+CachingCoins Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I want to start trading. I've done a little bit, but I want to do more. I don't even know all the questions I should ask here. I need your suggestions, PLEASE!!! Quote Link to comment
+Team JSAM Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Make sure when you make a trade that you know everything up front like if you are trading activated or unactivated coins what metals you are trading for. Overall trading is fun and I have yet to have any issues with any of the 100+ trades I have done, some coins have come up missing in the mail but buy the time we are done both sides are happy. Geocachers are one of the most honest group of people I have ever delt with in my life! So what ya got to trade...... Jake Quote Link to comment
+BRoKeN W Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I always try to make a point to send an e-mail when I mail out a trade and also when I receive a trade. Quote Link to comment
+WWC-World's Worst Cacher Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I want to trade for another CachingCoins Coin. My first one that was part of a pair, went missing almost immediately. Drat Quote Link to comment
CinemaBoxers Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Most folks on here create some sort of trading list and attach it to their siggy line.... Keeping it updated is entirely a different story! As long as you have something to trade, start browsing the tradelists shown on everyones' sig. Also, there are sites out there that you can join to list the coins you have available for trade and you can create a 'want' list or seeking list. You can also check out the pinned topic 'Geocoin Trading' to see if you have something others are seeking, and you can strike up a trade that way as well. ~Jim Quote Link to comment
+AtlantaGal Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I want to start trading. I've done a little bit, but I want to do more. I don't even know all the questions I should ask here. I need your suggestions, PLEASE!!! Well I have a Parrothead coin that wants to come to Fayetteville. Why not test the trade waters with someone you know Email me a list of what unactivated extras you have and lets trade Quote Link to comment
+nielsenc Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 My personal favorite is face to face trades. It makes it much easier and quicker than the mail. And BOTH parties know the trade was made. For me, I try to make it simple: 1 Trackable for 1 Trackable 1 Non-Trackable for 1 Non-Trackable There are times I have given more if I *really* wanted the coin, but I would say 90% of my trades have been the above. Hopefully I can meet more of you at MWGB. I will be there with my traders! nielsenc Quote Link to comment
+PSU Fan Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I am new to the trading seen as well and I am actually making my first mailing trade tonight. I have done fact-to-face trades, but in looking at the threads and recognizing names and how it seems like most everyone in the forums know one another, I feel real comfortable with the trading process. PSU Fan Quote Link to comment
+islander1988 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 It's also fun to throw in a sig item or calling card with your coin trade. Many people appreciate that and it makes for a little unexpected surprise. Quote Link to comment
+AtlantaGal Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 It's also fun to throw in a sig item... Many people appreciate that and it makes for a little unexpected surprise. Yes, those rocks are way cool Quote Link to comment
+CachingCoins Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 How long should you give the mailing process before you follow up? Either in receiving or in being notified that the other party has received? Also, how are you handling LE etc? How do you handle sets, as a whole or break them up? Great advice here! How do you add the sig. line. I have the list on geocoincollection.com. Quote Link to comment
+zazth Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Good time for this thread. I have yet to make a trade with anyone. We just started collecting a few months ago and have amassed a nice collection from coins we have been given, won from raffles, bought online or found as prizes in caches (FTF). We have extras of some of the coin club coins and a few others that we bought from the forum posts or coin vendors in duplicate. I don't really think we have coins that others would be interested in just yet (or at least not that many we would be willing to trade). Our own coin has not been completed yet and won't be for at least a few months (that's prior to minting). We bought some of the Royal Flush coins and manged to get a complete set with extras to trade. I posted on that thread that we were willing to trade but really were not interested in Royal Flush coins as we already have our set. No response. I replied to a post on that thread for some one looking for a king or queen and got a response from another cacher who wanted to trade. When asked what he/she was willing to trade for the coin we were directed to their trade list. I replied with a coin from that list and have yet to hear a response back. I guess the trade was unacceptable but then I was left wondering why I was told to pick a coin from a list that the other cacher was unwilling to trade? Left me confused and a bit irritated. Now I am uncertain as to picking a coin from some one's trade list and offering a trade. Quote Link to comment
keewee01 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 How long should you give the mailing process before you follow up? Either in receiving or in being notified that the other party has received? Also, how are you handling LE etc? How do you handle sets, as a whole or break them up? Great advice here! How do you add the sig. line. I have the list on geocoincollection.com. I tend to do a whole lot of mailing out every couple of weeks, rather than continuously as I don't often have to time to keep on top of it on a daily basis. Similarly I don't mind waiting a while - sometimes it is a month before I see coins. Everyone is differnt, and everyone handles trades differently. Everyone values coins they are trading differently. If you are doing a lot of trades, keep good records so you know who you are sending to, what you are sending, whether you've sent it, and whether you've received the trade. I record the date I post them and a few other details also. I designed a form to track it, I know others have databases or spreadsheets to do so. Quote Link to comment
+501_Gang Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 (edited) If you trade for a trade only coin and later on decide you don't want it, be courteous and contact the person of that coin to see if they want it back before throwing it on ebay. If they want to see it on ebay, they would put it there themselves. It's also a sign of good integrity on your part. Edited July 12, 2007 by 501_Gang Quote Link to comment
+islander1988 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 How long should you give the mailing process before you follow up? Either in receiving or in being notified that the other party has received? Once you get the coin, it's nice to let the person know within a day or two it has arrived. I admit though I'm always behind on e-mail and sometimes it takes me longer, but I try to let the other person know and I keep track of who I have & haven't written to yet. In terms of how long to wait before contacting the other person if you haven't received your coin, it depends on where it's coming from. If it's from another part of the country you're probably looking at a week to come, if it has to cross a border you're probably looking at 2 weeks to arrive, and upwards a month if it has to cross an ocean. So, I typically wait about twice as long as I think it should take before writing to check if the coin came back to the sender, or whether they were delayed sending it. I've had coins take an unusually long time to arrive, but I've done a lot of trades and coin buying and there's been only 3 or 4 times the coins never came. To help improve your chances the coins arrive safely, check out Jaybee's geocoin shipping primer. Also, how are you handling LE etc? How do you handle sets, as a whole or break them up? LE often gets traded for LE, but not always. Some coins are so rare that even the regular is worth an LE, especially if it's older. Right now I'm arranging a trade of a regular coin from 2005 for an XLE coin released this year. Likewise, I recently traded one of my XLEs for a regular coin I've been after for a year. What's offered and accepted by both parties depends on the perceived value of each on the coins involved. Sets are often kept as sets since people are hesitant to break them up. However, that can make trading more difficult since now you have to agree on 3 or 4 coins to trade instead of just 1 or 2. Quote Link to comment
+islander1988 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 When asked what he/she was willing to trade for the coin we were directed to their trade list. I replied with a coin from that list and have yet to hear a response back. I guess the trade was unacceptable but then I was left wondering why I was told to pick a coin from a list that the other cacher was unwilling to trade? Different coins have different values in the trading world, and to individuals. I have some coins in the my trade list that are cheap & common, and others that rare and/or expensive. I usually try to "grade" my valuable coins by adding comments like "only trade for other LEs/HTF coins" so people know I probably won't trade them for things not on my seeking list (and may also reject offers for coins I'm looking for if they're a low priority for me), but not everyone takes the time to add comments. And finding out which coins are rare and highly valued takes time to do. If someone say got the latest Signal coin, and offered it to someone else for a LFD Geo-Bone, it would not be an equal trade since since the former is mass produced and could still be bought while the latter is rare and highly sought after. As a result the offer would likely be rejected. But someone new to coins might just think the geo-bone looks cool & has no idea of its value in the geocoin world, hence an honest offer that would look like an unfair one to the other person. If I want to find out the relative value of a coin I'm not familiar with, I often going on a site like geocoincollection.com and see how many people are trading it compared to how many people are seeking it. If tons of people are trading & few people are seeking, it's probably pretty common & not worth much. If tons of people are looking for it and hardly anyone is trading it, it's probably rare & valuable. Quote Link to comment
+TMOCM Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 (edited) Lots of great suggestions in this thread. One thing I would recommend is to put the words geocoin trade or proposed geocoin trade in the subject line of your email (if possible, GC email doesn't give you the option) A small percentage of valid emails still end up in my junk folder from time to time and I'm sure the same happens to others. I usually do a quick scan of my Junk mail folder before I clear it and I've found geocoin trade offers by noticing keywords in the subject line. Along this same thought, just because someone doesn't reply to a trade offer doesn't mean they aren't interested, they may have never received the email, out of town, on vacation or any number of other reasons. Usually if I don't receive a reply within 10 - 14 days I'll follow up with a second email requesting a trade. If after my second email there is no reply, I give up on the trade. Edited July 12, 2007 by TMOCM Quote Link to comment
+zazth Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Been over 14 days since e-mail was sent (as a reply to his/her e-mail). "I would consider trading one of these coins:" was on the original e-mail with the link to the trades list. This was for a King of Hearts, pretty sought after from what I gather from the forums, at least for some. I guess I am just confused. I thought I was being pretty reasonable. Quote Link to comment
+dflye Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I know one problem I've had in the past is with spam filters preventing the recipient from seeing my mail, in some cases even when I'm just replying to one they sent me! So if you start trading, make sure to peruse your spam / junk mail folder at least once a week, if not every day or two! Quote Link to comment
+CachingCoins Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 How do you say no? Like if someone asks you to trade a signal for LFD Geo-bone? Quote Link to comment
+TMOCM Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 How do you say no? Like if someone asks you to trade a signal for LFD Geo-bone? Politely! Seriously, in a nice way say you aren't interested in making the trade, you can then ask them if they have a trade list you can look at. You could state your reason for not making the trade if you like, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't depends on the situation. Incidently, some people do chose not to reply to a trade request, I'm guessing it may be hard for them to say no or they may not want to hurt someones feelings. Quote Link to comment
+islander1988 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Incidently, some people do chose not to reply to a trade request, I'm guessing it may be hard for them to say no or they may not want to hurt someones feelings. Yup, that could be. I don't like saying no to trades, but sometimes I get offers for coins that fall into categories I just don't collect. It's usually those offers I'm slowest replying to since I put off trying to figure out what to say. But as TMOCM said, the key is being polite. Thank the person for the offer, but say you'll have to pass on the trade, and maybe say why. Sometimes if the person has a trading list I'll look at it and see if they have any other coins I'm interested in, and maybe suggest an alternate trade. I've passed on trades and had people turn down offers I made. It's just part of the game. Quote Link to comment
+Cheesy pigs Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Sandy, keep doing what you're doing! You are excellent to trade with Quote Link to comment
+Fluttershy Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 It's also fun to throw in a sig item or calling card with your coin trade. Many people appreciate that and it makes for a little unexpected surprise. Yes, I love my Rock too... Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment
+CachingCoins Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 Wonderful suggestions & some I hadn't thought of. I think I do need to e-mail the no & try to tell them why. They may not realize there is a difference between the signal & LFD. TRADE ON!! Quote Link to comment
+zazth Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I would prefer a no and an explanation than nothing at all. When I get my coins I will probably add them in to packages. I LOVE a suprises! Quote Link to comment
+GeekBoy.from.Illinois Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I want to trade for another CachingCoins Coin. My first one that was part of a pair, went missing almost immediately. Drat I bought one of those sets too. Shortly after I got it, I donated it to a couple in California (and they officially adopted it). I then sent it on it's way to them via "cache express" around the beginning of this year (starting north of Chicago). The coin is currently floating around in BC (Canada) after having been to within a short distance of their home for a while. I have a watch on the coin so I still get notified when it moves, and it is still moving. I expect to meet up with them at MWGB, and give them the "duplicate coin" as well, since they may never see their traveler... Quote Link to comment
+The Klever Boys Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 How do you say no? Like if someone asks you to trade a signal for LFD Geo-bone? The one thing you don't want to do is just not reply. I'm afraid some people seem to do just that and it's quite ignorant IMO Quote Link to comment
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