Beer Trading Feedback System, Explained

Our Beer Trading System was house-built out of demand from the beer trading community who wanted a way to build trade histories and encourage accountability.

Your Trades: https://www.beeradvocate.com/user/trades/ (must be logged in)

• Feedback: you've received
• Sent: feedback you've left for others
• Pending trades
• Open trades
• Your beer trading stats (or the trader's stats that you're currently viewing)
• Find member form

Trading Stats
Once you start beer trading, you'll begin to create a history through feedback and the following stats.

• Reputation: a percentage based on your Good and Bad trades; (good / (good + bad)) * 100 - (failed feedback / 2) %
• Trades: the number of feedback items received.
• Good, Okay, Bad: the total number of each feedback rating that you've received.
• Unique: the number of unique trade partners you've had.
• Repeat Traders: the number of times you've traded multiple times with the same trader.
• Pending: the number of trade requests waiting for a response.
• Open: the number of trades waiting for feedback from both traders.
• Delinquent Feedback: the number of open trades over 30 days with partial feedback, wherein the user owes feedback.
• Failed Feedback: the number of open trades over 180 days with partial feedback, wherein the user owed feedback and failed to leave any. This will directly impact reputation.

Starting a Trade
The feedback system assumes that you've already coordinated or completed a beer trade with another user in person (IP), through a private conversation, or in one of the beer trading forums. You shouldn't make unsolicited requests using the system.

• Use the Find Member/Trader form to visit the user's beer trade page, and then click the "Request Trade" button.
• The user will receive your request and may approve or deny it. Trades in this state are referred to as "pending." You may also cancel your pending requests before action is taken.
• If a pending trade is denied it's removed from the system. If approved it moves to an "open" state.
• Open trades are essentially ready for feedback, and it's good form to leave feedback immediately upon receipt of your trade package.

Leaving Feedback
When you're ready to leave feedback, go to your Open trades, find the trade item, and confirm that you're ready. The feedback form will then appear.

• Was the trade Good, Okay, or Bad?
• What stood out about the trade? Were there any issues? You only have 140 characters to use, so make sure that you're feedback is honest, concise, and helpful to the trader and others. You can edit your feedback too.
• Failing to leave feedback is bad form.
• Feedback may be edit for up to 60 days; see Sent trades.

Open Trades

• After 60 days, open trades are purged if they haven't received feedback from either user.

Open Trades (Partial Feedback)

• After 180 days, open trades with partial feedback are closed.
• We eventually plan on doing something creative with this data.

Happy beer trading.

Cheers!