Alright so I'm new to trading on here and would love to get started. I see a lot of people on here looking for Tree House beers a lot and since I can get my hands on Tree House frequently I figured it's time to start. I just have a few questions. What is the best way to ship the beer cold and guarantee it stays cold while it's being shipped? How long does it typically take to receive your beer?
Good luck in trading! First and for most please read the trading rules. Beer Trading Rules & Tips And the feedback system. Beer Trading Feedback System, Explained Beer doesn't need to stay cold though the trip it will be fine, i actually wait till there is no condensation before i pack, or i buy warm. Shipping depends on how far the person shipping to you lives and what delivery service they use, but usually even from cali to illinois only takes 5 days. Get ready for an addictive hobby. Cheers! BD
If you have access to Tree House, you have access to whole landscape of trading. I would imagine you can score a lot with various amounts of Julius.
Brand new to ship trading, willing to learn with you. I would like to start with someone who is new as well and just do an off the shelf / brewery only stuff so we can learn without the spector of bumbling / fumbling our way to a 'bad trader', lol. I hate starting off on the wrong foot!
There are a lot of areas already linked above. Please think about your requests and what you are going to go after. Ask questions on value because it unfortionatly fluctuates more than we all would like.
Also, be aware that this is not an optimal time of year to trade. Especially for hoppy stuff. Beers can get really hot during those long shipments. If you do trade during the summer, I suggest trading in the beginning of the week so you don't risk your box sitting in some hot truck/warehouse over the weekend. Same goes for the dead of winter since you don't want bottles freezing on you.
Also, do yourself a favor and get over to Tree House today. Get a fill of Good Morning and cans of Julius/Alter Ego. You can't start off with much better trade bait than that.
I would recommend finding someone who is experienced that can answer your questions and show you the ropes.
I wouldn't sweat it! There are plenty of experienced traders who would be willing to do a shelf trade with a newbie, and walk them through the process and tell them all the tricks of shipping. It is probably best to go that route (as others have suggested on this thread) just so you have someone to ask questions! Start small with a little $30-40 box of locals, and offer to ship first. I can't think of any of my experienced trade partners who wouldn't be happy to help out a newbie Have you tried posting an ISO / FT with some of your locals, and locals from markets that you can't get? If you ever get things like Hop Drop N Roll, or Westbrook Gose, then these are ideal - they are in cans, relatively limited distro, and everyone has heard of them! Same goes for @Fitzy2 and shipping Tree House - a can trade is one of the easiest places to start, as they are lighter, hard to break, and compact for shipping. The biggest mistake I think people make is looking for 'locals' from somewhere that are actually pretty darn hard to get, but if you (for example) posted looking for Chicago locals and listed Pipeworks, Half Acre and Three Floyds, and a few example beers you would like to try, then you are giving enough options for someone to help you out.
@pagriley, that is great advice, I will go that route. I do get Hop Drop (all NoDa stuff) and Westbrook Gose (as well as their IPA and Rye IPA which are great as well) and Wicked Weed. I will do a bit of research on what I would like and do that! One question, I tried to go the route of looking on people's "wants" for things like Hop Drop / Wicked Weed and sending them a message saying I could get a handful of them if they want to discuss a trade... but had not response. Not sure if that was the right route to go?
Probably a bit random for many people - you would need to get lucky that way. I would suggest just posting in the ISO forums with something like: Title: Local for Local new trader - N.C. for XX New trader here, looking to do my first trade with a smaller local for local. Looking to trade with experienced trader, happy to ship first. List of what you have: List of wants: You will potentially need to post this every 3 days until you find someone. Unfortunately the trade forums have been over-run with whales at the moment, and there is such a huge volume that your post will get pushed off the first page quickly. To help people searching, make sure to include the specific names of the beers you have for trade and are looking for. It isn't a big deal to re-post the same ISO as long as you wait a few days and don't spam the thread.
@pagriley, thank you very much!! I appreciate you taking the time to lay it out for me, relaxes my fears of facepalming, lol. I will get my list together and then post it up this week!
No worries! One of the mods actually corrected my last post (thanks whoever fixed!) - you shouldn't re-post more often than every 3 days according to the trade forum rules. Other than that, try and make your post somewhat specific (mention particular beers you want to try) and also it is good to mention that you are looking to go $4$ - this is the norm for locals trades. Good luck!
FWIW, I've done a number of trades on here (perhaps the majority?) in this way...or similar, at least. I'm usually looking for something specific, then see if I have something the person is interested in (rather than looking for someone who wants what I have), but it could potentially work either way. I have also been contacted in this fashion and worked out trades. At the same time, there have definitely been times when I got no response to a message, but it has worked well for me. I'd done at least some the "traditional" way of posting ISO/FT, too, but give both methods a shot. Off topic - I was just in NC (Outer Banks) a few weeks ago, had a great time, and brought back some nice beers we don't get around here. Good luck!
