What's your criteria for setting a bottle's trade value?

I normally go with what i paid for it and then if it was a pain in the ass to get ( ticketed events, waiting in line ect...) and the "rare" factor.

An example: i was in line at 6:30am blackfriday for bcbs prop. I got 2 and It would take a lot for me to give up that extra bottle. I know it wasnt super hard to get around town but it wasnt super easy as well. Now if someone wowed me with an offer for it i would most likely let it go. If not i am more then happy to sit on it and enjoy it. I try not to buy extras just to trade. Id rather leave the last bottle for someone to enjoy it. Of course there is exceptions to that.

 

Price, quality, and scarcity. Volume of beer doesn't really matter to me. A $20 rare 750 stout versus a $20 rare 375 sour seems fair. Should I feel like I lost since the other person got double the volume of liquid? What if it were the opposite size wise - 750 sour and 375 stout - but the sour was 5% alcohol and the stout was 10%? Is that then "more fair" since it's half the liquid but the same amount of drunkenness?

Personally, I hate going over $4$ or trading something of mine for over $4$ - it feels like profiteering. I'd rather A) hold out for a trade I felt good about at $4$ or B) trade to a frequent trading partner knowing that the karmic give and take would balance out over time.

 

To be clear, I was saying volume and ABV don't matter one bit for me. That hypothetical was meant to show that volume is as silly a consideration to me as ABV would be.

As for style, I suppose it doesn't really matter to me either. If cost, rarity, and desire line up, then I don't care about style. This is somewhat theoretical though since there are few pilsners that are super rare. But would I trade a good not too hard to acquire sour for, say, a Jack's Abby lager? Definitely.

 

$4$ is meaningless to me unless its shelf beer. I'll gladly go way over to get that special bottle.

 

I just wouldn't trade with that group of "some people." Just because you drove 500 miles makes no difference to me just as I would expect it to make no difference to you if I waited in line for 6 hours. To me, that's sunk cost. People often make bad decisions when they think sunk costs mean something. Similarly, if you happen to stumble into a out of the way store and find a treasure trove that would be rare elsewhere, it's not less valuable.

 

I try to base my trades on a few factors like most above posts. Bottle count, difficulty getting, and age. Price and size then becomes my next point. People may disagree with me, but I just can't see the logic in trading a membership based exclusive with a low bottle count for a beer that may have been hard to get but 15k were produced...... i.e. A mocha Wednesday 1:1 with Proprietors. I did a trade with a Trace of Remy and got a Rare 1:1. 160 bottles of Trace compared to the above 10K that Rare was.....but Rare is also a number of years old. That trade game is tricky, but you'll find logical people out there.

 

There's not really much of a rule here, but shelf stuff is always $4$. Some ltd releases that are seasonal and done in volume generally $4$ as well. From there it just depends on what it is, how had it is to get, and what guys are looking for, post an ISO or a ft and see who's interisted.

 

This is basically my approach and the way I see things to be fair-minded between trade partners if you want to continue a good long-term trade relationship. I just passed my 70th trade in a span of about 6 months, with a couple more in progress, 10 are repeat trade partners, so I'd like think I'm doing things right.

I start every trade considering first $4$, then limited/demanded factor and usually look to trade similarly limited/demanded beers for each other. I determine "similarity" by keep up on the forum for what a particular beer traded for (you can use the search function for this if you haven't kept up). I don't keep track of bottle counts because many beers that are low counts and very limited distro aren't always equally in demand with some of the beers being the opposite. The key here is my sense and my trade partner's sense for the demand, based on the forum trade trend/history, is what counts the most. For the rarer beers, I definitely go above $4$, but usually don't mind if the new trade partner throw in some easy "locals" to get it close, but not necessary. If it's a repeat trade partner, it goes without saying that you throw in extras to cover $4$ difference if it's significant. I usually look to get rarer beers from my past trading partners and likewise return the favor. However, if I come across a new trader who's not asking for more than $4$ for what I feel command a lot more, I'd be sure to be fair to him.

A couple stories to illustrate some of the points...
1. I have a trade partner in SD who has access to Alpine. After our 2nd trade, I asked if he has a Great. He said yes and will set it aside for me. He was looking for a Backyard Rye which I have while he was having a difficult time getting one. He gave me the Great AND an Alpine bomber for the Backyard because of cost difference. Of course, I hooked him up with additional extras and he's #1 on my "keep an eye for beer he may want" list. We're on our 4th trade, part of which he's got some limited growlers and I'm getting a Keene Idea's growler.

2. I was looking for a Damon and the first time trade partner wanted some Tired Hands growlers. I told him I'll send him 2x 1L growlers for it. When he found out that a growler is ~$16/ea, he told me to get just one growler for him because he paid $15 for the Damon. I refused because I think 2x 1L is more than fair for something that I personally highly valued and very well-traded on the forum. I made sure to throw in a special extra that I normally throw in until the 2nd or 3rd trade. To me, this is being fair beyond $4$ even if your trade partner isn't asking for it.

Overall, for me it's be fair, be knowledgeable (do your homework), be grateful, be generous...most importantly, DON'T be petty. Beer karma is as much a bitch as it is wonderful, that much I can tell you.

 

I have a few guys I trade with that are kinda spread out, I've done multiples with them and there is no win, just swapping interesting beers. I'll put up the odd ISO depending on what I have and what I'm looking for, but for the most part its covered, and dealing with former trade guys is most safe.

 

As many/few stories as we've seen in the Help forum about getting screwed, I'm honestly not concerned about getting screwed over (I take enough precautions with new traders anyway and haven't gotten screwed over). I really think trading beers is one of the best things I've ever done in my life so I love helping new traders out. I'm willing take risks to get them started and have not yet asked anyone to ship first either. I've been very critical of traders here failing communications, but that's pretty much it. But yes! past trade partners are sure bets.

 

I've never had a problem with a trade, everyone I've traded with has been fantastic to deal with , which makes the trade horror stories even worse. Hell I give away as much beer as I trade with friends, couldn't imagine anyone stealing beer.