they match up or starting a multi-person conversation asking about the experience.
3. Establish relationships in areas that get beer that interest you. Relationships are much more valuable than one-off trades. If you want to trade with someone again, send them a box that would make them want to trade with you again.
4. Extras are extra...yes...however if you will be pissed off if you don't get what you give, then set parameters. no one will be pissed off at you for asking about extras and setting guidelines. You can set a $ limit/ballpark or you can set loose guidelines as in style or "a few local 12oz'ers" - however if you set guidelines, realize that extras are now part of the deal and you've put parameters on them.
5. If you don't plan to send extras, say it up-front. This doesn't mean you won't get any back, but people appreciate knowing if none are coming there way - we all say that they are extra, but they are expected to a degree.
6. Pack your boxes good...no, pack them great!!! Alewatcher gives great tips on this, but the key to keeping bottles from breaking is keeping them from banging into each other. If you make it tight enough that they can't move, you win. You don't need to invest in packing materials...crumpled up newspaper or magazines do the job just fine. Fedex padded paks are a godsend, but they will not send you more than 25 at a time.
7. Know your delivery guys...if your guys are rough, pack better...and tell your trade partners to pack better. If you trade a lot, and see the same guy all the time, toss them a tip.
8. Be HONEST. if you won't be able to ship for 2 weeks, say that. if you are going to miss your shipping deadline, say that. don't hide. don't ignore conversations. people would much rather hear the truth than get the run around...even if the truth hurts. life happens, but don't lie about it...karma is a bitch.
9. don't get in over your head. this "hobby" is EXPENSIVE! it is really easy to get in over your head. if you can't afford to do 10 trades (figure $15 shipping per trade) in a month (=$150 is shipping alone!!!), then don't do 10 trades in a month. space things out.
10. DON'T GET IN OVER YOUR HEAD.
11. It is JUST beer. yes, you may be able to trade your new local release to some fool for 35 awesome beers, but if you trade it $4$ to someone with history, you've likely set up a relationship. what goes around, comes back two times. value the trade partners who hook you up, and hook them up. if you get 4 bottles, make sure that 3 of them go to people who look out for you most as opposed to maximizing them to strangers.
12. $4$/rarity4rarity = how you set up relationships
13. N00bs shipping first is an opportunity, not a punishment. you set the bar...
*** 14. put THOUGHT into your boxes. if you are trading with a ticker/reviewer, look at their reviews. don't send them stuff they hated. if you must send them something that they have tried, send them something that they like...and NEVER send them something that they can buy in their local shop.
15. check wants...ask if they are up-to-date. ask questions about what your trade partner likes/dislikes.
16. send beer that you like. don't send beer that you find gross unless your target has different tastes than you.
17. out bad traders don't post one of those "it has been 9 months and i haven't heard from this dude" - help others out and prevent them from burning others. call them out in their trade posts if need be.
18. Share the cool beer you get with locals.
19. Don't horde beer. Despite popular belief, most beer doesn't get better as it gets older...and storage is a BIG deal. Beer is for drinking...so drink it, or trade it to someone who will drink it.
20. Everyday is a special occasion. Life is grand...don't hold onto beer for some magical day. if you have 10 beers or more that you are saving for a special occasion you best be starting to define some of those special occasions. don't get caught up in not drinking your beer. post something in your local forum and make a friend and open a cool bottle, host a tasting. Every day you are alive is special, so celebrate...and make a friend. you'll drink more cool beers by sharing what you trade than you will by trading alone.

Most importantly - GOLDEN RULE - Send the box that you'd want to receive.

i could go on and on...but then i'd see a lot of "tl;dr" which i recently learned means "too long; didn't read"