A tantalizing trade offer...?? (Opinions Wanted Please)

[lazygrae]

I responded to a have/want post here last week and I am so shocked at what has transpired in our negotiations that I feel compelled to share the story and hopefully get some opinions. I shut down negotiations today but it took more than a week of going back and forth before deciding to give up on it. I apologize for the length, will try to make this as short as possible:

1. I had never dealt with this trader before, nor did I recognize his user id. He went to my website and came back with a large list of shows he wanted and his have list.

2. He said he was new to trading and had a pretty small list but had one movie that I wanted and a few shows that held some potential interest since he said he recorded them himself off TVLand. Not shows I really care about, but they raised some interest and I'm thinking, he’s a new trader so I’ll try to help this guy out. Being TVLand airings, I wanted to know if they were the chopped 44 minute versions, which don’t interest me at all, or if they were uncut versions which I would most certainly trade for. So I asked him how long the shows ran.

3. His reply was “I wasn’t in the editing room at TV Land” and that he thought they might be uncut or close-to.

4. I told him that without a definitive answer one way or the other, I wasn’t going to commit to anything large and suggested we do a small trade first. I offered to send him 5 discs of his choosing for 5 discs in return. Of the 5 discs I requested, 1 was the movie I wanted and the others were samples so I could check the running times myself and ensure that they are what I was looking for. If they were, I told him, we could trade more later.

5. He rejected my proposal, but came up with this counter-proposal:

"I have a trade that we can do that will be more equal to both of us…A fair exchange is what’s called for and this is it:
TRADE
[He lists off about 120 discs I'm to send him and offers me about 35 in return]
This is the trade that will give each of us what we want.”

6. I told him that since we hadn’t traded before I wasn’t going to do a large trade unless he sent first, and that without knowing the running times of what he was offering, and his unwillingness to send samples, it would be with the understanding that if upon arrival I discover that the eps were not uncut or close-to, I would simply return them to him at his expense. I also told him that I would only trade 1:1, not 120 for 35.

7. He did not go for that suggestion either, insisting that we stick with his offer:
“If you were really interested in getting shows you don’t have you’d go along with my deal, discs, after all are only 25 or 30 cents a piece. My deal we’d both get what we want.”

He actually seemed to be offended at the suggestion of sending samples so I could check the running time myself, saying, “if you want to judge you’ll have to go to join a committee on a beauty pageant.”

He also called me “intolerant” and said I was unwilling to “take a chance” on him.

It is literally unbelievable to me that anyone out there would try to negotiate a trade offer saying that 5 discs for 5 discs is “unfair”, that sending him an additional 85 discs is “more equal” than trading 1:1 and that my spending an additional C$57 (85 extra discs X $.43@ where I live + $20 postage) on discs, plus the donation of my time to make them (about 6 days for me with 1 burner) is what an agreeable person who wanted to trade would do to get his shows from him. At least, that's my interpretation of it.

Am I totally misunderstanding what he's saying?

Is he saying that sending everything that one person wants for everything the other person wants, regardless of the difference in the number of discs, is the fair thing to do?

Am I mistaking prudence with tolerance?

I thought a 4 disc sample-trade was a fair risk to take for a newbie whom I've never traded with before, does anybody here think that is unreasonable?

Are either one of us being unreasonable?

Or are both our suggestions reasonable but just incompatible?

Who am I and what the heck just happened?

[Lamont]

Lazy- u r being right on the $ on that one

if the guy was legit, and if he truly wants stuff u have

he should be able to pop in a disc and check a run time for u
and if he wont send 5 discs first to check them out, why would he be willing to send over 100? that makes no sense

my guess is (now i dont know him, so its just a guess)
that he is trying to get u to think "ITS TOO GOOD TO PASS UP" and jump on it and then get stuck
I hope not

BUTTTT its been a month for bad traders!

[lazygrae]

if he wont send 5 discs first to check them out, why would he be willing to send over 100?

To clarify Lamont, I was the one who was supposed to send over 100 discs, he only wanted to send me 35 in return. But your point is well-taken anyway. Thanks.

[y2k3Joker]

Man, you guys have all the fun !!!


I never get crazy people knocking on my door - I'd have fun dealing with these characters ....

[RedWhine56]

I would call this a less than tantalizing offer. I can see both sides of the 5 discs for 5 discs school of thought as well as 5 hours for 5 hours school of thought. But the school of thought that "here's all the stuff I want from you for all the stuff you want from me"...no way. Especially, when it's 125 for 30. I also don't know why he would be upset about doing a small trade first. Unless, of course, he knows ahead of time that he's planning on sending you junk or nothing at all so there would be no subsequent trades. I would say the other person is being unreasonable & I think you are wise to have called off the trade.

[loren]

i get them all the time

since i dont have a certain set, it must be worth a 7 to one trade, etc

or if i need three eps, then it must be worth ____


hey lamont, didnt you get an offer to give 85 discs recently to get 15 back from a certain bad trader


if a person comes up with a nice item, that has good potential for me, i have no problem dropping them a decent premium, it really matters what they want from me,

[Lamont]

i misunderstood

BUTTTT if that is the case
he wants u to send him 125 and he sends u 35
that is not tantalizing at all
that is just plain stupid

and i would tell him a different location he could put those 35 discs

[savageamusement]

To quote a great man...



“It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful.”


Anton LaVey


I am sure you were all waiting for a moderator to say that deal isnt' fair....
(rolling eyes)

What a....is dork appropriate here? Or is that way too far back.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by savageamusement

To quote a great man...



“It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful.”


Anton LaVey


I am sure you were all waiting for a moderator to say that deal isnt' fair....
(rolling eyes)

What a....is dork appropriate here? Or is that way too far back.

Dork! Savage that is such harsh language from the Queen of nice.

I do agree whole heartedly this guy has gotta be smokin some pretty good stuff to think any trader (let alone an established one) would pay a 4 to 1 trade for something, particularily with someone you do not know. Lazy you are too nice I would have told him where he could "store" his 30 dvds.

[debwalsh]

I think this is a must miss opportunity.

[T-Greg]

The response in Number 3 makes it obvious you are dealing with a smart ass who could care less that you only want an unedited show. He could simply let you know the running time without commercials, then you could determine whether you feel it is uncut. I'd go no further with him after that. The 100+ discs for 35 of his, is insulting. He needs to take a hike!

[lilhave]

If you do make the trade with him on his terms, speak to me afterwards. I have a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge I'm willing to sell real cheap, and maybe you would like a flawless blue white diamond I can sell you for about 75 cents a carot.

Harvey

[tdubel]

Graeme,

As one of your trading partners, let me put this as delicately as possible, go tell this insane yahoo to **** him/herself. Ya know, I have really had it with these idiots. As many can attest on this board, I have a huge collection, but very little time lately, so I am very choosy on trades and unfortunately have not even cataloged what I have, therefore, if you come a knockin, bring something good!

Hate to be that way, but to my faithful trading buddies this doesn't apply and you are welcome anytime, also to anyone honest, contact me anytime, but to the Looney Toons of this world, stay away.

TD (and no I won't win any awards for attitude but after what I have casually read lately, I don't care!)

[jasimon1]

Originally Posted by y2k3Joker

Man, you guys have all the fun !!!


I never get crazy people knocking on my door - I'd have fun dealing with these characters ....

Joker,

The only reason people like you and I never get these offers is because we would have too much fun with morons like this. They know that and stay far far away. Maybe we should pretend to be nice for a while and see what happens.

[savageamusement]

Originally Posted by y2k3Joker
Man, you guys have all the fun !!!


I never get crazy people knocking on my door - I'd have fun dealing with these characters ...."




Uhmmm...er Joker-
That's cuz you ARE the crazy person knocking at the door

(POKE)




Signed,
The Queen of Nice
(batting eyelashes)