Just wondering people's thoughts on this. My friends slammed me the other day because of a trade. I "lost" because I didn't get equal monetary value. The beer I was trading for isn't expensive but I can't get it any other way than a trade. I feel like we both won, we both got to try a long sought after beer. Thoughts?
No, definitely not always necessary. When I started trading, I would do simple $4$ trades locals for locals. As I continued, getting into harder to find beers, I realized other factors come into play, such as: - Bottles counts / availability / perceived rarity / quality of the beer. - Liquid volume. - Not trying to screw people over. - Actually aiming to outdo your trading partner. - etc. I don't worry about winning so much anymore; it's more about having both sides feel like they've won, which seems is the case for you.
At the end of the day it only matiers that you were both happy with the trade. If you both got beers you want then it's fine. I've gone way over for a beer I wanted and I've been way under for something my partner wanted. A good trader should make up the difference with locals, but it isn't necessary. To me winning a trade is that both of us are happy and got the beers we want.
No way. Extreme example... I trade you a KBBS for 5 beers. I'm assuming those 5 beers may be $100 or more. There's no way I would send (or you would expect) another $80 in beer from me. Trades are all about supply/demand, bottle counts, desire, how easy to obtain, etc. You're happy, they're happy. Done deal!
To the KBBS example though I'd hope you would at least throw in a couple extras to at least even out the oz a little
i actually came here to post this very question myself and agree with all of the comments above.... a guy claimed I was what was wrong with beer trading because I didn't go strictly on $4$-- of course he wouldn't have complained if he was on the one who spent less on his bottle--- bottom line is it works well for relatively inexpensive and common beers but that's it!
supply/demand trumps most. $4$ works for similar rarity/demand i suppose kbbs/MD is just on another planet
normally the people who try strict $4$ don't have beer that has the demand or rarity. so they try to do $4$ to trade their no quit mass produced beer for limited hard to get beer. like people before me said as long as both people are happy it is a great trade
In the past year I have traded $4$ with the following bottles as part of various trades: Black Tuesday Rum Black Tuesday Grey Monday ADWTD BCBCS BCBW Surly Darkness RR Sours KBS BBPt5th Parabola Huna Dark Lord Heady Permanent Funeral CW 17 BA Behemoth Casey Sours Sexual Chocolate Omega Point Black Note There are probably others I am forgetting. The point is, that some pretty darn awesome limited and hard to get beers regularly trade $4$ - the only things that really don't go $4$ are whales and hyped brewery only releases from a handful of breweries.
I agree with the comment above--- I rarely know what other beers sell for around the country, and I don't really care
why? this is some new thing now to take the dollar value so into consideration? money is irrelevant in almost all cases if you're thinking about money you may as well go buy the beer from places that sell it.
a lot goes into pricing irrespective of the quality level.... for example, a gallon of gas costs $2.20 in new jersey while the same quality gas costs $4.40 in San Francisco (for a variety of reasons).... does that mean I have to give you 2 gallons of gas for your 1 if i'm in the east and your out west!? And let's face it, a lot of beer turns to gas eventually!
