Why Do You Trade?

I trade mostly to have stuff to share with my tasting group, so it's community centric, but a different community.

With regular traders, I try to share things they will like so that they will share things I will like.

 

I trade to share stuff with my buddies that we can't get in so cal. And the joy of sending beers to someone that can't get locals that we can get it san diego is nice. Know that through this you can build great lasting trading relationships.

plus its fun

 

I like to think i trade for both reasons. I initiate trades ISO centrically but i have no problem letting the other guy "profit" from our trade as long as im happy with my returns on investment

 

Both is the correct answer! Almost every one of my 30 or so trades was a combo of me sending local beers that I can get to another BA who can not, and I get beers in return that I can't get my hands on locally. Never looking for "profit"

Isn't that the whole point of trading??

 

This pretty much sums up my sentiments as well. I can't say I start a trade with the intention of not profiting from it in any way.

 

I look to get beers I cannot otherwise get.

 

I think your question is kind of invalid. I definitely trade more so to acquire beers I can't get locally, but I certainly don't do it trying to "maximize my value" or "profit" or anything like that. I'd feel guilty if I were screwing people like that. I hope that both sides are happy in all my trades, and if I really do sincerely feel like I made out on the deal, I'll make up for it with the extras anyway.

Also, it's not so cut and dry - there have been plenty of times that I've traded stuff away more to help out another person and/or share hard to get beer with others.

 

I dont always trade my beers, but when i do, i like to make baybassboy angry.

 

honestly, if i cannot realize at least a 37.69% return (PROFIT!!!) on a trade i'll just pull the plug and make up an excuse as to why i need to back out of the trade.

 

Most of my trades are to get hard to find stuff we can't get here in Texas. A few of my friends are very big craft beer geeks so pretty much everything that's a limited release kind of deal that I acquire is to share with them. I almost never drink anything rare by myself, unless it's just my wife and I sharing it.

 

even mix of both. want to try beers i can't get here, want to spread beer around, like the trading community.

re: liking the trading community, i think all the complaints about profiteers and overeager newbs overstates the bad egg problem. even if there's more bad eggs than good eggs at this point, there's tons of good eggs. it really isn't hard to avoid hucksters and morons.

in practice, a lot of my trades have been people seeing that i was interested in a beer from a random BA post and offering to trade it. hopefully i've given them great stuff in return, but i can't really say that those trades happened "because i want to share beer with the community." still, it's a mutual thing.

 

Both but leaning more towards myself. I am selfish.

 

If I just say for fun, is that too simple?

 

To get great beer I otherwise wouldn't be able to drink without making a road trip or buying a plane ticket. I also like to show people in other parts of the country what my state (FL) and the Southeast are up to in the beer world.

 

This is my main reason. It's just fun, albeit a little pricy sometimes, to swap with people from all over the country. It's a great way to share a pretty niche hobby with this big community of other people who are into the same shit.

Plus you get to try lots of great beer, and you never know exactly what you're going to find in the box (extras), so there's an element of surprise.