Can you trade by Trade/Want Ratios alone??

I am confused by some traders. When I look at a trade, I look at many factors involved with the pin I offer as trade as well as the pin offered to me/asked for by me.

Such factors include:
1) LE vs open
2) Value of pin (initial value, plus secondary values)
3) My investment in the pin, i.e. if I had to get it via secondary sources, did I have to pay more, did I have to trade more, to get it, etc
4) Trade/Wants Ratios
5) How bad to I want the pin I asked for/was offered

Last night I did a trade request for a newer WDI pin from 2012 for an older "Tinker Bell as" pin from 2009 (both pins valued around $40-$50 currently) and they wanted a different pin, worth quite a bit more instead, on the grounds that the trade ratios were more similar. I tried to point out the value difference and was told as a collector, they do not do E-Bay, but I tried to explain even as a collector, every pin has a value, and that has to be accounted for in trading, just not a Trade/Wants ratio.

Am I wrong in my thinking?

No - I agree completely with you! I go by many factors although I also include how much I want the pin. Is it worth it to me to trade a slightly better one for it? If it is "quite a bit more" then I probably wouldn't.

+1

Yes, I'm with you on this one. Whilst trade/wants ratio is one way of determining value, there are others and they should all be taken into consideration.
I do sometimes explain in a trade that I'm looking to "trade up" or something like that, if for example - as you said - I've had to go to extra cost/effort to get the pin in the first place.
I often find though that a pin's value is a very personal thing to some people & the opposite to others: some people want to trade like for like, others are more open to trading in relation to the value of the pin as a trader

For example I may hava DSF LE300 pin & you may have one too that you want to trade, but for arguments sake lets say that my pin is Tangled & yours is ... well... not LOL, that may make the trade uneven since we can asume that the Tangled pin is much more sought after.

Just my thoughts...

For me, when I do a trade I try to make it as fair as possible.

For instance:

• Pin A is an le500
• pin B is an open edition from dlrp.
• Pin A trade wants is about 25/30
• Pin B trade wants is about 25/110

To me, pin A and pin B level out about the same because even though pin A is an LE pin B has much better trade/want ratios. I will take into account eBay value if it is a current good seller, because sometimes current ebay value reflects more accurately the "want" factor at that moment. ebay fluctuates so it is hard for me to put to much faith in the going prices.

The trade you offered, without seeing the pins, sounds like a fair trade. again, without seeing which pins, i cannot say for certain, but the counter offer seems a bit lopsided.

BUT maybe the other trader is a bit more emotionally attached to the pin you asked for? That could easily explain the higher value placed on it. Which is for lack of a better term... the X factor in trading in this hobby, emotional attatchment. That can turn a crappy old OE into platinum for some folks.