The most irritating thing about being a tape trader is.......... - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TVFactFan · 11-12-2004, 10:47 AM

coming across another trader who has so many things you need and you have absolutely nothing they are looking for. And most times they are too busy with other trades to accept blanks/money so you have to miss out on what you want. Seems like most traders that have what I"m looking for are not interested in sitcoms even though they have them in their collection

Archimedes37 · 11-12-2004, 11:25 AM

I know the feeling, but the opposite is true as well. I have run into folks who want to trade and have made a long list of my stuff they want and I'm not able to find anywhere near an appropriate amount from their list so I start picking stuff at random just so I can help them get started out.

TVFactFan · 11-12-2004, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Archimedes37
I know the feeling, but the opposite is true as well. I have run into folks who want to trade and have made a long list of my stuff they want and I'm not able to find anywhere near an appropriate amount from their list so I start picking stuff at random just so I can help them get started out.

Another thing that annoys me is when a trader assumes that you are a DVD trader. If i didn't specify DVD i have to be talking about VHS. I will get emails and the perosn will ask-"do you have them on DVD?

Agent 13 · 11-12-2004, 02:00 PM

I'd have to rank dishonesty in any shape or form as the most irritating thing about tape trading. Whatever happened to good old fashioned integrity?

lazygrae · 11-12-2004, 02:13 PM

I have to agree with TVShow Analyzer that not having anything another trader wants is the MOST irritating thing about trading. The opposite, as Archimedes37 mentioned, doesn't really bother me. I can see how dishonesty would rank up there, but I guess I'm lucky as I have barely ever encountered it, and even then only on small trades.

TVFactFan · 11-12-2004, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lazygrae
I have to agree with TVShow Analyzer that not having anything another trader wants is the MOST irritating thing about trading. The opposite, as Archimedes37 mentioned, doesn't really bother me. I can see how dishonesty would rank up there, but I guess I'm lucky as I have barely ever encountered it, and even then only on small trades.

Yeah i never encountered any dishonesty i guess because i'm involved in smalll trades too.

Agent 13 · 11-13-2004, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
Yeah i never encountered any dishonesty i guess because i'm involved in smalll trades too.

You haven't? Then you've been very lucky.

Maybe I should clarify myself...

Not counting getting ripped off entirely, I'd have to rank dishonesty in any shape or form as the most irritating thing about tape trading. To name a few:[list=1][*]Getting quality less than promised.[*]Getting fewer episodes than agreed upon.[*]Shipping later than they said they did.[*]Claiming to have an entire series only until they get what they wanted.[*]Agreeing upon SP but receiving SLP.[*]Using media mail when Priority was agreed upon.[*]Claiming to be delayed in shipping because of illness, school, etc. only to find that they've been trading elsewhere in the meantime.[*]Well seasoned traders taking advantage of newbies (happened to me several times).[/list=1]
These are general problems I've run into, but I could list many more examples, with twists and turns that have irritated me since I started trading two years ago. I know that I trade more than the average person and have more weird experiences than I'd like to admit.

Most of these type of problems aren't enough to label the person as a bad trader, but certainly enough for me to not list them as reputable.

TVFactFan · 11-13-2004, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Agent 13
You haven't? Then you've been very lucky.

Maybe I should clarify myself...

Not counting getting ripped off entirely, I'd have to rank dishonesty in any shape or form as the most irritating thing about tape trading. To name a few:[list=1][*]Getting quality less than promised.[*]Getting fewer episodes than agreed upon.[*]Shipping later than they said they did.[*]Claiming to have an entire series only until they get what they wanted.[*]Agreeing upon SP but receiving SLP.[*]Using media mail when Priority was agreed upon.[*]Claiming to be delayed in shipping because of illness, school, etc. only to find that they've been trading elsewhere in the meantime.[*]Well seasoned traders taking advantage of newbies (happened to me several times).[/list=1]
These are general problems I've run into, but I could list many more examples, with twists and turns that have irritated me since I started trading two years ago. I know that I trade more than the average person and have more weird experiences than I'd like to admit.

Most of these type of problems aren't enough to label the person as a bad trader, but certainly enough for me to not list them as reputable.

Nope haven;t experienced any of those problems. I guess i just been lucky so far.

lazygrae · 11-13-2004, 03:28 AM

I would say I'm out about a total of 5 tapes/discs as a result of the instances mentioned happening to me since I began collecting/trading in the early 90s. I figure that getting ripped off for $3-5 and a bit of my time once every 3 years is not worth my getting upset over.

Dishonest traders can be weeded out by having them send first, but finding something you desperately want and not being able to arrange a trade for it is SOOO darn irritating!

debwalsh · 11-13-2004, 02:16 PM

One of the things I've found exceedingly annoying is trading with people who are prominent in a given group, good reputation, lots of trading points, and when I actually do a trial trade with them, I have problems with the trade - the quality of the recordings is poor when they claimed it was perfect (or the soundtrack has a screech through it, or drops out repeatedly), the shipment is slow and I receive my tapes/discs weeks after I send to them, or I ask for episodes from the beginning of a series, and they send the last few because those were the first ones they taped in syndication and they couldn't be bothered to ask what I meant, or check an episode guide online. This has happened to me a couple of times, and I really haven't felt that I could post a negative comment about the trade because the traders in question were well-known and in one case, keeper of the trader reports for the group. I've just not been interested in trading any further with those people, but it has caused me not to trust trading reports quite as much.

The biggest trading bugaboo I have is communication. I used to trade a lot in early '80s, the days before the Net - communication was by phone or letter, basically. Trades took longer because if you were correspondning by mail, you had to wait until the letters went back and forth. I dropped out of trading for nearly 20 years, and have only gotten back into it in the last year. Now we have instant access by e-mail, so for someone not to ask a question to clarify, or to drop a line to say they're having problems and the trade will be delayed, isn't quite so forgiveable. I'd have to say that the trades I've had that I didn't enjoy were mostly marred by poor communication.

Another problem I have with some traders I've encountered is greediness. I trade one for one, always have. I have a lot of stuff in my collection I'd consider rare - I went to great lengths to acquire it, in the case of my PAL tapes, I had to buy special equipment even to be able to play it. But I still don't add a premium to it in trade credit - that makes no sense to me. In recent months, I've encountered people who are willing to do my stuff at SP, as I've requested, but couldn't they just have their stuff in trade at EP, so they can get more? Sometimes I've said yes, but as I've started to trade more, I've started to refuse to do that - it just takes up too much of my time to be worthwhile for me.

Or a trader considers something they've recorded off TV as really rare in their opinion, and the only thing they'd consider worth its value would be three times the number of tapes or discs to dub it. I don't sell, and I don't really have a problem with people who do - I certainly buy, and I can make the value judgment whether the purchase is worthwhile or not. But in a trade, is one person's offering really worth two or three times the effort, two or three times the tape or disc, etc., as the other person's, just because they say so? I can understand when one person is offering VCDs, since they only carry an hour's worth of programming, that there should be more VCDs in exchange for two-hour tapes and DVDs. But is it becoming common practice to ask for more in trade than you're giving, or have I just run into a couple of oddities in my travels?

That said, I've met some very nice people trading video. Rediscovered a few old friends along the way, too, which is very cool indeed. I've definitely met enough people who are good traders and pleasant people to boot to keep me interested in trading for a while to come. :>

Agent 13 · 11-13-2004, 03:23 PM

debwalsh,

This is exactly some of what I'm referring to, boarderline stuff. For example, I traded some of my primest shows with a high ranking trader on another board, and I ended up with only around two out of twenty tapes that I could actually make use of. When I confronted him, he assured me that the problem was with my VCRS, completely ignoring the fact that I could track a couple of them (why not all?). He's the only one that I've gotten tapes from where I couldn't at least track the videos in one of my eight VCRs.

The problem wasn't with my machines but with him copying tapes without watching the tracking. I realized that I couldn't win with him because he was a top dog, etc. I rarely post bad trader reports, but if I did so, I'm sure I'd end up looking like the bad guy in the end.

TVFactFan · 11-16-2004, 12:11 AM

Another irritating thing is when someone emails you and let's you know they have the shows you are looking for and then for some reason you never hear from the person again.-lol

cp32 · 11-16-2004, 05:35 PM

Not enough space to store your tapes

debwalsh · 11-16-2004, 05:50 PM

... having to pay big $$ to pay movers to move your collection when you move out of state ... and then having them ask if they can borrow a movie that night.

Agent 13 · 11-16-2004, 06:56 PM

How about having so many shows at your disposal and the family still can't decide what to watch.

11-12-2004, 10:47 AM	#1
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,073	The most irritating thing about being a tape trader is.......... coming across another trader who has so many things you need and you have absolutely nothing they are looking for. And most times they are too busy with other trades to accept blanks/money so you have to miss out on what you want. Seems like most traders that have what I"m looking for are not interested in sitcoms even though they have them in their collection

11-12-2004, 02:00 PM	#4
Agent 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 02, 2003 Location: Good ol' USA Posts: 1,510	Dishonesty I'd have to rank dishonesty in any shape or form as the most irritating thing about tape trading. Whatever happened to good old fashioned integrity?
	__________________ It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong. Abraham Lincoln

11-13-2004, 02:16 PM	#10
debwalsh Ancient Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Posts: 503	One of the things I've found exceedingly annoying is trading with people who are prominent in a given group, good reputation, lots of trading points, and when I actually do a trial trade with them, I have problems with the trade - the quality of the recordings is poor when they claimed it was perfect (or the soundtrack has a screech through it, or drops out repeatedly), the shipment is slow and I receive my tapes/discs weeks after I send to them, or I ask for episodes from the beginning of a series, and they send the last few because those were the first ones they taped in syndication and they couldn't be bothered to ask what I meant, or check an episode guide online. This has happened to me a couple of times, and I really haven't felt that I could post a negative comment about the trade because the traders in question were well-known and in one case, keeper of the trader reports for the group. I've just not been interested in trading any further with those people, but it has caused me not to trust trading reports quite as much. The biggest trading bugaboo I have is communication. I used to trade a lot in early '80s, the days before the Net - communication was by phone or letter, basically. Trades took longer because if you were correspondning by mail, you had to wait until the letters went back and forth. I dropped out of trading for nearly 20 years, and have only gotten back into it in the last year. Now we have instant access by e-mail, so for someone not to ask a question to clarify, or to drop a line to say they're having problems and the trade will be delayed, isn't quite so forgiveable. I'd have to say that the trades I've had that I didn't enjoy were mostly marred by poor communication. Another problem I have with some traders I've encountered is greediness. I trade one for one, always have. I have a lot of stuff in my collection I'd consider rare - I went to great lengths to acquire it, in the case of my PAL tapes, I had to buy special equipment even to be able to play it. But I still don't add a premium to it in trade credit - that makes no sense to me. In recent months, I've encountered people who are willing to do my stuff at SP, as I've requested, but couldn't they just have their stuff in trade at EP, so they can get more? Sometimes I've said yes, but as I've started to trade more, I've started to refuse to do that - it just takes up too much of my time to be worthwhile for me. Or a trader considers something they've recorded off TV as really rare in their opinion, and the only thing they'd consider worth its value would be three times the number of tapes or discs to dub it. I don't sell, and I don't really have a problem with people who do - I certainly buy, and I can make the value judgment whether the purchase is worthwhile or not. But in a trade, is one person's offering really worth two or three times the effort, two or three times the tape or disc, etc., as the other person's, just because they say so? I can understand when one person is offering VCDs, since they only carry an hour's worth of programming, that there should be more VCDs in exchange for two-hour tapes and DVDs. But is it becoming common practice to ask for more in trade than you're giving, or have I just run into a couple of oddities in my travels? That said, I've met some very nice people trading video. Rediscovered a few old friends along the way, too, which is very cool indeed. I've definitely met enough people who are good traders and pleasant people to boot to keep me interested in trading for a while to come. :>
	__________________ Deb Walsh Savage Traders Online!

11-13-2004, 03:23 PM	#11
Agent 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 02, 2003 Location: Good ol' USA Posts: 1,510	debwalsh, This is exactly some of what I'm referring to, boarderline stuff. For example, I traded some of my primest shows with a high ranking trader on another board, and I ended up with only around two out of twenty tapes that I could actually make use of. When I confronted him, he assured me that the problem was with my VCRS, completely ignoring the fact that I could track a couple of them (why not all?). He's the only one that I've gotten tapes from where I couldn't at least track the videos in one of my eight VCRs. The problem wasn't with my machines but with him copying tapes without watching the tracking. I realized that I couldn't win with him because he was a top dog, etc. I rarely post bad trader reports, but if I did so, I'm sure I'd end up looking like the bad guy in the end.
	Last edited by Agent 13; 11-13-2004 at 03:48 PM.

11-16-2004, 05:35 PM	#13
cp32 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 26, 2003 Location: Wintersville Oh Posts: 385	The most irritating thing about being a tape trader is.......... Not enough space to store your tapes

11-12-2004, 11:25 AM	#2
Archimedes37 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 21, 2004 Posts: 18	I know the feeling, but the opposite is true as well. I have run into folks who want to trade and have made a long list of my stuff they want and I'm not able to find anywhere near an appropriate amount from their list so I start picking stuff at random just so I can help them get started out.

11-12-2004, 02:13 PM	#5
lazygrae Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 30, 2003 Location: Canada, watching the grooviest gang of fuzz who ever wore a badge. Posts: 460	I have to agree with TVShow Analyzer that not having anything another trader wants is the MOST irritating thing about trading. The opposite, as Archimedes37 mentioned, doesn't really bother me. I can see how dishonesty would rank up there, but I guess I'm lucky as I have barely ever encountered it, and even then only on small trades.

11-13-2004, 03:28 AM	#9
lazygrae Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 30, 2003 Location: Canada, watching the grooviest gang of fuzz who ever wore a badge. Posts: 460	I would say I'm out about a total of 5 tapes/discs as a result of the instances mentioned happening to me since I began collecting/trading in the early 90s. I figure that getting ripped off for $3-5 and a bit of my time once every 3 years is not worth my getting upset over. Dishonest traders can be weeded out by having them send first, but finding something you desperately want and not being able to arrange a trade for it is SOOO darn irritating!

11-16-2004, 12:11 AM	#12
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,073	Another irritating thing is when someone emails you and let's you know they have the shows you are looking for and then for some reason you never hear from the person again.-lol

11-16-2004, 05:50 PM	#14
debwalsh Ancient Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Posts: 503	... having to pay big $$ to pay movers to move your collection when you move out of state ... and then having them ask if they can borrow a movie that night.

11-16-2004, 06:56 PM	#15
Agent 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 02, 2003 Location: Good ol' USA Posts: 1,510	How about having so many shows at your disposal and the family still can't decide what to watch.