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Trade Assistant Etiquette?

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Trade Assistant Etiquette?

HandA

Active DPF Member
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I know what you're thinking ... "I didn't know there is one". Probably not, but really I'm curious on standard practice from DPF folk.

Obviously, I'm still learning the ropes and there is a wide variety of types of "traders" that you deal with. I figure over here people are more of the collector type and on the up and up. I just have had very limited success with the TA ... actually none so far on the ones that I initiated. It's not for unfair offers either (at least intentionally). Granted I'm still trying to learn the value on things outside the numbers, but the tangible stuff I can nail.

In the beginning I started checking multiple matches and sending it out without even looking to see who it went to. I'm sure I had multiple people punch the computer screen, and if you were one of them, please accept my apology .
Result - never got a single reply. Nothing ... Nada ... Crickets

Now I have been a lot more careful in sending out only one pin to one person thinking I didn't want more than one person accept leaving me to tuck tail and give someone the "sorry, but ...".
Result - not only am I still hearing those same damn crickets, but now I have no clue on what I offered a few days later when I want try a different trade for the same pin. The "trade results" email from pp is not exactly full of useful information.

As a result of all this, I'm a helluva lot more organized with tracking matches, comps, to whom, etc. But I'm wondering, if you have a pin that has multiple comps, do you check more than one and see what takes or go one at a time in a priority? Going multiple presents the awkward situation, but given the odds on getting a bite it seems like a longshot that two would hit.

Also, how many of these "no replies" are just because you're trying to trade with an inactive account? Do you check references before and not even bother if they haven't traded in awhile?

I even tried to email ahead of time to start up a dialogue ... I have this on your wants list, what's fair? Still no luck.

Thoughts? Scrategies? C'mon ... lay 'em on me!! I'm sick of buying crap off of eBay because I can't seem to trade what I have.
 
Generally, trading on Pinpics has declined a LOT in the past 3 years or so.

Everyone has different opinions on replying/not replying.

My personal policy is that I don't reply unless I think I can work something out with them. I have a lot of reasons for not trading at any given time, ranging anywhere from "I'm saving the pin they want for something specific", to "this is very lopsided", to "I'm too busy to trade right now, maybe I'll remember to get back to them". But overall, my non-reply is a "No, thank you", and I assume, when I send requests out, that no reply is a "no, thank you" as well.

It doesn't bother me to not get replies- in fact, I prefer it, because then I don't have to delete the e-mail.

Personal e-mail requests are different- I try very hard to answer them. Sometimes I get backed up or forget, but usually, I'll reply.
 
I continue to trade constantly on PinPics. It is rare that more than 7-10 days goes by and I don't have a trade in process. And I'm doing more and more multi-trades in the last 1-2 years as the cost of mailing a pin has gone up -- although I think $1.64 for up to 3 oz. with delivery confirmation really isn't all that bad, but it sure feels better when it's for at least two pins.

PinPics etiquette - I send out only a couple some nights, and other times I send out roughly multi-bazillion offers at once. Maybe that's why I trade so much; statistics are on my side. ;-)

I try not to send out unbalanced offers. I keep a second PinPics window open so I can refer to the trades/wants, LE size, and other details of the pins that come up in the list. Sometimes I go down a level in what I offer because I really want the pin, i.e. offering an LE 250 for an LE 500. Sometimes I go up a level, i.e. offering an LE 1000 for an LE 750. Everyone values their pins differently, and you just don't know, so you have to take a chance.

A trader told me this long ago, and I think of it a lot when considering whether to send a somewhat lop-sided offer: The TA can be like your opening bid. It initiates the contact, and from there you may have an opportunity for something far beyond your original expectation. That's been my approach for a long time, and I think it's working pretty well for us. If someone answers with anything that even remotely sounds engaging, I check our trades/wants matches and see if I can make a second offer. When I receive an offer I can't make, I never say no without looking at the trades/wants matches. I may have to say no to their "opening bid," but what if I find something else....then I may end up a winner. And sometimes I only end up saying, I have to pass.

One important reminder: I never accept any offer or send a counter offer without checking Dizpins references. But I don't check references before sending out TA offers. That's not even possible since many traders do not have their email publicly listed in PinPics.

And here's another approach -- My DS#2 (I should mention for those of you who don't know DieHardDonald -- he is 24 and has been trading since 2000. I only mention that so you don't get the idea that he is some child pin prodigy.) will often respond to a "no thanks" with this question: "What are you looking for for this pin?" I can't even tell you how many times this has led to a successful trade for one of his holy grails! He will embrace the other trader's pin wish, find a trade he can make for it, and voila!, the original pin trade works out.

I have also changed my responses over the years. Unless someone specifically says no need to respond if it's just a decline, I try to answer every offer, even if I have to say I have to pass. If I didn't do that, I would be taking away from the other person the chance to open a dialogue that could lead to a trade. :hsd:
 
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You said: One important reminder: I never accept any offer or send a counter offer without checking Dizpins references. But I don't check references before sending out TA offers. That's not even possible since many traders do not have their email publicly listed in PinPics.

What if the person has never been able to do a trade before? Then they wouldn't have any references. What do you do in that case?
 

I am happy to say that I have been the first trade reference for many new traders!

Usually the pins involved in a first trade are not particularly valuable, and I am willing to take a risk. I do ask if the person has an eBay ID, and if they do I check their references (including Toolhaus). But if they don't even have that, and my pin is one I can stand to lose, I will go ahead with the trade. In the rare case where the pins happen to be valuable, I ask the new trader to send their pin first, and point to my Dizpins and eBay feedback. In twelve years of trading I have never had a first trade go bad.
 
Okay. I was starting to get worried for a second. I'm new at this and only have one pin to trade with so far. Thanks for the information.
 
I always reply to a pinpics trade request.

why?
1~ I would want a reply if I sent it. ( do unto others.... )
2~ If it's a no, it lets the trader know they can offer again to someone else.
3~ Not replying is much like ignoring someone who is visiting your trade table. rude.

Sometimes I even briefly explain why its a decline, like seriously lopsided or some such.
 
"Sometimes I even briefly explain why its a decline, like seriously lopsided or some such."

I used to do that too, but no more. My comments were often met with screeching diatribes that usually included something about, "Do you know what this pin sells for on eBay?" Blech. If you want to trade for my pin so you can sell it on eBay, no thank you.

There was an inframous thread on DPF last year about a PinPics trader that turned down completely fair trades (ex: resort rack pin for resort rack pin, same series, and all with equal trades/wants numbers), and actually told people that all his trades have to be lopsided in his favor because he sells Disneyana for a living and this is how he gets his merchandise! LOL, I wonder how his PinPics trading is doing now that he has been outed on a pintrading board with hundreds of readers?

I have a very short list of people I will never send a TA to - and yes, I always check my "pending trades" page - believe me, this guy is on it!
 
Its a personal feeling/opinion, not aimed at you specifically. Sorry you took it as a personal attack. I only get a few a week. I suppose for people with tonns of pins for trade the feeling might be different due to sheer volume of TR's. But I feel that if I don't respond I am being rude to that person.

Abyssinian28 said:
I don't appreciate being called rude. This is a MASS e-mail system, not someone talking to you face to face.
Click to expand...
 

It can be a personal opinion/feeling as to whether or not you want to reply or want a reply...just please watch how you phrase that in the future- it definitely came off as a hard-line "you're rude if you don't" statement. And trust me, I might be blunt and frank in my opinions, but I also know my manners, and hold doors for people and greet people when they come to me at PTN and such.

This rest is not aimed at you, Psycho (and that's a weird thing to type, lol).

I'm just so very tired of this even being an issue- I can't even say how many times that I've had this conversation and had to say, "I'm not the type of person to be rude". I don't understand why people send one at a time, and *hold* their pin. I don't understand why they get offended at no reply, or a "no, thanks...someone beat you to it and replied first".

It's just a TA, guys. Mass offers...a feeler. Not a contract set in stone. "This is rude, that is rude, this rule, that rule". Relax.

Let me put it this way- if my choice was to answer each and every TA, or I had to leave Pinpics trading, then I would leave. It's not worth the work or effort. And to give you an idea, out of every 20 TAs I get, 18 of them are lopsided. Maybe if I got more even offers, I'd be replying, because I'd be saying YES to the trade.
 
I agree that answering a TA request is a personal decision, and is not required. Even though my personal approach is to answer as close to all as I can, that is strictly my approach, and my current approach at that. Next week I might decide I will only answer the ones with whom I want to trade. Again, my business.

PinPics (and other online) pintrading keeps me sane from a very stressful "real" life. I wouldn't want anyone to walk away and lessen the opportunities in the online pintrading community. As long as the people who respond can keep it civil, that's my low and acceptable minimum expectation.
 
Yowza ... This has derailed. The whole reply/non reply thing was just an observation. Curious as to how common it was and different reasons for it, but it is definitely everyone's own choice. Personally, I like getting knowledge and being old why I'm being rejected gives me just that. I'm sure I'm not the norm, and telling someone why you think they are crazy is probably more trouble than it is worth.

I've accepted that aspect of it and moved on. The real question is when sending out requests on multiple to a pin, do most on here fire out bulk and see what comes back or take it one at a time and track like hell.
 
Honestly, I send everything out. Whether it be an under or over offer because you never know what the other person is seeking. The pin you've selected as an option may be a highly sought after pin by your tradee and that person might over trade. Plus you can always do counter offers especially when I see that person & I have multiple wants on our lists and vice versa. It's always worth a try. So far I haven't been yelled at in a harsh way. The worst I've gotten is, "No thanks," and that's all.

Or when someone sends me a TA I always go through their wants/trades to see if we have multiples up for grabs. Majority of these days I do multi trades to save on shipping because it's becoming expensive! Especially when you use a lot of bubble wrap + packages then have to pay shipping on top of that. However, if I really do want the pin and the only pin they're offering is the only one I want I'll accept without any hesitation. Plain and simple.

Moral of the story: It doesn't hurt to try.

P.S. - I also send out TA's in bulk usually. Once in a while (when I'm annoyed of PP or just being very lazy) I'll send one or two requests out of the norm.
 
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"Pinpics I have trouble trading on because some people don't have their email address on their profile."

You don't need to know a member's email address to send out a TA. If they respond to your
offer, you automatically get their address in the offer email from PinPics.

People can choose to keep their email unlisted in PinPics so that they don't receive
random, unsolicited offers directly from other members. But if/when they use the
TA, they know their email address will be sent to their trading partners.
 
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