Share your Trading Tips <3<3

[BlueEyedKite]

IndentionThis is a question for the users I see with pages of URs/08 pets galore, how did you get them? What's the secret strategy? I feel like there is a secret ;-;

Sometimes I wonder if someone else was owner of my 09 account they would be swimming in 5 star pets, but I am just clueless I do understand Horror's guide, but that has only improved my trades slightly (thanks Horror!)

Please respond if you are successful in the trading scene and have tips <3<3

Things I notice trending:

- c$ shops
- liquidating collections
- Leaning into store pets

Mods feel free to move if I posted in the wrong forum, it's hard to tell sometimes.

[sky,]

Hi! So, I have a pretty extensive collection... but I wish I had implemented some of the strategies other users do early on. Because the way to maintain consistency in your pet search is always having fodder (which I'm lacking now that I am close to a complete collection).

C$ is one of the biggest ways to make a profit. Because 1 non is 2000C$, if you buy one for 2kC$ ... trade it down for MAs.
.5 non = 10MAs (according to horrors list)
Then you turn around and sell each MA for 350C$, you will have profited by 1,500C$.
This gets around how C$ generally stacks and more than doubles your takeaway.

edit;
I also see people selling Mas for 400C$, which, if you do the math....
But storepets are the easiest to do this with because they are probably the most poplular

This providing that people actually buy the pets. But I have seen it done successfully by many users with a large amount of valuable pets. I also see people buy pets and sell them for twice their worth but that's more of a pet peeve of mine.

[lady gaga]

while it may seem counter-intuitive, I've found that actually giving away pets (i.e. as gifts and such) and helping other people out with their collections has greatly aided me in my own.

call it karma, but its one of the only reasons I have some of the pets I do now.

[BlueEyedKite]

@sky, okay! I see! This also explains my disadvantage xD I am terrible at math lol.

Sounds like the first hurdle is that first high value pet/c$ stash to start the domino effect.

@lady gaga I feel this 100%! The best pets on my account are gifts. Honestly, if someone Thanos snapped the pets I got as gifts away, my collection would be pretty poor.

I think that is the beautiful thing about CS, it takes a village to be "successful" here. Collections are built off the backs of many users. I find that beautiful, honestly.

[angst]

Oof marking because I need this thread, haha. I feel the same way!

I feel like I'm going through a rough patch where I send tons of trades but am not finding folks who are willing to edit / ask for what they want. I'm struggling with trading right now when I am the one sending the trades. The best luck I get is when I'm sent something! That means I can edit, send it back, accept, etc. so I've been trying to bump my thread more. It's just been getting hard to deal with no message rejections lately, especially when I feel like I have a decent amount of pets from that person's WL. I've been trying to just ask people more upfront - Is your WL accurate? Are there specific pets your looking for? Because I'm finding I'm not offering pets people really want (oops lol) even when they're on the person's wishlist.

CS shops are cool and I'm sure super profitable like Sky said! That may be a good strategy.

[Tox]

Like sky, said trade downs can be very profitable in C$.
I see users offering VR or older rares for "any X number of rares" user then sells those rares for more than the original would have gotten them alone. I'm about 50/50 on the ethics of that, feels like taking advantage of people if they don't understand what's going on, but at the same time may allow people to trade confidently for pets they might not otherwise.

There are a number of other similar schemes that fall into morally gray territory. Again, these feel less icky with proper disclosure. Informed consent and all that. (I am not encouraging anyone to use these tactics, but I do want to bring awareness to it. I hope those that do trade this way will include proper disclosure.)

Tips anyone can use:
TL:DR: make it easy for people to trade with you

Trade rules
- Short, simple, no special colors or fonts. Not everyone can see the rules if they're fancy; and I don't want to sift through paragraphs for your rules either.
- Please no passive aggressive rules or big lists of things you don't like; or "I don't want X thing on my WL"

General Trading Etiquette
- If it's not for trade, lock the group.
- If it is for trade, please make the title of the group indicate that. I can't tell you how many times I've been excited to see someone has hundreds of my WL pets for trade, only to see (nft) or very ambiguous group names.
- If you list the pet as being available for C$, be willing to sell the pet for C$ at the indicated rate. This shouldn't have to be said but... *shrug*

^I can't tell you how many trades I never even started because of things listed in the previous two sections.

Trade Threads
- "Liquidating" "Flash Sale" etc. can be used like the stores that are always having a "going out of business sale" but never actually close. It gets people's attention.
- Use the names of the pets in your trade thread posts; makes it much easier to find pets for trades using the search feature.
- Yellow is the most eye catching color, maybe throw in a yellow emoji or two into the title of your thread.

Other
There are multiple valuation systems for C$. I made myself some quick reference tables in google sheets because I am trash at remembering numbers. I'll also jot down values of C$ trades I see get completed for later reference.

[BlueEyedKite]

I think I underestimated c$. It always feels like not a lot for the rarity of the pet you're giving away so I avoid it. Like most of my 09 Very Rares are 80 c$. 80 c$ doesn't even buy you a new store pet set lately. But I guess it's volume that adds up. Even MAs 250 to 350 Meh.

[Llazybonezz]

i’ve had my fair share of big value trades and have several high value pets. i know it’s not a big tip but trade messages!! being polite but also being very clear for what you are looking for from certain pets. i’ve had trade offers for some lower value pets that we were able to go back and forth with edits and messages to make a higher value trade that we are both happy with!

i know messages don’t seem like a lot, but if i get sent a trade and they have another pet i’m interested in, it doesn’t hurt to send back an edit and let them know how i value my pet, and what i’m looking to get out of it. it may take a little while but it’s helped me turn trades that i normally wouldn’t be interested in into trades where i was able to get a TD august pps, UR tess cat, etc!

having clear ideas of your pets worth and demand, and letting your trade partner know up-front has helped me loads. instead of just canceling a trade (with a nice message of course), i have been able to make the best of the opportunity of getting a trade; because sometimes trades are just so hard to get!

[Tox]

I think I underestimated c$. It always feels like not a lot for the rarity of the pet you're giving away so I avoid it. Like most of my 09 Very Rares are 80 c$. 80 c$ doesn't even buy you a new store pet set lately. But I guess it's volume that adds up. Even MAs 250 to 350 Meh.

I agree with you. I've been working on pricing out my trades folders and the values seem wild to me. There is a big gap between the two most commonly used C$ guides, which hurts my head. Compounding that is seeing how others price their pets and wondering if I'm under or they're over.

[chase.]

I thought I’d share some of my personal experiences here <3

messages/communication - being nice in your message goes a very long way! Even things as simple as a smiley or a small explanation like “I’m looking for this for secret Santa” goes along way in getting people to be more willing to help you out <3 I fear a lot of trading has become scary and almost toxic, but friendliness is always key <3

be willing to edit - this follows on from my first tip! I’ll always let people know that I’m more than happy for them to edit trades I send! I’m not saying you have to edit suggestions or one sided suggestions, but a lot of people look at a trade point blank and cancel it; but if they took a few seconds to check out the other pets available they’d probably be able to come to a successful trade! There’s also no harm in having a look and then just cancelling and telling them you didn’t see anything that interests you! Honestly I find myself going back to the same trading partners again if they’re nice and polite! Which usually means if I have come across a “higher-value” pet, they get offered the trade with it first! As opposed to someone who is rude or cancels w/o a message, they don’t get left in the loop.

people acquire new pets - I think sometimes people avoid trading with others if they’re looking for specific pets because they’ll have checked a day ago and the user didn’t have anything they wanted. Trading is so so fluid and people come across different pets all the time throughout other trades. On Monday that user may have had 0 pets on your wl, on Wednesday they could have 20! You never know what trades people are doing in the background c:

C$ is more valuable now - I think a lot of older players (I’m from ‘12 so I’m not as old as some others but I’m not new either x,D) have a bit of a fear of c$? People didn’t tend to really want large amounts of it years ago, so it wasn’t worthwhile to trade for or to accept trades with it! I myself am still dubious with it, I recently received 300c$ in a trade as an equivalent of 1ma, and I thought I was 100% gonna be stuck with it. 2 days later I have a cheetah and a tiger storepet and I was amazed people are willing to offer their stores for c$! It’s going to take me time to be comfortable with accepting c$ for rares, but it’s definitely worthwhile and not as scary as it seems.

let people know what you’re looking for - it’s always super helpful to list pets you’re looking for either on your trade thread or in your trade rules! It’s also very helpful to let people know you’re looking for a specific pet even if the trade doesn’t go through! I have a list of people in mind all the time, where they’ve told me they’re looking for a specific pet I have (and for one reason or another I’m not willing to trade them the one I have - usually single pets) but I go back to them if I manage to trade for a double and then trade that! And a lot of people have done the same for me too <33

offer alternatives! - sometimes people don’t want to edit a trade and try make a counter offer because it can be intimidating for more value pets! I’ve found writing your offers in the trade message works wonders! For example I offered this trade but wrote in the message I could do a different storepet, or c$ if this trade didn’t take their fancy! A few minutes later they sent this back to me! It was quick, simple and low stress for the other person and required like 3 more seconds of work from me!


Gosh, I didn’t mean for this to turn into a wall of text! Apologises!! cx

Edit
I should mention I used to have an absolute massive collection of both fodder and lists (sunjewel, moonswirl, Ur Bengal etc..) I soft quit back about 3 years ago and traded pretty much all my fodder for art and characters <3 i didn’t just waltz in here with my grand total of like 2 nons across my entire account and pretend to know what I’m doing xD