Based on some of the ISO:FTs that have been thrown out there - which many seem to feel are quite lopsided...I'm just curious.. What have been some amazingly interesting [or generous if you will] trades that have occurred? By that I mean, has there been a trade that's gone down in which someone's not asked for an arm, leg and first born in return for a KTG or RARE or Beer X... but rather, has been more than willing to create positve karma and had the ability to spread a beer of such stature and limitted distribution to those in the far reaches of America's livers?
http://m.flickr.com/photos/58183243@N08/6816523368/lightbox/ I just sent this out. The return box is up to him. So hell yeah! Edit, I subbed a Bourbon County for a Heady Topper.
it don't mean two shits if 'many seem to feel' trades go one way or the other. There are no community trading metrics- everyone sees it differently, and we will not find a consensual common ground on that issue. No one's got a gun to your head- if you don't like it don't do it. Easy Peasy. Lots of traders are all about good times. I suggest you avoid those you see posting livejournal-type emo beer trade 'WHHHY ME' posts and stick to those of us who are Very Serious Grooving. A lot of the people you see threadshitting in these 'controversial' posts are the same people who poach limited releases with a wad of cash to score extra bottles. They don't give a crap about the betterment of the beer community, only what they can get their hands on.
This is what regular trading partners are for. I send crazy love to my Cali guy. We don't even set up trades anymore. Once I got a few good beers for him...off it goes. I'll get back something sometime...but never sweat it.
I am perpetually discouraged when I open ISO:FT recently. I'm fairly new to (buying and trading) craft beer and love to share, but I haven't been around long enough to have access to beer that people actually seem to want in trades.
Actually, if both parties are okay with the trade then it seems fairly even. If someone suckers a noob ( and I'm in that category, the noob part ) then once the other person gains some knowledge, the unfair trader is probably person non gratis from that point on. I just started trading and didn't throw extras in because I wasn't as aware how cool it was to do so. Now I throw in extras in every trade. For me, being in a non-rich beer state ( NV ) I'm really glad to find someone who is tickled to get in on an Abyss, as I am to get a bottle of KBS or anything from New Glarus or Founders. Besides, beer isn't terribly expensive compared to a Van Winkle bourbon or nice scotch. Even a lopsided trade beats ebay fees and associated & padded shipping costs.
Every one of my 40+ trades has felt fair to me. Sometimes I was able to hit a ton of wants on their side and get a great response, and sometimes I was blown away by what my partner sent. Sometimes both happened at the same time, and those were the best trades. Sometimes it was strictly business and it was just what we agreed upon, no extras, and those were just fine as well. If I felt the trade was unfair on their side from the initial request, I would say "OK, that trade sounds great, but I'm also going to send you this stuff because I think you would like it". If I felt it was unfair based on the box I received, I would send a thank you box, as I have a few times. While I was in Japan in 2011 I found a metric shitload of 375ml bottles of Fou' Foune. I bought so many of those bastards over the course of 4 months because no one else was buying them every time I visited the store that they were available. All in all I ended up with about 30 bottles to bring home and ended up trading most of them away, since I could pretty much drink them like water while I was over here and felt I should spread the wealth. What I got in return varied from Beatification to Speedway Stout. I also sent some to people as gifts just because they were interested in them, having never traded with them before. Again, I felt everything was great because while I know what I can get for the beers I have, I also don't try to hold them for ransom, and I know a lot of other people on BA are the same way. Granted, I was lucky to find that stash, but I've also gifted bottles of other highly sought after beers that I had far far less of just because I decided to be a nice guy and spread the wealth. Don't let the trade forum requests make you feel like you can't get certain 'whales' from people unless you have crazy hard to get beers in return. I find half of he reason I agree to trade with people is just because they're friendly, know how to write a decent request for a trade, and are willing to compromise on both sides of the trade. I do this because I know that friendship and generosity pay dividends in the long run in all facets of life, both for feeling part of a community and meeting really cool people, and also for trying beers you never thought you would be able to. tl;dr I see trading as more of community involvement than a business transaction.
Suckering a noob = fair? eh... I've seen some bottles that approach the $50 to $90 ballpark though...Rare to Nuclear Penguin or u over $100 with the Utopias.... I am in agreement though, that if people agree, then its fair...and I wasn't looking to see what was fair or unfair persay... was looking to see, I guess then, what traders of traded for fairly, but the general BA public would opinionate as "holy hell how did you pull that one!" type of trade or "you're a helluva a lucky guy to land that trade"...
I see where you are going with that. But I still think you underestimate how difficult some regions are to get to others. Some of these trades might might not be as crazy as you think. I've lucked out and gotten KBS as an extra, but I've also sent multiple PtE out for unknown future trades. Wish I had a tale of getting free Kate, but alas...
Don't be discouraged. You're in California, a craft beer gold mine. You can use any Russian River IPAs or Sours to get off the shelf beers from any part of the country. You also have access to Midnight Sun, 50/50, Alpine, and many others
I honestly have never made a trade I didn't feel was completely fair. Why would you? If you think you're getting screwed just walk away. If I felt I was screwing someone I'd feel bad about it, and probably just go overboard on extras anyway. Sure, most trades probably look a bit lopsided in one direction or the other to an outsider, but you can't really speak for the way other people feel about their beers. Also, I'll say this - trade generously and karma has a way of compensating you in the end. A few months ago when everyone else was whoring out Heady Topper I traded away a few 4-packs for local shelf stuff. A couple of the extras I got back were better than what I would have landed on the open market if I sold off my HT to the highest bidder. Treat people well and they'll treat you well back.
You're absolutely correct. I have had several successful, friendly trades with shelf beers and have been fortunate to be able to try a lot of great beer, both from California and elsewhere, since getting on the craft beer scene. I spoke too broadly. To clarify, I think what frustrates me from time to time is encountering some bizarre stipulations that people seem to enforce on trades. For instance, I have access to a lot of fantastic hoppy beer, but not as many BA stouts. (Not to say that there aren't any, by any means, but just proportionally to the great IPAs being produced here, it seems like the BA stouts aren't as much of a priority out here.) I'd love to be able to try some of the Midwest/East Coast BA stouts I see others raving about -- and I'm not even talking about the whale vintages -- but I feel like people want to trade hops for hops, or BA for BA. Last year, I received a message when I posted a trade offer of Pliny and Blind Pig for BCBS that basically said that would never be a fair trade because IPAs wouldn't be good in a year, whereas BCBS would. Sure enough, I didn't get any responses for potential trades. Even though they are all "shelf" beers and I would have made sure that I offered enough bottles to make up for any discrepancies, it didn't seem like that was a trade people were interested in. I know that's just one example, but I do think it's a somewhat common mentality. edit: I know, also, that BCBS is a lot harder to get now, so that might also hold people back from making a trade like that, but at the time I made the trade offer I was still hearing about people being able to buy cases and the like.
This is somewhat true, but I've definitely traded away a ton of stouts for IPA's and other styles. I like stouts, but not as much as other styles. I think more of the problem is IPA's need to be fresh. I can trade for as many sours or stouts as I want knowing I can cellar them. I've passed up good deals for IPA's because I had too much stuff I needed to get to while fresh. To sum up, sours/stouts are always in demand. IPA's aren't always in demand even to someone who loves the style.
That does strike me as a good reason to not want to trade IPA, so I understand that. It goes a long way to explain my "situation." Oh well. I'll be around if anyone has a hop hankering and wants to trade away something else!
true. sours and stouts can age basically forever and never go downhill with cellaring, so they're more of a sure bet.
