What is a Fair Trade?

Ha spot the newbie lol. I really just wanted opinions on how people decide if a trade is fair or not as both a trader and a tradee. Do you go by value (is this relative?), LE numbers (although some more popular than others), by wants/trade ratio or to help out someone who really wants a particular pin
Just curious as someone starting out. Would hate to feel like I was hard done by in a particular trade but would hate it even more if someone felt they were being hard done by me!!
Thanks

It is a combination of all three for me. You'll find every trader does it a little differently. In the end a fair trade is when I'm happy and you're happy and we both feel good about the transaction after some quality communication. I tend to lean more on trades/wants because I am after some much older pins and older vs newer value $ is tough to tackle.

I take allot in consideration. EBay prices, trades/wants ratio, LE size and most important is what do I value the pins at. Like Firebaby22 said, I need to be happy about the trade as the other person needs to be happy also.

Like Firebaby22 said, it's a combination of all three, and in the end it depends on how you feel about it. You have to ask yourself how badly you want the other person's pin(s) and how you'd feel if you gave up your pin(s) in exchange. If it's something you really want - that you've been searching for a while - and you know the "going price" on eBay or on the forum, and the person is asking for "more" than what you've seen it go for or what you think it's worth, you have to ask yourself if you're willing to pay "more" / if you want to continue to wait / and if what you have to trade is something you'll regret trading later on.

There are so many factors. There are so many factors to take into account. Remember, LE doesn't necessarily mean better! I have four OE pins that I found out recently are considered grail pins for a lot of people. Whereas, I have some LE pins that are practically worthless, regardless of being in excellent condition.

There are the factors you have mentioned and there is many more.

Obviously if someone is trying to pass off a scrapper as authentic, it isn't fair.

There is the condition of the pin. If it has scratches, lose backs, etc.

A lot of traders also think a pin is only worth trading if it is in it's original packaging. Most aren't bothered by this though.

Something that I think is very important is where the person got the pin. If they can say to you 'I bought it in the Disney Outlets in Orlando in 2006' or something like that, then as long as they are being honest with you, they are telling you it is definitely authentic. If they say they traded it with a CM, it doesn't mean it is fake, but it means they definitely can't guarantee that it isn't, unless there are no scrappers made of that particular pin.

As long as both traders are honest with each other and both are happy with the trade, then it is fair. If they tell you something along the lines of 'Oh I bought this in Magic Kingdom on my first trip' and it is a Jerry Leigh pin (pins that are sold in the likes of Walmart or Target. Fully tradable, but not available in Disney Parks) then obviously it is not a fair trade.

Do not buy from ebay if they have any negative feedback or unbelieveably low prices.

If someone is trading and only posts stock photos, ask them for real photos before you trade. All genuine traders will be happy to do this. If they make excuses ('My camera is broken' or 'I lost my lead and can't connect my camera to the computer') then just don't trade.

If you have any concerns about trades you receive, you can post photos on here asking what people think or if you will be around Dublin, feel free to contact me and see if I'll be around. I'd gladly have a look at pins for you to help you out!

dopeydoc3 said:

being in Dublin right now would be so cool.

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You have no idea how wrong you are....

are we talking weather, excitement or personal safety? I'll swap you for a week. I'm 20 minutes from Disneyland. :wavey:

dopeydoc3 said:

are we talking weather, excitement or personal safety? I'll swap you for a week. I'm 20 minutes from Disneyland. :wavey:

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Everything. The weather isn't so bad at the moment, but we had 3 months of storms not long ago. I suppose that bit is better than earthquakes..

There are drug addicts everywhere. Not just the occasional one. You will see an absolute minimum of 50 if you walk from one side of the city to another and it is a fairly small city.. They are shooting up in the middle of the street, a lot of times right in front of police and nobody could care less.

The city is swarming with beggers. They will get right up in your face and ask you for money or cigarettes.. I'm 24 (25 in two days, woo!), female and only 5'1 so this is VERY intimidating.

I volunteer for dog rescues. The stuff we see is unreal. Animals being beaten, starved and bred more than they can handle and nobody with any real authority to do anything about it will make any effort to help. Several rescues, including our SPCA are so neglectful of animals. Another "dog rescue" owner stole a dog that I had personally rescued from the pound. I had found him the perfect home and his new owner was on his way to collect him and when she got there he was gone... All because nobody will regulate charities. So many people just see the word 'rescue' and assume they are helping by donating to them. The majority of that money goes to the people who run the rescues, not to the animals and rescues like the ones I volunteer who actually want to make a difference suffer.

Ok, I'll stop rambling about dogs now!...

There is rubbish everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

There is nothing fun to do. Activities include going to the pub... or... going to a different pub!

Everything in the shops is imported from UK and they most shops jack up the price on nearly everything, so shopping is very overpriced. The Disney Store are very guilty of this. A plush is £18 in the UK ($30) or €30 here ($42).

We don't have any of the shops you take for granted like Target or Walmart. You're probably rolling your eyes and thinking 'ugh Walmart...' right now, but I'm sure you'll agree it is so handy to have everything in one place. We have to go to several different shops to get a few things.

Our public transport is quite possibly among the worst in the Western world.. The buses used to be every 10 minutes near my house back in the 90s and it was great. Now, one bus only is only scheduled for every half hour. The other is scheduled for 11 times a day. That wouldn't be so bad, but they do not stick to the timetable. They show up early, occassionally on time or not at all. Then depending on which bus you were getting, the next one might not be for four hours. The drivers are usually rude and drive dangerously. I have never been in a car crash, but I have been involved in four bus accidents. One of which a man died. Yet, nobody thinks to make any changes.

...And they put the price for the buses up several times a year. My bus fare to college is now €12.20 daily ($16.85) and I only live a few km away. I could cycle there in 30 minutes, but there is so much broken glass on the footpaths and roads that I usually end up getting a puncture.

Smoking is very common here. People are smoking everywhere you go and apparently it is socially acceptable to just blow smoke into people's face. It's almost as if the whole point of smoking for them is to blow smoke into other people's faces...

There is very little law enforcement. So, people can do whatever they feel like... and do! There have been 5 break ins in my estate in the last week. You can turn on the news on any given day and there is a very good chance you will hear about yet another murder. So many buildings and public places being vandalised. We can't have anything nice, because someone will ruin it for everyone.

Pin trading is pretty much non-existent here. I think Flaming Nora brings the grand total of Irish members to four, and two don't seem to be active anymore. So, naturally collecting is very expensive. Our only authorised seller is Disney Store UK who have a very limited amount of pins and of course, hack up the prices of postage. So many traders on here put postage at $10 and up for us or just 'will not trade/sell internationally'.

So, if that hasn't put you off, then yes, I will swap with you. For as long as you like. Permanently, if possible!!

Thanks for the replies.
Def seems to be a mix of things to help decide. Firebaby, yes that makes sense, if both are happy with the trade it is probably a 'fair' trade to you and the person you're trading with. dopeydoc3, no there is no trade yet, but am beginning to purchase a few pins for my trade collection so hopefully can start trading soon. Disnerd I would def be on for meeting up and thank you for the offer. I'll need to wait till I've a bit of a collection first though lol.