...to let people you're selling/trading tapes with know that the episodes have annoying bars (a la TNN/Trio) or annoying little icons, like the old TVLAND box that was huge and annoying?

It's hard to enjoy an episode you spent money on when the Trio bar at the bottom is HUGE and obscuring part of the screen, plus it moves around and is an eye-sore. I think I should've been told that this was the case, seeing as many people (myself included) would rather not buy something like this...

Your thoughts?

it might be a good idea just as a coustey

yes. a lot of people i deal with dont even ask, i guess they are so excited. I usually have to email them and say, by the way, these are second generation and the quality is a 9 - thought you might like to know. :)

Im surprised that some people dont really care, in their mad dash to accumulate everything thats not nailed down. A couple years ago, when i was first trading, I was recording MacGyver off wgn for someone. They were getting ready to do a major time change for the show, so all week long they ran a screen crawl through the show, every 10 minutes or so, going on and on about the time change. I stopped the tape and rewond it to the beginning, so i could pick it up after the time change - i mean, no use in archiving annoying sh*t for future generations, right? She was kind of weirded out, said she didnt mind if they had stuff wrong with them, she just wanted to get a full set as soon as possible because she had people to sell them to. I kinda figured that was a good trade to stop there. I dont really mind selling, thats none of my business, but i hate it when i know people sell stuff thats not very good. Im too scared to buy stuff- Im positive ill get ripped off bad.

I always try to be as honest as i can about what ive got, but the thing is, its always best for the buyer/trader to ask -- are there many broadcast glitches, are the tapes very old, whats the picture quality compared to looking at something being broadcast live, are their screen crawls? The thing is, in the mad rush to get some money or a trade they want, some people will still lie. :(

The more information you can give the better, the person you are trading with should really appreciate it i always try to give detailed descriptions of my shows, i tell them wether they contain opening and closing credits, what speed the masters are taped in these are things that people forget too ask .
But you've made a good point i will tell them about the icons if i feel they are obtrusive on the screen.don't be afraid to be the buyer if you do your research on a trader you shouldn't get burnt badly find out if

1.the person is a fan of the show(there seem to be a lot of collectors who aren't familiar with their product just be careful!!)

2.is the person communicating properly if they aren't answering your necessary questions they might just want a quick sale

3.do a search on their name and email addy if nothing good comes up or nothing at all be wary

happy trading:wave: