This is the line almost everyone starts out with when looking to trade. It's a good opener. There's certainly nothing wrong with it. But there is a lot more to an approach than just blurting that out.
Here's a few basic questions to ask yourself:
- did you smile?
- how was your facial expression?
- did you "sigh" when you asked?
- did THEY "sigh" when asked?
- how was the tone in your voice?
- how long have you scouted the person you asked?
- did you scout at all?
- did the person look busy or distracted?
- does that person have friends around?
- does the person have their trade stuff in a back-pack or a traveling suitcase?
- are they carrying stuff in a box, binder, a stack of cards?
All of these actions and notations you make about a person or yourself will dictate how a trade will go. So let's start of from the beginning of the list, the smile :)
An important tool, the smile can almost suffocate a trade at times depending on the other person's mood. The majority of the time it creates a good atmosphere for a good trade to develop while fostering a good repertoire for future endeavors, especially if it's done genuinely. People can spot a fake smile the moment they see it. Or even an insincere smile. Many are uneasy with politicians and car sales men because they are so good at it the smile.
You don't want the person you're trading with to feel uneasy. As soon as they start to feel that way, the trade is almost certainly dead. This is not to say you need to smile every time you want to trade with someone, rather use a smile as a tool to break down defenses and make a friend. Even if that friendship lasts 10 minutes.
Facial expressions aside from smiling, such as having a determined look, raised eyebrows, tightened lips, smirking, and even the look of concern can determine the way a trade can go. For example, I have my back pack strapped and a binder in my arms, but I seem like I am looking for somebody in particular and then ask a gentlemen sitting down at a table if he has trade stuff, you're mind isn't on the actual trade but rather a quick turn-around or to kill some time. Chances are that the full value during that trade isn't going to be seen on your part. By full value I mean the trade stock you have gotten isn't going to be greater than what you had gotten rid of. This entails a lot more information and another blog on my part to explain. It's imperative not seem or be distracted. Give the other person the same respect you would have them give to you and not waste theirs or your time. Giving that attention means that there is a greater chance of trading with them in the future.
Don't sigh. If it's not in a humorous fashion or if you aren't using it to start a conversation with the person to gain a sort of rapport with them, do not sigh. The last thing a person wants to feel as though they don't matter or are a bothersome nuisance. Again, show respect for others for their time and yours. If the person you've approached sighs, try not to take it personally. Use it to your advantage and try starting a conversation with them. The more comfortable a person is the easier the trade session might be. If you have to listen to their problem, actually listen and don't sound like the annoyed boyfriend or son. I have gotten to know many friends this way and many hookups on trades later on!
Similar to sighing is the tone in your voice and also about what I talked about previously. Sounding annoyed, troubled, concerned, tired, happy, and all the range of emotions we have can give information to the other person. Being distracted can help or hurt you in a trade, depending. Don't let your emotions or the trade partner shark you out of a trade.
Scouting is normally a term used in looking at what people are playing in order to gain an advantage for you or your friends in a tournament and works wonders for good trades as well. When scouting for trades there are a few certain rules I go by:
- stay away from people with monster binders until later on in the day/evening
- stay away from large groups of friends
- stay away from anyone that looks like you. They are doing what you are doing.
- look for people who have their stuff in what looks like luggage
- look for people who don't have cards in binders but in boxes
- look for people who don't have monster binders. The bigger the better. The smaller the worst chance a trade might not be feasible in value. Smaller binders are usually carried by people who don't trade that often and/or carry contents that are of high value. If you carry high value trade ignore this.
- stay away from large groups of people trading. This is bad. Very bad. These people might as well have fins strapped to their foreheads unless you know how to hawk them.
- check to see who is looking up stuff online on their phones. This is a good thing if they have to keep looking up stuff if you know what range you have in value. I will go into more detail on this another time.
About large groups.
You should always stop to investigate a group of trades happening. Often if you get into a trade with someone in a large group another person is bound to add their "expert" opinion on your trade. Don't do this. There's nothing wrong with snooping out the competition, just don't get snooped yourself. You can ruin another persons trade if you're not asked. It's best to stay quite so you can come back later if you have something saucy.
When scouting be sure note what areas are off limits for trades and where you can take a breather. Bathrooms, comfort areas such as couches, and food courts give you a chance to rest. You can sort through all the new trade stock you've gotten and put them away safely unless you are looking to turn them over in the same day. Making sure you've eaten is as important as it is when you're playing in an event.
It's important to scout quickly. People at events move quickly, rounds start up, bathroom runs, food runs, smoke breaks are due, side drafts/events, or the old fashioned "0-2 drop go get lucky with my GF" is always in full force. If you are too slow in acting on a scout another person could move in or hawk on your trade. This sometimes can work in your favor. Most people are looking for one thing and sometimes you can kill two birds with one stone of you've snooped the trade long enough. But the last thing you want to do is lose out on an insane prospect because you were too slow to hawk the scout.
Make sure you know what cards are being whispered about. Visit the dealer tables and ask questions. This will assist you in scouting and snooping for trades. I once traded a set of the same card 13 times to various people based on whispers and ended up almost out of room in my binder. The card later turned into a bust and I ended up so high on value I couldn't see straight.
Remember, dealers are your friends. Be nice to them. Don't interfere in their buy-ins. Remember to hook a dealer up and they will remember to hook you up. Most importantly do not buy cards or sell cards at events unless it's to a dealer. I cannot stress this enough. Magic players can be cunning bastards and the last thing you want is to be scouted by the T.O. because someone doesn't like your hawks, and ejected from the event which will end your trading for the day unless you want to hang outside with the smokers.
If you start a trade and a friend of your trade partner comes, this is good news. Now you have an "opportunity trade". Giving something extra to your current trade partner will entice the their friend to pull their trade stuff out. Just be sure you aren't hawking the value of your binder down too much.
Know what you are bringing to the table of trades. I personally don't own an iphone or have internet on my cell. For a very long time I have traded without access and based my trades on remembering what the current market value is for a card before I go to an event. This has rarely hurt me. Knowing that the market value can drop or rise dramatically on a card based on set rotation, current ptq season, what hot cards EDH/casual players love, collectable foils for cube, and even the prospective value of a new set release can impact the value of your collection immensely. With that knowledge you can actually hook people up by just giving them the card they need in a "bum trade", which will help later on when you need hooked up. It's happened many times where that "bum trade" turned into scrap and the card turns out be worth less than what you had traded for it originally. Nothing like a $5.00 Thoughtseize!
Listen to the whispers, rumors, and even the 11 year old talking about his deck. Listen to EDH and casual players. EDH and the iphone has changed everything, so use these to your advantage and don't shrug off the information gleaned from them or your local store. Hooking people up there will help you.
I have lots more to talk about, but those can wait for another time!
Thanks for reading and have fun trading!
Amos C.
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